December can be a great time to bring fun, hands-on learning into the elementary classroom. It can also be a very stressful time for you the teacher when you don’t want to add even more work into your busy schedule. This is why I’ve put together learning ideas for three beloved holiday books. I even have a reading comprehension packet filled with the activities you’ll need to turn these ideas into easy and fun lesson plans. Keep reading for activities for these 3 Christmas read alouds: The Polar Express, How to Catch an Elf, and Olive the Other Reindeer. You can even use all three in a countdown to Christmas Break when you get the bundle and it’s exclusive bonuses.

Christmas Read Aloud 1 How to Catch an Elf

Activities: STEM & How to Writing

First up, The “How to Catch a…” series by Adam Wallace is one of my favorite series. There are currently 14 books in the series. Each one takes students on a fun adventure of catching a fictional character. One of the books is How to Catch an Elf which is a perfect addition to the classroom in December.

One of the reasons I love these books is because they lend themselves to the perfect literacy and STEM connection in the classroom. I have printable resources you can download for several of these books including How to Catch an Elf.

I recommend that you start by reading the book and talking about the problem, solution, and favorite parts of the book. From there, you can introduce a STEM project where students will be planning out a trap of their own to capture a sneaky elf. In this activity, kids will think through what elves like and dislike before planning out their trap. 

From there, students will use critical thinking skills to determine what might attract an elf to their trap and how they can keep the elf in the trap. While doing this, they will be using details from the book to guide their choices. After completing the STEM project, students will put it all together in a How to Writing assignment that can be displayed for all to see like you can read about in my post using How to Catch a Mermaid. All of the pieces you need to use this book in your classroom are included in my How to Catch an Elf Book Pack. 

December Read Aloud 2 Olive the Other Reindeer

Activities: Fiction Non-Fiction comparison and Opinion Writing

Next book for holiday literacy activities is Olive the Other Reindeer. This is another beloved book with a movie version available. This is another book that you can use to teach comprehension skills such as story elements and sequencing. It is also a great starting point for several other comprehension skills as well.

One of the skills I like to review with Olive the Other Reindeer is cause and effect. There are several events that happen in the story which are direct outcomes of other events. After reading the book, you can lead your class in a discussion about cause and effect using these events. If your students are already familiar with the concept of cause and effect, you can have them review the concept using the worksheet provided in my reading comprehension pack for this book.

As I mentioned above, there is a movie by the same name as this book. This is another opportunity to have a fun day in the classroom by showing the movie. After reading the book and viewing the movie, students can use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the book with the movie.
I like to wrap up lessons with Olive the Other Reindeer by having students do an opinion writing assignment about Olive. In this assignment, students give their opinion about the reindeer. They include evidence from the book to support their opinion. Then, we do a small craft that goes along with the story. You can get the writing pages and craft in my reading comprehension packet for Olive the Other Reindeer.

Holiday Read Aloud 3 The Polar Express

Activities: PJ Day with Tickets and Keepsake Bells

Finally, and possibly my favorite, The Polar Express is a beloved book for the Christmas season. In this book, a little boy travels aboard a special train called the Polar Express to visit the North Pole. Adventures abound and lessons are learned as this little boy goes on an unforgettable train ride.

This book can be used as the starting point for many literacy lessons. There are several characters throughout the book with distinct differences and each one learns a lesson as events unfold. As a result, you can discuss character traits and how they differ after reading this to your class. Students can use the activities included in my Polar Express reading comprehension pack to record evidence for each character. So much more than just a worksheet!

You can also use it for a lesson on sequencing and identifying the parts of a story with color sequence cards. There are also story elements practice pages. Putting events in order and identifying the problem and solution in a book are important skills for our younger readers.

From there, you can use the book to complete additional literacy and writing activities. There are several ideas floating around the internet BUT I’ve made it simple and included over 10 different activities in my reading comprehension pack. 

Last Day of School Before Break PJ Day

If you want to take the fun even further, you can show the movie Polar Express to your students after reading and working with the book. Some classes even turn it into a memorable event by letting the kids wear pajamas and giving them tickets to “ride” the Polar Express. Then we drink hot cocoa while watching the movie. You can wrap it all up with a quick compare and contrast lesson on how the book and movie are similar and different. Finally, I send the students home with a keepsake bell or bell print out!

I know this bundle of Christmas Read Alouds with Activites will make your December literacy planning a breeze so grab it today!