Lesson length : 40 to 50 minutes
Class size : Small Group class
Preparation time : 5 minutes to prepare “Christmas Card Push”, 30-50 minutes to prepare “Christmas Tree Balance”,5 minutes to prepare “Pictionary on Heads” game, 20 – 60 minutes to prepare the “Christmas Card Slam” game (Depending on the level of detail), 5 – 10 minutes to prepare the materials for each “Candy Cane Mice”, and 5 minutes to prepare the “Candy Cane Slide and Drop” game, and flashcards.
Materials :
- For “Christmas Card Push” : A Christmas card for each student
- For “Christmas tree Balance” : A small Christmas tree, made by cutting two tree shapes into cardboard and gluing them perpendicular at the centre, and with a v shaped groove at the top to balance a stick, as in the picture to the right; a stick to balance over the top of the tree; different sized decorations to hook onto the stick (If none are available, they can be made with elastic bands stuck to decoration-shaped cardboard)
- For “Pictionary on Heads” game : A small whiteboard; markers (or if these aren’t available, white paper, and pencils, with a light book to support the paper work just as well)
- For “Christmas Card Slam” : Target made from a large sheet of cardboard with slits cut into it; alphabet letters *preferably made from foam
- For the “Candy Cane Mice” : Candy Cane Mice template; peper; pencils; different colour felt; scissors; craft glue; candy canes
- For “Candy Cane Slide and Drop” : 3 Candy canes for each team; a long piece of string for each team; three plastic bottles with their caps removed for each team
Two “Christmas Tree Balance” games have been prepared above
Instructions :
1. For a short warm up game, play a game of “Christmas Card Push” : This game plays similarly to “Card Push”. Give each student a Christmas card. Have students place their cards on the table in such a way that the fold at the centre of the card is facing upward. Their first objective is to blow the card to the edge of the table, without it falling over. Once at the edge, they must attempt to blow the card so that one side of it falls over the edge, but the other side remains on the table, perfectly balanced over the edge of the table without falling over.
* For the original rules of “Card Push”, left-click the button below.
* For an alternative warm up, teachers may wish to play “Christmas Tree Balance” instead : Divide the class into two teams. Give a cardboard tree with a stick on top to each team. Each turn a student from each team takes a decoration and tries to balance it on the stick. If the stick tips and falls off the tree, the team loses.
2. Next brainstorm Christmas related vocabulary with the class and introduce new words.
3. Play a game of “Pictionary on Heads”, a variation of “Picture Guess” to practice the new words : Split classes into teams and secretly give one member of each team a flashcard. Once they have seen the vocabulary of the card, they must recreate the picture over their heads with a small whiteboard and marker pen, or if these are unavailable, white paper with a thick book underneath for support, and a pencil. Give students 20 seconds to draw their pictures. They then present their pictures to the class. If their teammates guess their team’s picture before the other team, they score a point. Let all students have a go at drawing, then count the points to determine the winner.
* For the original rules of “Picture Guess”, left-click the button below.
We played a game of “Pictionary on Heads” in our online Christmas lesson. A short clip can be viewed in the video above.
4. If the class is an excitable group, teachers should definitely try a Christmas-themed “Card Slam” : Divide the class into two teams. Scatter foam letters across the floor and place the target at the back of the room. Each turn, choose a player from each team and call out Christmas word. Players must find and grab all letters from the floor that make up that word. If the letters they have chose are correct, they may use them to throw at the target for points. If any of the letters are incorrect, they must put it back on the floor along with one of the correct letters they grabbed. Once both players have thrown, it is the turn of the next students. Play as many rounds as time permits, then count the scores to determine the winning team.
* For the original rules of “Card Slam”, left-click the button below.
5. Make “Candy Cane Mice” with the class : Follow the instructions to making “Candy Cane mice” by left-clicking the link to the website below.
Https://www.marthastewart.com/273608/candy-cane-mice
6. If there is still time at the end of class, play a game of “Candy Cane Slide and Drop” : Instructions can be accessed by left-clicking the button below.