Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the Christmas Lesson Plan.

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Christmas, and supports the standard of examining holidays observed in different communities. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of  projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students: What are your favorite holiday traditions? Where do they come from? 

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read aloud the description on the Christmas topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding.
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “In Practice” or “Way Back When.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign Christmas Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about Christmas while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Create a documentary explaining the origins of different Christmas traditions. 
  • Make-a-Map: Make a concept map comparing and contrasting the ways that different groups of Christians celebrate Christmas. 
  • Creative Coding: Code a flag representing one of the ways people celebrate Christmas. 

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of culture with these topics: Religion, Winter Holidays, and Diwali

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments