Keep Students Engaged During the Holidays: A Guide to Surviving December in the Classroom

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December - by far - has to be the most challenging month as a teacher.

From early elementary to high school, teachers are hanging on by a thread.

This time of year is BUSY! Not only is there all the hustle and bustle outside of the classroom that we are all trying to keep up with, but there’s also so much going on in our schools as well!  Practices for holiday performances, special events and projects, and don’t forget about the holiday party!

It may seem that, with all that’s happening, this would be enough to keep our students engaged and motivated up to the very last moment before the holiday break…

Nope, not really.

With the upcoming break - and just the lull of being in the midst of winter - students seem more unmotivated than ever. 

So how do you keep your students motivated during the holiday season without overwhelming yourself? 

Using the Daily 5 framework to structure my literacy block has been a game-changer in keeping my students motivated, but it’s also been my secret weapon to keep my students motivated through the holiday season as well! (New to the Daily 5? You can order a copy of the book HERE!)

Let’s explore some ways to reignite your student’s motivation and engagement to help you survive December with your sanity intact! 

The Challenge to Keeping Students Engaged During the Holidays

December poses so unique challenges for teachers. 

Not only are teachers juggling lesson planning, curriculum pacing, and assessments…but we also have to navigate all the holiday festivities!

On top of that, students are distracted and less engaged.

And it’s difficult to decide which fire to put out first. 

Do you stick with easy or no-prep activities that might not be as engaging but they save your sanity? 

Or do you work on keeping your students engaged with over-the-top activities, but feel so burned out and overwhelmed that by the time that the holiday break comes, you spend most of the time recovering rather than actually enjoying it? 

Work on Writing was usually where I could judge my students’ level of engagement and motivation, and it was the area that I struggled the most with keeping students motivated during the holiday season. 

And I know that keeping students motivated is usually at the forefront of teachers’ minds because when students aren’t motivated during the holiday season (or any time of year really), it can lead to classroom disruptions and a decrease in productivity, making it harder for everyone to enjoy the holiday season.

BUT, this doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice your sanity! 

With the right strategies and tools, you can keep your students motivated and engaged during the holiday season without losing your mind!

Practical Ways to Motivate Students in December

Here’s the thing that I found about keeping my students (including my most reluctant and avoidant writers) motivated throughout the holiday season during Work on Writing time…

It was simpler than I thought.

For so long I thought that I needed to find outlandish, one-off activities to ensure that my students were actually writing…

(OMG…putting together these activities is SO time-consuming!)

But what it really came down to was tuning into what I already knew about keeping students motivated (voice and choice, routines) and just adding a little holiday flair!

Bring in Fun Holiday Writing Activities

Like it or not, we have to address the upcoming holiday.

I get it - sometimes we feel like “ignoring” the holiday will keep students focused and less likely to go on a tangent about what they asked Santa to bring them for Christmas…

AND we can’t forget the ever-looming curricular demands…

But sprinkling in just enough holiday flair will go a long way in keeping your students motivated during the holiday, such as keeping a journal about what your classroom elf has been up to.  (My students LOVED keeping a daily journal documenting our elf’s antics - and you can download the journal HERE!)

Now, I’m not saying you need to push aside your curriculum for only holiday-themed writing tasks, what I’m saying is finding places to bring in just a touch of festiveness to what you are already doing.  For example, for Work on Writing, I found that providing my students with Writing Prompts kept my students engaged.  

So, for the month of December, I made sure to add in some fun, holiday-themed writing prompts.  These prompts ranged from writing Christmas lists to writing holiday-themed stories about what’s happening up at the North Pole. 

This small tweak tapped into the festiveness of the season just enough to boost creativity and excitement. 

Use Voice and Choice to Spark Engagement

Here’s why providing voice and choice matters…

By building opportunities for my students to make choices, that choice increased my student’s buy-in and also their motivation, even for the most reluctant of writers.  And I found this to be true in my kindergarten, first-grade, and fifth-grade classrooms. 

Providing choice works!

But, it has to be choices that don’t take away from the activity or make a bunch more work for yourself. 

To keep my students motivated during the holiday season, I would provide older students with a choice in writing prompts that I would have posted on our daily slides my students referred to during Work on Writing.  That way, they could choose a prompt that they felt they could confidently write about for a sustained period of time. 

For my youngest learners, I would provide them choice in how they presented their work.  This could look like them choosing the holiday-themed writing paper they would be writing on or if they wanted to draw a picture to go with it or not. 

Simplify with Easy, Low-Prep Routines 

When thinking about all the fun, Pinterest-worthy holiday classroom activities…

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

If you do, more power to you! But for the rest of us, it can feel like we don’t even have enough time for the things we have to do.  

Which is why keeping things super simple during the holiday season is a must for teachers.  Here are my go-to ways to keep things super simple without sacrificing engagement: 

  • Simplify creating writing prompts by refreshing your student’s favorites with a few small tweaks.

  • Avoid over-grading.  Not EVERYTHING has to be graded.  This takes the stress off of you and your students.  (Pro Tip: If you feel the need to “check off” their writing tasks, add in a simple partner share out at the end of your Daily 5 time). 

Keeping it simple goes a long way with our stress level, which helps us be more present and able to enjoy the holiday season with our students.

Take Action to Survive December with Ease

Incorporating these strategies will go a long way in keeping your students motivated and engaged during this upcoming holiday season.

AND it will go a long way in helping you manage your stress level!

In the spirit of the season, make sure you get yourself a gift this holiday season…

Check out my zero-prep writing prompts! With differentiated grade level prompts - for grades K through 5 - for the entire month of December  (and corresponding print-and-go-writing pages) it’ll make sprinkling in some seasonal flair while keeping your students motivated a breeze!

Tips for Engagement Through Differentiation

Differentiating tasks can also go a long way in keeping students motivated during the holiday season.

But, this “Goldilocks” approach to activities can be time-consuming.

Check out this video for my best (and easiest) tips for differentiating writing

CLICK HERE to check out this video!