Christmas Fun!

Objective & content

This activity sheet is a Christmas activity mat: four short word games on one page. Father Christmas greets pupils at the top ("Ho ho ho! Happy Christmas!") and tells them they only need a pencil. Pupils solve four riddles, find ten Christmas words in a word search, unscramble four words and shade a grid until a hidden picture appears. By the end, pupils read and write Christmas words (star, bell, card, candle, snowman, reindeer, stocking...) and understand short sentences with I'm and I've got ("I'm cold and white. I've got a carrot nose.").

Pedagogical guide

Task 1 is four "What am I?" riddles, each told by the thing itself in two short sentences. A box gives five words with their pictures (snowman, Christmas tree, reindeer, bell, star); one is not used, and pupils write the answer after "I'm a": a snowman, a Christmas tree, a reindeer, a bell. The star is never the answer: the bell is gold like the star, but "I go ding dong!" settles it. Task 2 is a word search with ten words hidden across, down and diagonally (star, bell, card, tree, cake, candle, present, snowman, reindeer, stocking); each word in the list has its picture. Task 3 shows four pictures with their letters in the wrong order (tars, ellb, ardc, ldneac), and pupils write star, bell, card and candle in the boxes. Task 4 is a grid of short words: pupils shade every square with a Christmas word (star, bell, tree, snow, card) and leave the others (cat, hat, cup, fish...). A star appears, and pupils complete "I can see a ...". Page 2 gives the answer key (the four riddles, the solved word search, the four words and the shaded grid) and the teacher notes.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Show the pictures on the sheet and say the Christmas words together.
2. (10 min) Task 1: read the riddles together; pupils find the word in the box and write it.
3. (10 min) Task 2: pupils find the ten words in the word search.
4. (5 min) Task 3: pupils unscramble the four words.
5. (10 min) Task 4: pupils shade the Christmas words and say what they can see: "I can see a star!"

Adaptations

[S] Read the riddles aloud together before pupils write the answers.

[A] Pupils write a Christmas riddle for a partner: "I'm ... I've got ..."

Materials & prerequisites

One copy per pupil of page 1, in colour or black and white. Pupils need only a pencil. Page 2 is the answer key with teacher notes: keep it. The sheet suits the last weeks before the Christmas holidays. Pupils should have met a few Christmas words; every word in the riddles, the word search and the unscramble comes with its picture.