Holiday Literacy Activities for the Whole Family!

Holiday Literacy Activities for the Whole Family!
Posted on 12/08/2022
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Try these simple, fun activities to inspire a love of literacy even through the holidays! They can be done at school or at home.



Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)

  • ❄ Write a Christmas list to send to Santa Claus or parents. Lists are a great writing brainstorming tool!
  • ❄ Have children write a letter to Santa’s elves telling them all about them selves and their families.
  • ❄ Write words in the snow! Get a can of artificial snow, spray it on a window, desk or cookie sheet, and let your child write seasonal messages in the snow. Don’t forget to practice O’Odham and Piipash words too!
  • ❄ Make playdough and use it to write letters words or symbols.
  • ❄ Share favorite family memories with your child by listening to a parent or a grandparent tell stories about their childhood holiday traditions. Also, include favorite stories or songs. Have your child share their favorite traditions, stories and songs with you.

Upper Elementary (Ages 8-12)

  • ❄ Research a holiday tradition from a different tribe or country and write about it.
  • ❄ Write thank you letters for gifts.
  • ❄ Make your favorite recipe together and practice reading the recipe.
  • ❄ Play board games that encourage conversation or require spelling words.
  • ❄ Create a list of holiday traditions unique to your family that can be re visited annually.
  • ❄ Have your child talk or write about one tradition that you would like to add, change or eliminate from your holiday traditions list.

Middle/High School (Ages 13+)

  • ❄ Write a holiday song/rap using at least one piece of figurative language (Figurative language gives you a picture or other senses beyond the definition of the word. Examples: “swimming in a sea of happiness” or “the house was as cold as an icebox”)
  • ❄ Write a holiday poem.

Other Ideas for the Whole Family

  • ❄ Look for holiday decorations around the school or as you drive through town with your child. Depending on the age of the child, you can do activities like ask what the beginning sound of the word is (wreath = /r/, tree = /t/, Christmas = /k/, etc.), how to spell it, what other words rhyme, or make up a story about the decoration.
  • ❄ Sing holiday songs with your child, and give them a copy of the lyrics to help them sing along. Singing in this way supports reading fluency.
  • ❄ Go on a "cooking" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with our reading adventure packs, which are designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: First or Second Grade).
  • Reading Rockets has developed a set of reading adventure packs to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books for Grades K-2. These are designed for parents to do at home with their children. There are packets on animals, environment, food, folktales, music, time, dinosaurs and many other topics.
  • ❄ Create family holiday break traditions of visiting a local museum, zoo, library, etc. and document your visit with pictures or journal entries. Day trips, vacations and special outings create special memories and great learning opportunities for families.

Here are some local events to consider attending as a family:

Sources

Holiday Literacy Activities page 1

Holiday Literacy Activities page 2
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