December Teaching Ideas: A Planning Guide for Elementary Teachers

December is the most chaotic month on the school calendar… And the one where student engagement is both highest and most fragile. Holiday excitement, end-of-semester pressure, winter performances, and classroom parties all compete for the same instructional time. The teachers who finish December well are the ones who plan deliberately rather than just surviving until break.

A festive image featuring December teaching ideas: planning, activities & classroom inspiration. Includes a small decorated Christmas tree, books, colorful pencils in a holder, and a sign that says Joy Peace Learn.

This guide covers every key date worth planning around in December, classroom activity ideas that hold instructional ground while honoring the excitement in the room, and ready-to-use resources for every week of the month.

Key Dates to Plan for in December

  • Hanukkah — Dates vary (typically late November or December)
  • Winter break begins — Varies by district, usually mid-to-late December
  • Christmas — December 25
  • Kwanzaa — December 26–January 1
  • Holiday concerts, parties, and assemblies — Usually the week before break

Holidays Around the World — The Best December Anchor Unit

A December holidays research project — covering Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah — is one of the most naturally differentiated units of the year. Every student brings prior knowledge. Every student can learn something new. And the informational writing component is rigorous regardless of the holiday focus.

Horrible Harry and the Holidaze is one of the strongest read-aloud anchors for this unit — it introduces all three December holidays through a classroom story that students find genuinely engaging. Pair it with the research project for a two-week unit that covers nonfiction reading, research skills, and informational writing.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah instruction works best when it’s integrated into your regular reading and writing block rather than treated as a standalone craft day. Reading passages, poetry writing, and research activities give students genuine understanding of the holiday’s history and traditions — not just surface-level awareness.

Christmas Read Alouds & Novel Studies

December is one of the best months of the year to launch a novel study — students are motivated to read, and the right Christmas or winter chapter book gives you built-in engagement through the last day before break.

December Writing: Keeping the Bar (& the Fun) High

December is not the time to abandon writing instruction — it’s the time to use high-engagement prompts that students actually want to finish. Opinion writing with a holiday hook keeps the instructional momentum going right up to break, and the finished products make excellent bulletin board displays for parent events.

Winter Read Alouds for Lower Elementary

Classic winter picture books give you a natural shared reading anchor for the weeks before break — and the best ones have enough instructional depth for real comprehension and writing work.

Student Gifts That Don’t Break the Bank

If you give student gifts at the holidays, keeping it simple and meaningful is the goal. See the full guide for ideas that are low-cost, easy to assemble, and genuinely appreciated:

→ Simple Student Gifts That Won’t Break the Bank This Winter

December Math: Holding Ground Through the Break

December is not the time for new math instruction. It is the perfect time for review that keeps skills warm without requiring heavy teaching. Winter-themed word problems give students a familiar daily routine right through the last week of school.

December Sub Plans… Snow Days and Holiday Chaos

December brings snow days, holiday performances, and end-of-semester chaos. Having a sub plan ready for every grade means you can take an unexpected absence — or a planned event — without scrambling. These are also perfect snow day packets to leave with the office.

Planning the Return from Winter Break

The week before break is for winding down. The week after break is for rebuilding. Both deserve intentional planning — the re-entry week after winter break is one of the hardest instructional weeks of the year, and having a plan for it before you leave makes January much easier.

→ Rebuilding Classroom Community After Winter Break — A full guide to re-entry week strategies that get students back into learning mode quickly

Tips for Finishing December Strong

Hold the routine as long as possible. The temptation is to loosen structure as break approaches, but students do better — and behave better — when the daily routine stays predictable. Morning warm-up, read aloud, writing block — keep those in place through the last day. The holiday activities can live within the routine, not replace it.

Plan your holiday party deliberately. The worst classroom holiday parties are the ones that happen by default — no plan, no structure, thirty students with sugar. A 45-minute party with a clear schedule (craft, game, food) runs smoothly. An open-ended afternoon doesn’t.

Leave school ready for January. Before you walk out for break, have your first week of January planned. Coming back to a blank plan book makes the January slump worse. Coming back to a full first week makes the re-entry feel manageable.

December is a great time for student-led reflection. End-of-semester reflection writing, goal-setting for the new year, and portfolio reviews all fit naturally into the last two weeks of December and set students up for a purposeful January.

Looking for ideas across the whole school year? Head back to the Elementary Teacher Planning Calendar for monthly planning guides from August through summer.

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