Classroom antics ramp up as you inch closer to the end of the year. With all the excitement of Christmas and a break coming soon, it’s a great time to ditch the repetitive assignments and introduce new activities that can keep students interested. Christmas tree crafts and activities are the perfect solution!
I’ve got three very simple Christmas tree activities that will add some variety, but more importantly, Christmas magic to your lesson plans during the holiday season. You can add these hands-on activities to your math, reading, and art blocks.
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Okay, stay with me! I know the thought of crafting an ornament in the classroom feels daunting. But trust me when I tell you that this is a seamless activity that will not drain all of your time and energy!
This is a great ornament to make in the classroom because it isn’t time-consuming, it’s cost-effective, and students can do every single step on their own.
Here’s how to craft them:
Materials Needed for Each Student (all can be found at a craft store or Walmart): 3 cupcake liners, 1 foam star sticker, a piece of ribbon, 6-8 sticker jewels, a glue stick, and a piece of tape.
The result is beautiful!
My favorite way to amplify this activity is by pairing it with a Christmas read-aloud! How to Pick a Pine Tree is one of my go-to reads. It’s a beautiful book that shares the steps of decorating a Christmas tree with a rhyming pattern.
For more Christmas ornament ideas, you can check out this list of 10 easy Christmas ornaments to make with kids.
The BME strategy is an effective way for students to retell a story. After reading, students highlight and summarize the B for beginning, M for middle, and E for end.
For this activity, the three steps in the retelling process will represent each layer of the Christmas tree. Use a story structure chart to guide students through the process.
Have students craft their Christmas tree with the beginning on top, the middle in the middle layer, and the end at the base of the tree.
On the stem, you can place the title of the book students are retelling. You can see this in the image above from our Kindergarten December reading unit.
The book The Wish Tree is a heartwarming story that sends kids on a journey to help a young boy find a wish tree. Not only is it a wonderful book, but the nature of the plot makes it the perfect companion for studying BME with the theme of a tree.
If you need more BME activities, I have a few strategies and ideas for you.
Ready to make your math time more MERRY? There’s no cool spin on why this works, it just does! Adding a Christmas tree craft acts as a fun reward for solving math equations.
In this activity, students will be actively solving math equations as they “decorate” their Christmas tree. Start by having your students craft the tree, then they will add each “equation ornament” to the tree as they solve each math problem.
The best part about this activity is it’s FREE for you to use! I’ve added several options in this Merry Math FREEBIE to be used for different grade levels and skills.
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
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