Pairing Christmas and ELA

I have always believed in the importance of making my classroom feel warm, inviting, and homey. During the holiday season, a Christmas tree is essential. In the past, I have decorated the tree and not given the ornaments much thought. They matched my classroom decor and they were pretty. But this year, I wanted to try something different. I wanted to find a way to put my two loves together...Christmas and reading. So I created an ornament for my students to create that allowed them to suggest a book that they loved. The ornament included a student decorated book cover and a book recommendation / review on the back.

Here is one student's completed ornament:

Once students completed their ornaments, they placed them on our classroom tree. Here is our tree with all the student created ornaments.

Students will be able to take their ornaments home with them and place them on their family trees on the last day before Christmas break. Many of them have said they are excited to share them with their families.

If you are interested in doing this activity with your students, the free "Reading is a Gift" ornament can be found by clicking here.

Thanks everyone and breathe through the last few days before break!