Winter Holidays Teaching Resources
Getting your classroom ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the rest of the winter holidays on the horizon? You're in luck!
Our team of teachers from around the US has created winter holiday worksheets, activities, games, and more to make the holidays bright and merry — even if the temperatures outside are bitter cold! Celebrate the major calendar events in an inclusive manner with options for engaging students in multicultural ways.
What Holidays Are Celebrated in Winter?
If you want to get technical, winter begins in December on the Winter Solstice, also know as the shortest day of the year. And yet because the thermometer drops in much of the country well before the solstice, some consider Thanksgiving to be the start of the winter holidays.
Other holidays that fall during the winter season include:
- Christmas
- Hanukkah
- Kwanzaa
- New Year's Eve
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Lunar New Year
- Valentine's Day
- Read Across America Day
Celebrating Winter Holidays in the Classroom
Looking for the best ways to celebrate any (or all!) of the winter holidays? The Teach Starter team of teachers has created printable and digital options — many of which align to the curriculum — to bring the holiday spirit into your classroom. These themed resources can also display the students’ information in new ways around the classroom. This collection contains a variety of resources for all classrooms.
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Holiday Code Cracker: Middle Years – Whole Class Holiday Game
A whole class, holiday-themed game where students work together to find a secret code.
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Christmas Code Cracker - Primary Escape Game
Work together to crack the Christmas Code with an exciting escape game for primary grade students.
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DIY Pop-Up Christmas Cards - Summer Santa
Make your own Christmas pop-up cards with your students with a printable Summer Santa Pop Up Card Template.
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DIY Pop-Up Card Template - Winter Scene
Create adorable snowman Christmas cards with a printable pop-up card template.
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Pop-Up Christmas Card Template - Santa Stuck in Chimney
Learn how to make pop-up cards with your students with a printable pop-up Christmas Card Template.
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Christmas Paper Bag Puppets
Make paper bag puppets for Christmas fun with a printable paper bag puppet template.
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Same or Different? Initial, Medial, Ending Sounds Interactive
Practice isolating beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words with a Google Slides interactive game.
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Penguin Booklet - 1st Grade Reader
Chill out with a good book and build reading skills with a printable penguin book for kids.
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Santa Claus Coloring Page
Use a Santa Claus coloring page as a fun art activity with your students.
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Christmas Vocabulary Word Wall
Spread holiday cheer with 60 Christmas-themed vocabulary cards for your word wall.
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Groundhog Day Mini Book
Uncover the American tradition known as Groundhog Day with an informational mini-book.
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Valentine's Day Mini Book
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom and learn about the cultural celebration with a printable activity book for kindergarten and first-grade students.
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New Year's Day Mini Book
Learn about New Year's Day and make classroom resolutions with a printable New Years book for kindergarten and first-grade students.
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Groundhog Day Vocabulary Cards and Writing Center
Create a vocabulary and writing center with a Groundhog Day for Kids word wall and writing template.
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Thanksgiving Build-a-Sentence Worksheet
Build and write sentences about Thanksgiving with a cut-and-paste Thanksgiving worksheet for kindergarten and first grade.
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Presidents' Day ABC Sort
Review vocabulary and terms surrounding the Presidents' Day holiday with an ABC Order Worksheet.
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Groundhog Day Graphing Prediction Display and Worksheet
Graph the likelihood that Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this year by creating a data chart on our Groundhog Day prediction worksheet.
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Persuasive Writing Activity - Dear Mr Groundhog
Write a letter to Mr. Groundhog about the weather using this persuasive writing worksheet.
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Would You Rather? - Winter Wonder!
Use 23 seasonally-inspired question prompts to engage your students in winter-wonderful discussions.
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New Year, New Fun! Activity Sheet
Keep students' minds and hands busy during your mid-school-year lull with four fun activities on one handy worksheet!
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New Year Bingo Game
Celebrate all the best things about New Year’s Eve with this set of 20 BINGO game boards and 24 themed word cards.
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Snowman Says... - Task Cards
Play this wintry version of Simon Says with 20 snowman task cards.
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Winter Match-Up! - Picture Cards
Improve concentration and memory skills with this set of 18 winter picture match-up cards.
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Snowman BINGO
Celebrate everyone’s favorite winter friend with this set of 20 snowman bingo game boards and picture cards.