If you would like to use my Christmas Books in your classroom or at home, you are welcome to purchase them in my TPT shop.

Click here to see my Christmas Books.

I also created a set of Christmas themed sight word poems for shared reading. I love to teach sight words in context, and these poems are perfect for that!

After learning our new Christmas themed poems, we put them together as a class in our pocket chart. I then transition the poems into the pocket chart center where the kids put the poem together independently!

Click here to see my Christmas Poems

One of my favorite books to read during the holiday season is Santa's Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene. This story tells about Santa getting stuck in a chimney on Christmas eve, and how the characters devise a plan to save him. After reading the story, we create this cute chimney craft with Santa stuck in it. We then write about the ways that we could get Santa out of the chimney. The kids get very creative with these, and they are so much fun to share when they are complete. This is the perfect book to use with problem/solution, sequencing, and more.

If you would like to get this template to use in your own classroom, click this link to go to my TPT store.

One of my favorite units to teach after Thanksgiving break is The Gingerbread Man. The kids love to read all of the different versions of the book, and I love that I can use this story to teach reading and math skills. Here are a few of the activities that my kiddos will complete during our Gingerbread study. These activities were created to supplement The Gingerbread Man book in its original form. 

After reading the story to the class, I give them each an emergent reader form of the book. It has the same sequence of the original story, but it is simple and predictable for new readers.

After reading the emergent reader together a few times, the kiddos complete this story sequencing activity. They cut out and glue the characters in order, matching the sequence of the story.

My kids love surveys! The students will survey their classmates by asking them if they liked the way the story ended. They love to walk around the classroom with their clipboards, letting their friends sign their name beneath the yes or no heading.

We will practice color words by coloring the gingerbread men the correct color. Kindergarten students feel successful using this predictable text format.

Roll and Color is always a popular game. I modified the game to use with our gingerbread unit. 

We will use this song during shared reading. It is sung to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot.

We will create these Gingerbread Men (or Girls) to decorate our classroom with. Students write the missing word to match the words in the book.

We will create these story hats to use to act out the story. Students will choose which character they want to be.

We will also complete many more literacy and math activities using the Gingerbread Man Theme. If you would like to use these activities in your classroom, they are available in my TPT store for only 1.00 (Dollar Deal).

Roll It! Trace It!-Students roll two dice, and trace the number that they rolled. They can play against a partner or alone. This is perfect for number recognition and number formation.

Roll, Find, and Color-Students roll two dice, find the number, and color it. Students can play against a partner or alone. This is perfect for number recognition and counting.

Roll It! Cover It!-Students play against a partner. They take turns rolling two dice, finding the number, and covering it. The first person to have all numbers covered is the winner!

Roll & Write-Students roll one die, and write the number that they rolled. The first person to fill a column (or more than one) is the winner.

Roll It, Color It! Students practice counting during this game. They roll one die and color that many squares. They play against a partner. The first person to color all squares is the winner!

During this game, students try to be the first person to take away all of their counters. They roll one die, and then take away counters equal to the number they rolled. The first person to have all counters taken away is the winner.

Which Number is Largest?-Students play against a partner. Students each roll one die, and the person that has the largest number colors in a block. The first person to have all blocks colored in is the winner.

Roll and Move-Students try to be the first person to make it all away around the board by rolling one die, and counting the correct number of spaces.

Number of the Day-Your students can practice recognizing a specific number of the day. They roll one die. If they land on the number of the day, they color in a bear. The first person to have all bears colored in is the winner.

My Number is Greater!-Students play with a partner. They each get one die. They each roll their die, and the person with the highest number on their die gets to color in a square. The first person to have all squares colored in is the winner.

Fill It Up-Students race to fill up a cup. They play against a partner. Each student rolls one die and places that number of counters in a cup. The first person to fill their cup is the winner.

You can get my dice games for your own classroom here!