I love integrating holidays into my teaching, but my admin has always been big on not using “fluff” activities. So when I’m planning math lessons for December, I’m all about using resources that hit the standards but are still fun for students. Today I’m sharing some of my favorite Christmas math activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders that are rigorous but still bring that holiday cheer!
Christmas Color by Number Worksheets
Math color by code worksheets are always a hit! Students practice the same content as they would with an ordinary worksheet, but with fun coloring activities to complete.
These no-prep activities are such an engaging way to help students review factors and multiples, multiplication, and division. I love these for spiral review of content that they learned earlier in the year.
These are also really nice if you have a substitute at the last minute or your math lesson finishes earlier than expected.
Find these Christmas color by number worksheets here.
Christmas Multistep Word Problem Task Cards
Multistep word problems are something we need to practice all year long! Using holiday-themed activities makes it engaging for students to practice solving two-step word problems.
These word problem task cards feature festive real-world scenarios for different winter holidays.
Find these holiday multistep word problem task cards here.
Christmas Decimals Activities
Another standard I like to review throughout the year is comparing and ordering decimals. These activities make it fun to review decimals all December long, and they’re great for a fun partner activity or math station.
Find these Christmas decimals activities here.
Hands-on Christmas Geometry Activities
December is also a great time to review previously taught skills before teaching a geometry unit in the spring.
Students can build 2D and 3D figures with a handful of gumdrops or colorful marshmallows and a few toothpicks.
Christmas-themed geometric transformations also hit the standards and are lots of fun!
Christmas Menu Planning
I’m always looking for ways to connect to math in the real world. An engaging and easy way to do that is by giving students grocery store flyers and having them budget for a Christmas dinner. And for students who need more of a challenge, you can incorporate discounts, too.
You can also do this with toys, books, and gifts, holiday decorations, and making travel plans.
There are plenty of ways to integrate Christmas into your math workshop without getting behind on your pacing guide. I hope these activities give you an idea of how you can use fun Christmas math activities in your classroom without losing the rigor!
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