Teaching Science at Christmas
Some of us only have one week left of school! Some poor souls have over 2 weeks left! How ever long you have before the Christmas break it is worth remembering that there are still ways to encourage useful and deep learning, even when all the kids can think about is Santa!
Structured lessons can be really hard at Christmas time, but there are some ways to use the children's enthusiasm to keep learning on track. Science in particular is a great subject on which to put a Christmas spin! Here are some of my favourite ways to teach science at this time of year.
Can reindeer fly?
Use reindeer for a discussion on animals which fly and those that can't. Encourage them to look at weights and body mass of different animals and then to make comparison charts. Remember to conclude that Santa's Reindeer are magical so they defy the laws of physics!
What makes it snow?
Teach children about weather patterns and the changes required to make it snow. Then as a hands on experiment have them make their own snow! Check out this blog post here for info
Build a sleigh to hold the presents
A great hands on activity give children a set number of materials and challenge them to create a sleigh that would hold the most presents. Each student (or group of students) could create their own sleighs and test them against each other.
Track Santa's journey
Great for teaching children about travel and the geography of the world. Let children loose with maps and encourage them to decide on Santa's route. When they are done you can use the Offical Norad Santa tracker to track him online!
Let me know your own ideas!
If you would like some Science themed Christmas resources check out my Christmas Science Workbook.
If Science isn't your thing, grab your free Christmas Grammar Worksheet here
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