Travel around the world in your classroom this holiday season! Don't just simply teach your elementary students about holidays in other countries, engage them with STEM! We’ve created a bundle of STEM resources that are perfect for your Holidays Around the World Unit. These activities will have yo

Travel around the world in your classroom this holiday season! Don't just simply teach your elementary students about holidays in other countries, engage them with STEM! We’ve created a bundle of STEM resources that are perfect for your Holidays Around the World Unit. These activities will have yo

I love integrating STEM into my fifth grade classroom, especially during the Christmas holiday season. If you are like me, I like planning out my STEM Activities for December early! Getting all the supplies ready and gathered up! Students get excited and stay engaged whenever learning is made fun! It also gives my students something […]

Take your students on a tour around the world as they learn about all the wonderful winter holidays like Hanukkah, Diwali, Chinese New Year, and more. Take a deep dive into Christmas with a look at how cultures from 15 different countries celebrate with Holidays Around the World lessons and materials!

Many of our holiday traditions come from countries in Europe. Discover books and crafts to use with your Christmas in Europe unit.

The following is a guest blog post by Jed Dearybury ! No doubt the last few weeks have been full of hustle and bustle for many of us. With Hanukkah ending last week and Christmas coming next week, the festivities are at an all time high. It is nothing new, it happens every year during Decem

What are you teaching your students during the weeks leading up to the holidays? We love using read alouds and STEM activities to create a fun and engaging classroom. Students love the hands-on STEM challenges that incorporate, reading, writing, and making. The following are our top 4 STEM read-

Integrate Coding this Christmas with some Reindeer Games! Code a Reindeer Race using unplugged coding or any robot you may have in your classroom! Who's reindeer is the fastest? Use coding to find out!

Includes both PDF and Easel Activities for Google Classroom remote learning and in-person STEM lessons. How does Sweden celebrate Christmas? Let's find out! Students read and answer questions about St. Lucia's Day in Sweden, and construct a Yule Goat out of pipe cleaners. Perfect addition to any Christmas Around the World Unit! The STEM Process: Students plan, design, and execute their own ideas. After they have completed their activity, there is time for reflection on what worked and what didn't. Aligns with the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards). Includes: Teacher Instructions (with Example Photo) Student Instructions Reading Passage and Comprehension Questions STEM Journal Student Planning Pages Student Reflection Pages TpT Digital Version for Distance Learning with Google Classroom Digital Activity: To use Easel for Distance Learning, select "Open in Easel" on this listing. Works with computers, laptops, chromebooks, ipads, and tablets. Materials List: Pipe Cleaners Scissors What Teachers are saying about this STEM Activity! "Of all my purchases on TpT last school year, this was BY FAR my favorite. Each member on my teaching team selects a different culture to highlight for the holidays, so I had something unique. My students found this activity fun and challenging. They can be a tough crowd to please, so I was excited to see even some of my most difficult kiddos getting involved and working with their partner." -Renee A. "A great addition to my Holidays Around the World unit. Several other teachers commented on how fun the goats looked." - Michelle D. "Loved this activity. So much fun to learn about a tradition students otherwise probably wouldn't be exposed to. The construction of the Yule Goat really challenged their thinking as well and encouraged them to work together. Thank you!" - Ms. Persun "My team celebrated holidays around the world and I hosted Sweden! This was a great activity to include and students loved it! Thank you!" - Candace K. Follow us! TpT Store Facebook Instagram Twitter Blog ALIGNS TO NGSS K-2-ETS1-2 Engineering Design Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given  problem. 3-5-ETS1-2 Engineering Design Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Extend the life of your sensory bins during the holidays with these tips for holiday sensory bins that teach preschool, pre-k, & kinders.

Create a festive classroom that celebrates diversity with a Christmas from around the world unit, all while still focusing on grade level standards.

Studying Holiday Customs Around the World is an awesome way to attend to the social studies standards while engaging in the "spirit" of the season

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD December is here! What a fun month it is to teach our kiddos… and a little exhausting. I try to use my students’ excitement and buzz to tap into content areas and teach them the standards. Instead of fighting the Christmas spirit that is going around, I use their

Use this handout to discuss the history and significance of the festival of Las Posadas, celebrated in Mexico from December 16-24.

read aloud books for Christmas, December

Learn fun facts and get holiday activities, teaching ideas, crafts and more for students to learn about traditions at Christmas in Mexico!

Low Prep, Engaging Holiday STEM Challenges for Elementary Students

Lately, I have been really interested in integrating more STEM activities in my classroom. I love that my students are engaged, and they love the hands-on aspect of STEM. I just completed a bundle 4 of STEM activities for December. You can check them out in my TPT store HERE. What I love most about these STEM challenges is that they are presented to students in the form of a letter from the STEM elf. In each letter to the students the elf states the problem for the students and gives them the list of materials with which they may use in order to solve the problem. The bundle includes: Christmas Tree Challenge: Students must build a Christmas tree out of plastic cups. Santa's Sleigh: Students must build a wind powered sleigh for Santa out of paper and a straw. Silent Jingle Bells: Students must figure out a way to silence a jingle bell. Make a Dreidel: Students must create a dreidel for Hanukah using only the materials provided. If you have your students learn about Christmas around the world be sure to check out my Holidays Around the World STEM activities. Learn about how they celebrate the holidays in America, England, Israel, Germany, and Sweden. This product includes all of my Christmas STEM challenges and connects them to holiday traditions in other countries. Click on the picture to learn more. For other STEM activities check out the STEM section of my TPT store. I hope you have found this blog post helpful. To stay connected with Carly and Adam's teaching tips and classroom freebies be sure to follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and subscribe to our blog! We would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave your feedback in the comments. We can't wait to connect with you! -Carly

It's that magical time of year. You can feel the entire holidays stretching out in front of you. Your assessment is finished. There's that buzz in the air that only comes with end-of-year carols and class parties. But as any teacher knows, surviving that last week is no mean feat. We face several HUGE jobs like cleaning out our spaces and managing over-excited and over-tired children. What do you teach during that last week? Personally, I do not like to give my class Christmas word searches or 'color by number' worksheets. There are so many cute Christmas themed literacy and numeracy 'packs' or 'centers' available on Teachers Pay Teachers, but I don't want to be spending my evenings laminating and prepping either. I want meaningful lessons that are easy to implement and require no preparation. I want activities that the class can work on enthusiastically and independently while I tick a few items off my end-of-year checklist. So here are my 10 easy, meaningful, no-prep activities that save my sanity during that last week before Christmas holidays. (Credit: Gingerbread clipart numbers by Artifex). Investigate Christmas symbols. As a whole class, make a list or mindmap of things that are associated with Christmas. Pine trees, candy canes, wreaths, stockings, reindeer... the list goes on. After discussing some Christmas symbols, we make our own Christmas cards from scratch. I put out all of my leftover craft materials - colored cardboard, scraps of Christmas wrapping paper, random bits and pieces from the year (foam shapes, ribbon, buttons, etc). Give them several types of adhesive (PVA, tape, glue stick). It's an excellent way to use up any remaining material floating around. I give them no templates or blackline cards to color in, but I do show them examples of how to make the symbols out of craft material. I am always amazed at what they come up with! Of course, this requires a lot of teacher demonstration and explanation. Here are some photos of simple cards to make: One year I had some clever cookies work out how to make pop up cards by cutting slots into the fold (the pop up trend caught on like wildfire!). Talk about who to give cards to - family, teachers, or others in the class (always a popular option). Talk about the messages that are written inside the card. I usually dedicate a few hours to this and I find the children are engaged the whole time. Warning: allow ample time to clean up afterwards. Christmas Spelling. Yep, my class still has a list of spelling words to learn in the last week. I use Christmas vocabulary. We work through this free interactive PowerPoint - finding the missing letters, identifying the correct word, and answering multiple choice questions. Find the FREE spelling PowerPoint by clicking HERE. During the week we would practice spelling the words in novel ways. A favorite of my class last year was 'water writing' - give students a cup of water and a clean paintbrush. Write the words in water on the concrete walls and floor of your outside learning area if you have one. In the Australian heat, it dries really quickly and leaves no mark. I'm sure you have your own favorite activities to practice spelling words. You can't go wrong with interesting, themed writing tasks. The success of these, I find, depend on how much you excite the children with ideas as you introduce and model the writing. My Christmas favorite to use is 'Do NOT Open This Present!'. I love it because it is so different from other Christmas writing tasks. Children revel in inventing utterly disgusting and useless gift ideas, such as a bag of monster toenails, a rotten Christmas ham, or shrinking powder! Find this writing prompt HERE. Alternatively, use one of the visual prompts from The Literacy Shed website, which can be found HERE. (If you have not discovered it, The Literacy Shed is an absolute treasure trove all year round). Problem Solving. I have not met a class that does not enjoy a bit of creative thinking! Here is a free problem solving activity based on Tony Ryan's Thinkers Keys. Here is an example: List A-Z all things relating to Christmas. Find this FREE resource here. No worksheets are needed for this. Have your students use up the last pages in an exercise book or scrapbook. In that last week of school we would do 1-2 questions after each lunchtime. As a whole class, use the internet to research reindeers or the North Pole. My class last year were absolutely fascinated when reading about reindeers. You could use a nonfiction text, or model the online researching process for your students. I like to bring up Google on the interactive whiteboard. Show how to input a question or use key words. Demonstrate how to choose a link that looks relevant and with the class's help, navigate the website to read the information. (I always carefully select the link ahead of time so I know the website we are visiting is appropriate). Do a simple 3-2-1 about what they read (3 facts they learnt, 2 facts they found interesting, and 1 question they still have). Accompany with a reindeer directed drawing video from Art For Kids Hub, available HERE. I'll be teaching reading strategies right up until the holidays. I use this 'What's in the present?' resource to reinforce the inferring strategy we have worked on all year. I give the students short text passages to infer what was in the present. There are also match-up cards to use in pairs or independently. Find this resource by clicking HERE. Why not incorporate some drama into that last week? I like to have my class learn and perform some Reader's Theatre. A simple search on Teachers Pay Teachers will give you some easy Christmas plays. Alternatively, I use an Aboriginal Dreamtime story in that last week. I love using Tiddalick the Thirsty Frog (a Google search will bring this up). Give each student a part to learn. They then make their own masks and props. In the past we have collectively made a backdrop for the play on a huge piece of paper or on a blank whiteboard on the wall. Sometimes it's nice to give the class reign over the creative design elements :). During the year I seem to amass rolls of butcher's paper. On the last few days I have my class make their own wrapping paper to take home. Give each child a large sheet and they can decorate with drawings, writing and stamps. Check out this clever ideas using lint rollers as stamp rollers: Source: http://www.handmadecharlotte.com/diy-roller-printing-tutorial/ That last week is also the perfect time to revise important number concepts before a 6 week long hiatus! In my resource below I give each student several numbers from 0-100, the idea being that the class collectively assembles a large hundreds chart (on the back of each present, students draw or write about what is inside the present). Each day of the last week, we randomly pick a few gift tags out of the stocking and solve the number clues, revealing a number on the hundreds chart. We turn over the card to reveal the present that was gifted to the class by one of them. This was an absolute hit with my class and an excellent way to review place value and number concepts! Find this resource by clicking HERE. On that very last day, all classroom equipment and furniture is packed up. What do you do? Kmart comes to the rescue! Every year I purchase some of their $3 giant colouring in carpet rolls. It is over a square meter big and can fit 10 children around it comfortably. Pictured here (unfortunately not rolled out): The link to it on the Kmart site is HERE. I let the students lounge on the floor around the large picture and they use up the last of the colored markers on it. They really seem to enjoy the time with their classmates before the holidays! Looking for more ideas? Check out my 'Christmas' pinterest board HERE. Thanks for reading! (Credit: Gingerbread clipart numbers by Artifex).

Learn how to play dreidel and use this printable dreidel template to make your own spinning top. How to play dreidel with printable dreidel spinning top Dreidel is a spinning top game that is traditionally played by families at Hanukkah. Spin the dreidel and see how much you can win! Materials Needed: :: […]

With a little breathing room between now and Christmas, it’s the perfect time to look at Holidays Around the World STEM activities! Grab a freebie, too!

Hello everyone! I am back to write about my recently uploaded December STEAM Activities resource. The November STEAM Activities have been...

Item description Kwanzaa linking cube math mats are great for independent math centers to improve fine motor skills, visual discrimination, counting, cardinality, color matching, critical thinking, spatial awareness & coloring. These linking cube mats are perfect STEM activities for preschool, pre-k, Kindergarten kids to create 3D objects which improves imagination. These mats are great for Kwanzaa Theme or December centers. These are perfect for morning works, morning tubs, center rotations, small group, individual work or early finishers. What included? Linking cubes/snap cubes mats Drum Unity cup 1 Unity cup 2 Kinara Candles (black, green & red) Mazao Mkeke (mat) Gift 1 Gift 2 It has 1 cover page. 29 pages to print (both color & ink saver versions)

Learn fun facts and get holiday activities, teaching ideas, crafts and more for students to learn about traditions at Christmas in Mexico!

I have a super special guest blogger joining us today, my friend Jen from The Teacher's Cauldron. Jen is also a Florida girl who teaches sec...

A blog by Mrs 3rd Grade about teaching 3rd grade in sunny Arizona

Every December, Our class gets a visitor from up north! The Gingerbread Man comes to spend the Holidays with us! This of course spurred an interest in the different versions of the Gingerbread Man! The kids enjoyed comparing them and through these stories learned the story elements such as characters, main characters, setting, problem and solution. At the end, each child wrote their own version making sure they included all of these elements. I wish I had photos of the books and their stories, but I forgot to take any! They were so creative and their stories spanned three pages. So many reading and writing standards are covered here! I set out some experiences for them to explore. Our artists created paintings and sculptures of the Gingerbread Man with gingerbread dough and loose parts. I love making this gingerbread dough. It makes the classroom smell amazing! For our scientists, the kids enjoyed taking different spices and creating their own mixture by grinding them. They also added water into a test tube and mixed the spices to see what would happen. They loved taking the test tubes around the class so everyone could smell their "potions." Again, our classroom smelled amazing! They created observational drawing of the clove, allspice and anise. They are definitely getting better at drawing like a scientist when needed! They also recorded what happened when they mixed their potions. For our engineers, I set out an invitation to build a bridge that would get the characters to the other side of the river to try to catch the gingerbread man! This also lead to some story telling as they acted out the story! They came up with many different designs. Some worked in teams and others worked independently. I also set up an area for small world play where the kids could create a setting and retell the gingerbread story, or make up their own! One day, we came in to find this on our Morning Message board! The kids were so surprised! We brainstormed what we could do to get him back! They decided to make a large "LOST" poster. We used interactive writing to create this one and hung it where it would be seen by everyone. They also decided to create their own to hang all over the school. They wanted to make sure that if anyone saw him, they would bring him to us. We had a lot of students from other classes that were very concerned and kept asking us if we had found him yet. We were so glad that our posters were working and being read! When he still didn't show up, we decided to write letters to see if we could persuade him to come back. I have to say that this is the best writing I have ever seen from them. I told them that if Gingy couldn't read the letters, they wouldn't work. I told them that they needed to spell sight words correctly, use spaces, write every sound they hear in "hard" words and write as neatly as they could. Their writing blew me away. It is amazing how well they can do if it is meaningful and authentic to them. One morning, I told them that the people who watch the security footage sent me some pictures! I showed them each one separately. The collective gasp was awesome! They were so excited! The next day I showed them this picture of him reading their letters! Since he still hadn't come back, they decided to build traps. We created a list as a class of different kind of traps they could create and how each worked. Then each signed up to make a certain kind of trap! They worked in teams to come up with plans to create their traps. It was then time to find materials and get to work! This was a great experience for them. Some teams had to work through team members not listening or taking over the whole project. A lot of problem solving went on here, not only in creating a trap that works, but in working together respectfully. In the end, it all worked out and it was great for them to see the problems that can arise when working with a team and how to deal with it appropriately. Here are some of the traps! They also had to test them out! This was a very crazy part of the day, but they were all on task and so excited when they finally were able to get their traps to work! We left them overnight and...finally, we caught Gingy! He was caught in the net trap! We also caught his friends that we saw in the "security pictures!" Gingy let us know that he just wanted to explore the school with his friends and he was so glad to be back. The kids kept a close eye on him until it was time to leave for winter break. Now Gingy is back up north until next year! It is so fun to do this each year. The excitement in their eyes as they go through this never gets old. I love that this age still believes in magic and I get to believe right with them! We celebrated by decorating and eating our own gingerbread person cookies! Most of the kids loved them but they all loved decorating them! We then made gifts for their families. Each child created a one of a kind ornament designed by them! I love how colorful these turned out. Many used patterns around their ornaments, some drew pictures, while others covered the whole ball with color! Each one totally unique! We also made ornaments with their jar rings, pictures and jewels. They made handprint reindeer cards and wrote messages to their families in them. I hope everyone enjoyed their gifts and had a happy and magical holiday season! See you in January!

Includes TpT Digital Version for Google Classroom Distance Learning. Explore Christmas Around the World! Watch your students laugh as they learn with this engaging Holidays Around the World STEM Challenge. Students learn to work cooperatively in small groups or on their own as they explore Hanukkah in Israel. The STEM Process: Students plan, design, and execute their own ideas. After they have completed their activity, there is time for reflection on what worked and what didn't. Each activity aligns with the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards). Includes: Teacher Instructions (with example photo) Student Instructions Reading Passage and Comprehension Questions Student STEM Journal Student Planning Pages Student Reflection Pages TpT Digital Version for Distance Learning with Google Classroom Digital Activity: To use Easel for Distance Learning, select "Open in Easel" on this listing. Materials Needed Straws Candles Styrofoam Cups Scissors Tape Follow us! TpT Store Facebook Instagram Twitter

One of our favorite ways to increase student engagement during the craziness of the holidays is with STEM. To make it easy for teachers to implement STEM during this busy time in the classroom, we have compiled a list of 12 Days of Christmas STEM activities . Our Day 3 activity is an Olive the Ot

30 Holiday science activities and Christmas experiments to bring Christmas cheer - and learning! - to your elementary classroom!

Have you ever thought about combining your social studies topics with science or STEM projects? Well, that is what I have been trying to do...

Studying Holiday Customs Around the World is an awesome way to attend to the social studies standards while engaging in the "spirit" of the season

Create a festive classroom that celebrates diversity with a Christmas from around the world unit, all while still focusing on grade level standards.

It's Monday! And if you're looking for a Chanukah themed science activity to infuse your winter break with the joy and light of the holiday, here's a fun--and meaningful--one you can explore. Perhaps one of the greatest miracles of the Chanukah story was that the small amount of oil salvaged from the ruins of the Beis Hamikdash that was seemingly only enough to light the menorah for one day, lasted for eight days and nights. This is the reason we light our Chanukah menorahs for eight nights and also the reason we eat some many delicious oily foods this time of year. The miracle greater than that--the one that we are called upon as Jewish people to repeat and relive again and again--was the miracle that although was that in the face of adversity, fear and even temptation, we maintained our Jewish identity of learning Torah and performing mitzvos. One of my favorite Chanukah-themed science explorations to do with children that can demonstrate this concept visually is to work with oil and water. Chanukah Oil & Water Sciene/Sensory Bottle Question: Do oil and water mix? This year my own little guy was old enough to help make his own oil and water Chanukah sensory bottle. When I have taught in preschool classrooms, this is a great experiment to perform in the classroom and send each student home with. You can take one for the team (and drink a LOT of Gatorade or water) to provide recycled bottles for the class, or students can bring in and donate empty bottles. I particularly like the small Gatorade bottles because they are made from a harder plastic that is seemingly indestructible after lots of vigorous shaking and they are a wonderful size for little hands. Before we began, I shared a short version of the Chanukah story with my little one. We gathered our materials together. I let my little helper assist in choosing some of the small items we would put inside the sensory bottle and choose the color we would dye the water. Next I posed our question: do oil and water mix together? My junior scientist predicted that they would not mix. (He helps me bake a lot and I tend to point out science in action in the kitchen!) You may wish to record predictions, the process and results of your experiment in a journal or on paper. You will need: empty recycled plastic bottle with cap water (enough to fill about 3/4 of the way) food color or liquid water color if you wish to dye the water vegetable oil (enough to fill about 1/4 of the bottle) filler items like glitter, sequins, small beads, a small dreidel, a Chanukah candle, gems, etc. duct tape and/or hot glue gun to permanently seal the top when you are done a plastic funnel for easier pouring Directions: I had my junior scientist first add in the filler items we chose--this time some small plastic beads, a dreidel and some glitter. He helped me pour in the blue water. (He chose the color and I'd already added a few drops of food dye to the water.) He helped pour in the oil. We watched and observed the oil bubble and rise to the top. We wanted to know if this would remain even after a good shake. I sealed the bottle tightly with duct tape and he gave it a good shake. He even asked me to shake it, too! Sure enough, even with lots of bubbles, that oil rose right back up to the top. What if we turned it upside down? The oil rose back up to the top! Just like the Jewish people, the oil rises above its surroundings. So, too, must we always rise above things that are hard or scary or just plain tempting and continue to learn Torah and do mitzvos! This is a beautiful Chanukah lesson and science exploration neatly stored in the portable case of an empty recycled bottle! Little hands will love to shake it, flip it, and share the lesson at your Chanukah table. Want to do more? Working with oil and water can be fun and beautiful as well in a larger exploration area if you're brave enough to weather the potential overflow. We brought our water table indoors to the kitchen and tossed down an old towel beneath it. I set up a simple invitation to explore with some colored and clear water, some oil, and a variety of containers for pouring and mixing. I let my little guy experience it hands on with minimal input and observed his process. I provided containers ready to go with oil, oil AND water, and just water, mixed with food color in shades that will mix well. He LOVED squeezing the oil and oil/water mixtures out of the bottles. When he asked for "more 'poil'" (I don't know why he calls it "poil," but for now it's too cute not to share!) I showed him how to squeeze the bottle and slurp the liquids back up again. Looking for a less oily Chanukah science option that will be worthy of hanging on your wall when you're done (or giving as a festive gift)? Try your hand at the science of using heat to melt wax with crayon art! You will need: a blank canvas old (or new) crayons--I found through trial (and ERROR) that Crayola brand crayons work the best. After a science flop in the classroom last year (which is STILL SCIENCE!) using generic brand crayons, I learned that the actual wax content of a crayon makes a difference in how it melts! low temperature hot glue gun blow dryer Prior to beginning the experiment, glue your crayons onto the canvas. If you wish you can unwrap them first. Older children with supervision can assist in using the low temperature hot glue gun to glue the crayons on next to each other spanning across the top of the canvas. Using the blow dryer (you'll want to make sure the glue has dried ahead of time, perhaps even overnight if you're worried about crayons falling off), apply hot air directly toward the crayons. As the crayons get hotter, they will "sweat" and melt beautiful colors down the canvas. You'll want to work in a covered area in case of splatters and drips and also be cautious with little ones and splatters can be hot! You can talk with your junior scientists about what causes candles to burn and crayons to melt (fire/heat) and identify items that are made from wax. Have a happy, colorful and scientific Chanukah! May your season be full of light, miracles and plenty of playing!

Upper elementary students can enjoy Christmas activities, too! Check out this post for Christmas activities for upper elementary, including freebies!

What are you teaching your students during the weeks leading up to the holidays? We love using read alouds and STEM activities to create a fun and engaging classroom. Students love the hands-on STEM challenges that incorporate, reading, writing, and making. The following are our top 4 STEM read-