I am so excited to be sharing some December classroom theme ideas today. I love using themes in the classroom and planning lessons and activities around them. October, November and December are always my favorite months for incorporating themes!
Today, I am sharing my favorite December classroom theme ideas that I love to use with my students – and I think you will too!
1. Christmas Around the World
One of the things that I love to do is focus on Christmas and different holidays around the world. This is always a super popular topic because I’ll actually have my students ‘travel’ to the different countries by tasting foods, reading stories, watching videos of the celebrations etc. And then each student has a passport that we stamp with each of the countries that we have visited along the way. It’s a lot of fun! Some of my favorite Christmas Around the World activities are;
- Christmas Around the World Travel Journal
- Adapted Books
- Reading Comprehension Passages
- All Christmas Around the World Activities
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
- Teaching World Holidays in a Special Ed. Classroom Podcast Episode
2. Christmas
I know this can be a difficult one if your school doesn’t celebrate Christmas. We do, and my students honestly love it! There’s lots of ways to accommodate students who don’t celebrate.. (See this blog post here). But honestly it’s one of my favorite themes. I love to not only do Christmas themed work in the classroom.. But I also try to find ways to help my students families at home around Christmas too. Prepare students for changes that are coming up.. Christmas decorations.. Traditions etc. I do like to try and put in some extra work to help them out! Some of my favorite Christmas activities and ideas are;
- Who Froze the Elf? Classroom Crime Scene
- Wh- Question Adapted Book
- Rudolph Nose Col. Matching Task Box
- Reindeer Preposition Boom Cards
- Christmas Wh- Question Scenes
- 2D Shape Sorting Pages
- Christmas Adapted Work Binder
- Celebrating Christmas Jumper Day
- Fingerprint Christmas Tree Decoration
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
- My Top 10 Christmas Books
- Christmas Craft and Baking Blog Posts
3. Penguins
Penguins are another popular theme in my classroom throughout the winter. Honestly, anything with animals is always a winner with my students. And penguins are just some added fun! Some of my favorite penguin activities to do with my students are;
- Facts About Penguins Activity Pack
- Types of Penguin Comprehension Passages
- Roll a Penguin Game
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
4. Gingerbread Man
Following on from my November theme blog post, the Gingerbread Man is one that I love to carry on and use throughout December. My favorite gingerbread man theme activities are;
- Bake gingerbread men biscuits and decorate.
- A gingerbread man scavenger hunt around the school.
- Gingerbread Man in Disguise Adapted Books
- Who Ate the Gingerbread Man’s House? Interactive Classroom Crime Scene.
- Gingerbread Man Boom Cards
- All Gingerbread Man Activities.
- Pinterest Board of Ideas.
5. Bears and Hibernation
This is one that I was always actually quite wary of introducing to my students! I didn’t know if it was a theme that I would be able to get to work for them.. Or how I would help them to understand it. But it’s actually become a really popular theme that I love to do with my students!
Some of my favorite activities for hibernation and bears are;
- A Long Winter’s Nap Book
- Bear Snores On Book
- The Hibernation Song
- Who Stole the Bear’s Honey? Classroom Crime Scene
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
6. The Nativity
Another Christmas theme one (I’m sorry!) But this one is actually love to focus for a few days on if you have the time. My students love to hear about the story of the nativity. And often we will have props to dress up with and use and act out the story as we go along!
Some of my favorite nativity themed activities to do with my students are;
- The Christmas Story on YouTube
- Christmas Nativity Reading Comprehension Passages
- Simplified Story of the Christmas Nativity
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
7. Winter
If you’re looking for a theme not linked to the holidays, and a little more broad. Winter is a great one. You can incorporate weather, animals, winter sports and so much within the theme of winter. Some of my favorite winter activities are;
- Dressing for Winter Adapted Book
- Winter Adapted Books
- Wh- Question Scenes
- Winter Adapted Work Binder
- My Favorite Winter Books
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
8. Hanukkah
Similar to Christmas Around the World, I like to teach my students about different holidays and celebrations around the world. One of these is Hanukkah. Some of my favorite Hanukkah activities to do with my students are;
- The Story of Hanukkah YouTube Video
- Hanukkah Adapted Book
- Tracing Vocabulary Words Task Cards
- Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel YouTube Video
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
9. Snowmen
Snow and snowmen are another favorite theme that can also be carried forward into January. If you’re lucky enough to get snow, we love to go outside and make some snowmen! If not, I tend to just buy some fake snow and make some snow sensory bins and have students build in there. White play dough is also great for this! Some of my go-to snowman themed activities are;
- Roll a Snowman Game
- Ten Frame Task Cards
- Snowman Handprint Ornament Craft
- I’m a Little Snowman YouTube Video
- Snowman Footprint Craft
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
10. Candy Canes
This is a theme I have only done for one day so far, and we had a sort of candy cane theme day. It was a lot of fun. Students and staff dressed up as different candy cane (just think colored stripes!) We made candy cane hearts, did the candy cane dance and some fun candy cane themed activities. Some of our favorites were;
- Candy Cane Chocolate Hearts
- The Legend of the Candy Cane Book
- 5 Little Candy Canes YouTube Video
- Candy Cane Dance YouTube Video
- Pinterest Board of Ideas
What themes are you going to be teaching through December? Let me know in the comments section down below. If you found this December classroom theme ideas blog post helpful, please consider sharing it on social media with your friends and colleagues.
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