Holiday Writing to Celebrate Global Traditions

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break can be torturous, and it can be really tempting to do some slacking when it comes to instruction…especially when it comes to writing.

It can be really tough to fit quality writing instruction into those busy weeks. However, holiday writing doesn't have to be fluff, and it doesn't have to be just letters to Santa either.

Today I want to share a fun way to connect reading, writing, and social studies into just a few short weeks of instruction.

How to use holiday writing activities to teach global traditions

Reframe your thinking about holiday writing.

Would you believe me if I told you my students spent a huge chunk of their time doing reading, writing, and research during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Despite all the special events that come up in December, building a fun holiday research project into the curriculum can keep students engaged until the last bell rings.

Here's the secret: POETRY! Creating our final products in the form poems gives a ton of flexibility and makes it simple to work on this project even on those days when the schedule is completely wonky.

Plus, I get to build in the social studies standards about comparing cultures and communities, which is a huge time saver. In the end, the kids learn about a variety of different winter holidays and create a super cute (and informative) tab book like the one below.

Getting started with holiday poetry writing

The project takes the entire three weeks to complete. There are a number of steps the students work through in order to create their poetry book including research and notetaking, drafting, revising, and publishing.

Researching Winter Holidays Around the World

We begin by researching several different winter holidays. This involves both the use of technology and our school library. Sometimes we even have guest speakers come to talk about their holiday traditions.

As they learn, the kids complete a note sheet during their research. I take the opportunity to teach note-taking skills that are so essential for research during this time because it makes things easier when we move on to larger research projects.

Winter Holiday Poetry PLanning Sheet holiday writing

As for which holidays we study, I tend to vary the options a bit from year to year depending on my class.

Most years I try to include Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Three Kings' Day, Kwanzaa, and Lunar New Year.

I selected these holidays because they cover the majority of the holidays my students celebrate. It also adds one or two holidays that the kids might not be familiar with, which is great for sparking discussions and learning about other cultures.

I love having such a diverse class because the students have a chance to share details about how their family celebrates the winter holidays, and it really builds that piece that allows students to feel like an expert.

Synthesizing the research to get brainstorming

After we finish the research portion, I like to give the students the opportunity to synthesize what they learned in preparation for writing our holiday poetry.

They brainstorm about nouns, verbs, and adjectives that are associated with the holiday. These are a HUGE help in making the poetry flow a little faster.

After the students brainstorm and get some of the pre-writing out of the way, we spend some time learning the different types of poetry.

I give them graphic organizers to write each poem because the scaffolding is really helpful for my struggling writers and is great for my advanced writers, too.

We pair each poem type with a winter holiday and use our notes to create a poem that really gives someone who doesn't know much about the holiday a picture of what the holiday is like.

I love that I get the opportunity to build in sensory language, types of poetry, and revising and editing all into this writing time.

From drafting to publishing

Finally, the students are ready to start creating their final drafts. This portion is where I get creative.

Sometimes my students make mini-books. Other times we create a paper poem quilt. Some years we make the poetry pockets. There are so many options that it is easy to differentiate! That is part of what I love.

To be honest, my favorite tends to be the tab book because it is so easy to organize. Plus, it is great for sharing during our winter poetry tea. We hold this annual celebration the same week as our holiday party. What can I say, we are gluttons for punishment!