One Simple Way to Boost Positivity During the Holidays
The weeks surrounding the holidays can be hectic and busy to say the least.
Schedule changes, special events, and classroom parties can make classroom management difficult.
This free task card resource is the perfect tool for boosting positivity and is one of the easiest classroom management strategies I’ve used.
It’s easy to implement and super effective in turning students’ attention to others during the holidays.
A few years ago, I started teaching a Winter Holidays unit. I was looking for something different than the traditional "Christmas Around the World" and wanted to broaden my students’ awareness of other holidays that occur during the fall and winter months. At the time, my students were struggling with theme. So although the unit mainly focused on nonfiction topics, I decided to incorporate thematic elements as well.
This also was the year that I had a difficult class. Not overly unmanageable, but the type that seemed to enjoy bickering with each other. I was overwhelmed with tattling and selfish behaviors. I needed a tool that would be easy to implement and bring much needed change.
The holidays we learned about were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Diwali. Although the four were quite different, students noticed that the idea of light was important to each one. Whether in decorations or figurative ideas, lights continually popped up in our discussions of each holiday.
And so, Holiday Lights was created.
It’s a super simple resource and can be used in a variety of ways. There are twelve cards each containing a short writing task for students to complete. The cards ask students to reflect on one way that they can be a light to others and then write about their thoughts.
The resource includes notes for you, 12 task cards, two different types of response pages, a cover page, and direction sheets for students.
How To Use The Free Holiday Task Cards in your classroom:
1 | No Prep Option:
First, create a packet for students that includes:
Holiday Lights Cover Page
All of the Task Cards
12 Copies of the Response Pages
Then choose how best to use with your students:
Complete in class. Have students complete one task each day as they enter in the morning, return from recess, or at the end of the day. When finished, have students share their responses with a partner, table, or the whole class.
Complete for homework. Assign one task for homework each night during the final two weeks of December. It’s a simple way to provide students with meaningful writing practice while giving them something to think about.
Complete over break. I know not everyone “assigns” work over holiday breaks. However, there are some who do and even a few parents who request it! This would be an incredibly easy “holiday packet” to send home with students over the long break. Students won’t feel like they’re really doing work and parents will be pleased to have something for them to do.
2 | Low Prep Option:
First, copy enough task cards for your class onto cardstock, cut out, and laminate. (I had 25 students, so I needed two copies of each card plus one extra). Place cards in a basket or bin.
For an activity that lasts one week, create a response packet that contains a cover sheet and five response pages. Have students pick up a task card from the bin as they enter the room or pass out cards randomly. When students have finished responding and sharing, they can return their cards to the bin or trade with a partner so that they are ready to write first thing the next day.
For an activity that lasts one day, pass out one response sheet to each student. Complete the activity as a class by modeling the process first and then having students complete their own cards individually, in partners, or in small groups.
Although this activity lasted only a few short days, it helped to improve the environment of the classroom as a whole. Students began noticing others and how they could be helpful – first in small ways by just only a few students, but later spreading to others.
Hopefully, you’ll find it a valuable part of your holiday lessons this year!
You can download the free resource here.
If you do, let me know how it works for you. I love receiving feedback and stories from the classroom!
Looking for more help?
I have several other posts with tips and tools for managing your workload during the holidays including
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