The holiday season! That magical time of year filled with excitement and chaos. Keeping middle school students focused is no small feat, but fear not—these holiday activities will keep students engaged, entertained, and learning until winter break.
Holiday-Themed Writing Prompts
Nothing spells holiday magic like creative writing. Let’s bring their imagination to life!
Try These Creative Writing Challenges
- Letter to Santa from a Fictional Character: Imagine Harry Potter writing to Santa. What would he ask for? Would he request a new broomstick or a day off from magic school to spend time with his friends? This prompt allows students to dive into a world they are familiar with and think creatively from the perspective of their favorite character.
- Holiday-Themed Short Story or Poem: Ask students to write about a mischievous elf causing chaos at the North Pole. They could write a thrilling story of how the elf gets caught or a funny narrative about the trouble it causes Santa. The possibilities are endless.
- Reflect on a Favorite Holiday Memory: Let them share a funny or touching holiday story from their past. This is a chance for students to bring personal memories into the classroom and improve their narrative skills. They could write about the time they baked cookies with their grandmother or went sledding on the most prominent hill in town.
A Journey Around the World
The holiday season is celebrated in many different ways worldwide, and students love to explore how others celebrate. This project is a fantastic way to instill cultural appreciation and broaden their understanding.
Let’s Take a Trip Around the World
- Pick a Country: Students can choose a country from Sweden to Japan or Brazil to South Africa.
- Research a Holiday Tradition: Students research a holiday tradition from that country. Encourage them to look at the foods that are prepared, the music that is played, and the customs that are followed.
- Create a Presentation to Share with the Class: This could be a PowerPoint, poster, or even a short video. Use Google Maps or Digital Google Slides to make the project interactive and visual.
STEM Meets the Holidays
STEM projects don’t need to stop because of the holidays! Let’s make them more festive and spark some holiday engineering.
Holiday STEM Activities for Middle School
- Gingerbread Engineering Challenge: Build gingerbread houses. Challenge students to create a sturdy structure—minimum height? Number of windows? Maybe an arched door or even a chimney? The possibilities are endless! Gingerbread engineering is about fun and understanding stability, balance, and construction concepts.
- Rube Goldberg Machine: Create a machine to light a menorah or ring a bell. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to experiment with engineering principles and learn how to create a series of chain reactions that achieve a simple task. Plus, it’s so much fun watching the final product in action!
- Santa’s Sleigh: Engineer a sleigh that can transport candy canes and gingerbread cookies down a slope or around a simple obstacle course. Give students materials like cardboard, popsicle sticks, and plastic bottles, and let them design their sleigh prototype. The challenge? Make sure it doesn’t fall apart while racing down the slope!
Give Back
The holidays are all about spreading kindness and giving back. Let’s encourage middle school students to make a difference in their community. Community service teaches life skills beyond the classroom—empathy, kindness, and the value of helping others.
Ideas for Holiday Community Service
- Food or Toy Drive: Organize a food drive for a local charity. Have students bring in non-perishable goods or gently used toys and donate them to needy families. It’s a great way to teach students that the holidays are about giving, not just receiving.
- Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen: If possible, arrange for your class to visit a local soup kitchen and volunteer their time. Even if they can’t directly serve food, they could help organize donations or make holiday decorations to make the place more cheerful.
- Holiday Cards for Senior Citizens or Soldiers: Have students make holiday cards for senior citizens or military members. It’s a small gesture that brightens someone’s holiday season. Let students get creative with drawings, glitter, and heartfelt messages.
Holiday-Themed Escape Room
Turn your classroom into an escape room—holiday-themed, of course! Students love a challenge; escape rooms combine problem-solving with fun, hands-on learning.
Puzzle Your Students with These Ideas
- Santa’s Workshop: Solve math problems to unlock clues. It’s all about bringing fun and holiday-themed math activities into learning. Maybe Santa’s toys are locked in a vault, and only solving a sequence of puzzles will open it up. Each clue can be tied to math problems involving basic arithmetic, algebra, or even geometry.
- Holiday Traditions Escape Room: Incorporate holiday traditions from around the world. Students must solve geography puzzles to unlock the next clue—perhaps figuring out where certain traditions originate or answering questions about countries that celebrate in unique ways.
- Holiday Literature Escape Room: Use holiday-themed texts, analyze them, and find clues hidden in the literature. Students must discover hidden messages or answer comprehension questions based on a holiday-themed short story.
Whip Up Some Holiday Treats
Cooking is always fun, but cooking during the holidays? That’s the ultimate classroom experience. Cooking projects incorporate math, science, and a lot of fun.
Cooking Activities for Middle School
- Holiday Recipe: Have students bake cookies or make hot chocolate. Incorporate math concepts like measurements and conversions. What better way to teach fractions than through the lens of measuring cups and teaspoons? Students can double or halve a recipe to practice.
- The Science Behind Baking: How does yeast make bread rise? What’s the chemistry behind baking soda? These are great questions that blend baking with science. Have students experiment with leaving an ingredient out to see what happens.
- Class Holiday Cookbook: Compile favorite holiday recipes into a class cookbook. Have each student contribute a recipe, complete with an illustration. You could even turn it into a digital cookbook they can share with their families.
Unleash Creativity with Holiday Art Projects
Bring out the colored paper, glitter, glue sticks, and sequins—it’s art time! Holiday art projects are a great way for students to express themselves and relax during a busy school day.
Art Projects That Spark Joy
- Holiday Cards and Gift Tags: Create unique cards using watercolor, printmaking, or collages. Have students personalize cards for friends, family, or community members needing holiday cheer.
- Holiday Dioramas: Build a scene depicting a holiday tradition. Maybe it’s Santa’s workshop, a winter wonderland, or a New Year’s Eve celebration. Provide shoeboxes, mini figurines, and cotton balls for snow.
- Decorate Ornaments: Make personalized decorations. Students can create beautiful ornaments with clay, wood slices, or even old CDs. Let them paint, glue, and bedazzle to make a unique creation they can bring home.
Festive Math Activities for Holiday Fun
Math doesn’t need to be dull—add a dash of holiday spirit to spice things up.
Fun Math Ideas for the Holidays
- Calculate the Surface Area of Gift Boxes: This is a great way to teach volume and area in a fun, practical context. Wrap different-sized boxes and let students calculate the amount of wrapping paper needed.
- Symmetrical Ornaments: Students can teach symmetry by creating balanced ornaments. They can fold paper, cut out designs, and see how symmetry plays a role in art and nature.
- Holiday Spending Analysis: Students can collect and analyze data on holiday spending. What are the most popular gifts? How much money does the average family spend during the holidays? This kind of analysis makes math relevant and practical.
Science Experiments
Turn your classroom into a science lab—holiday-themed, of course! Holiday science experiments are not just fun; they’re packed with learning.
Exciting Experiments for the Holidays
- Fake Snow: Compare the properties of real snow and fake snow. This is a great hands-on science experiment. Have students mix baking soda and shaving cream to create their own “snow” and test how it feels compared to the real thing.
- The Northern Lights: Investigate the science behind the Aurora Borealis—students will be fascinated! Use flashlights, colored cellophane, and a dark room to simulate the Northern Lights and explain how they happen.
- Design a Winter Coat: Test different insulation materials to see which keeps you warmest. Provide various materials like cotton, wool, foil, and bubble wrap, and let students experiment to find the best insulator for a winter coat.
Music and Theater
Get your students up and moving—music and theater activities are great for breaking up the school day and keeping energy levels positive.
Performance Ideas for the Holidays
- Holiday Songs from Around the World: Learn songs from different cultures. Each student or group can pick a song, learn it, and teach it to the rest of the class.
- Write and Perform Skits: Students can write their holiday-themed skits. It could be about a snowman that comes to life or Santa’s elves trying to solve a big problem.
- Participate in School Concerts: Join the holiday concert and perform for the school. Whether a choir performance or a play, being part of a group performance boosts confidence.
Holiday-Themed Debates
Debate sharpens students’ thinking—why not add a holiday twist to make it even more fun?
Fun Debate Topics
- Actual vs. Artificial Christmas Trees: Which is better for the environment? Students can research and present both sides, learning to build arguments based on facts.
- Commercialization of the Holidays: Is it hurting or helping the true holiday spirit? This topic gets students thinking critically about how society celebrates the holidays.
- Portrayal of Holidays in Media: Analyze how holidays are portrayed in films and TV shows. Are they realistic? Do they set unrealistic expectations for families?
Holiday Gratitude Journals
Amidst the holiday chaos, we must reflect on the positives and what we’re thankful for. Practicing gratitude is a powerful tool for well-being.
Daily Gratitude Journals
- Daily Entries: Write about one thing you’re grateful for each day. It could be something minor, like hot cocoa on a cold day, or something big, like family traditions.
- Share Gratitude with Classmates: Let students talk about positive things in their lives. It’s a great way to spread positivity and bond as a class.
- Reflect on Relationships: Write about friendships, family, and their meaning. Encourage students to focus on specific qualities they appreciate about the people around them.
Conclusion
Incorporate these holiday activities, and you’ll make the classroom lively and joyful while keeping middle school students engaged and learning. From creative writing to STEM challenges, each activity provides a mix of academic and life skills—all wrapped in holiday spirit. Remember, this is the perfect time to let students explore, express, and create. The more opportunities you give them to engage, the more successful your holiday activities will be. Let’s make this holiday season the best one yet!
ALSO READ: 15 Best Jobs for Emotionally Sensitive People
FAQs
Many of these activities can be easily modified to suit different grade levels or subject areas. For example, you can adjust the complexity of writing prompts, STEM challenges, or math problems to match your students’ abilities. Additionally, you can incorporate specific subject content into escape rooms, debates, or art projects to reinforce learning in those areas.
To manage excitement and maintain a productive learning environment, establish clear expectations and guidelines for behavior before beginning any holiday activity. Break activities into smaller, manageable steps and provide regular check-ins and support to keep students on track. Encourage a balance of fun and learning, and be prepared to adapt your plans as needed based on your students’ needs and energy levels.
When planning holiday activities, be mindful of the diverse backgrounds and beliefs of your students. Offer a variety of activities that celebrate different cultural traditions and allow students to share their own experiences and perspectives. Emphasize the importance of respect, empathy, and understanding when discussing or presenting about different holiday customs. Create a safe and inclusive classroom environment where all students feel valued and supported.
