In a recent post we discussed some the best books for kids over Christmas, but now it’s time to turn our attention to the digital. With so many sensational sites turning festive, even Santa would struggle to find the best, so here are five of our favourites!
1. Christmas Around the World
This lovely website allows children to learn about the different cultural traditions carried out at this time of year all around the world. With eight countries to choose from, it could be the perfect starting point for a class project where students are divided into groups and use the site to research what Christmas is like in a different country. Then they could create group presentations to feed back what they have learned to the rest of the class.
2. Ultimate Winter Resources for Teachers
This great website has EdTech Christmas all wrapped up! From lesson plans to book activities, craft projects to eBooks, there is a whole host of downloadable material for teachers to use with their students all winter long. Resources are divided into different themes like ‘Snowy Unit’, ‘Penguin Unit’ and (my personal favourite) ‘Reindeer Unit’, with each unit containing facts and figures, classroom activities, quizzes and even recipes! Ideal for teachers looking for a different seasonal topic to focus on each week in the run up to Christmas!
3. Winter Madlibs!
These fantastic and hilarious worksheets give the traditional game of Madlibs a seasonal twist, with examples on snowstorms and skates! Disperse them throughout the class to help with mastering descriptive techniques and parts of speech and enjoy the hilarity of reading the final results aloud. There could be a Christmassy reward for the most silly, funny or descriptive!
4. Norad Tracks Santa
A firm seasonal favourite, and deservingly so, this brilliant website allows children to track Santa’s progress around the world on Christmas eve by following his journey using live maps and updates. But it’s not just useful on December 24th – it also contains lots of exciting and educational activities to enjoy in the run up to the big day, with Christmas carols, games and educational puzzles. Can you light up the Christmas tree by connecting all the wires and light bulbs to the electrical source? Puzzles come in four difficulty settings, making it a great, versatile site to use with students of a wide range of ages.
5. NorthPole.com
This great site is packed with fun and festive activities for kids to unwrap. From writing their own personalised Santa letter to creating their own magical Christmas story, there is plenty here to entertain and amuse children of all ages. Whether you’re a tired teacher looking for an online treat towards the end of term or a stressed-out parent needing a few extra minutes to finish off the wrapping, this site will keep them occupied for hours!
Do you have favourite Christmas resources to use with students? What educational Christmas websites do you find engage and excite eager learners? Let us know in the comments below!
Image 1 courtesy of Flickr, scottfeldstein. Image 2 courtesy of Flickr, fsse8info.