Christmas is a time of magic and wonder for young children and a great time capture their imagination with holiday stories. Elementary teachers and parents can read Christmas themed children’s books to kids to enhance their love of reading and increase their language skills. Teachers can use the following list of the best Christmas books for elementary kids to plan holiday lessons and activities.
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg [Houghton Mifflin, 2009] is the enchanting story of a young boy lying awake waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. A magical train arrives and takes the boy and other young children on a magical trip to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. Van Allsburg’s simple narrative and dream-like illustrations have the readers not only believing in the magic of Santa, but feeling like they can taste the hot chocolate and hear the bell ringing.
Teachers can use the popular book to plan a Polar Express integrated unit for elementary students. After reading the story students can study the descriptive vocabulary in story, complete a train story map, use a train ticket to learn to make predictions, and study the North Pole. At the conclusion of the unit students can watch The Polar Express movie or have a pajama party for the students.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
One of the most popular and beloved holiday books for kids is How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss [Random House, 1957]. Dr. Seuss’ whimsical story features the Christmas-hating Grinch who plots to stop the Who-ville Christmas celebration. The Grinch goes to extreme lengths to stop Christmas including dressing up as Santa and trying to steal Christmas presents, the tree, and even dinner from the residents of Who-ville.
To the Grinch’s surprise Christmas comes anyway and the Whos teach him the true meaning of the holiday. Teachers can use How the Grinch Stole Christmas to teach students about rhyming words by creating a Christmas word match game or using the book as a story starter or writing prompt about the meaning of Christmas.
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (A Special Christmas Edition) by Laura Numeroff
Laura Numeroff’s If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (A Special Christmas Edition) [HarperCollins, 2009] is a holiday themed story about an adventurous mouse and a little boy. The mouse and the little boy partake in a number of Christmas holiday activities such as stringing popcorn and building a snowman.
The Special Christmas Edition includes holiday recipes, two Mouse Christmas carols, family activities, and a CD featuring a reading by Jason Alexander that can be used by teachers to plan activities for their students. Other If You Take a Mouse to the Movies elementary lesson plans include writing a popcorn story, identifying compound words, making a snowman glyph, and teaching kids how to sequence events.
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore illustrated by Jan Brett
In 2008 the classic Christmas poem The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore was released by Putnam Juvenile Publishers with illustrations by Jan Brett. This Tenth Anniversary Edition of Jan Brett’s version features a note from Jan Brett and a revamped cover. Kids enjoy reading the familiar poem while searching the illustrations for clues to the next page. Teachers can use the book to introduce kids to the famous poem and teach them how to use the pictures to make predictions about the story.
Teachers can plan Christmas themed lessons and activities using the list of the best Christmas books for elementary kids. After reading and completing the activities with students, teachers can use Easy Christmas Crafts for Primary Kids: How to Make Holiday Projects in the Elementary Classroom to plan a fun classroom Christmas party.
HOL 101
Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...
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