Middle School Kids? 12 Christmas Language Arts Activities Just for Them

December is a great time to switch up your regular language arts curriculum with some Christmas-themed fun.

Throw some Christmas magic into a writing assignment and turn even your reluctant writers into kiddos who look anticipate language arts each day.

When my daughter was in fourth grade, I discovered this little trick. And, oh boy, was she a reluctant writer. (Truth be told, it’s still her least favorite subject.) Long after the magical Santa years, Christmas writing & other language arts activities kept her interest.

We also spend the month reading Christmas books. I let them choose — Christmas storybooks, chapter books, cookbooks, vintage catalogs. Besides adding variety to their days, it’s a great way to explore & read different formats.

Christmasy Language Arts Fun

1. Write step-by-step directions for building a snowman, decorating a Christmas tree, etc.
   
2. Write a comparative essay between winter and another season. Make it a persuasive essay by having your student write a “why winter is the best (worst) season”.
   
3. Write an essay on “Where you would rather winter—Canada or Australia?”
   
4. Take a beloved childhood story to the next level with this analysis and element activity on How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
   
5. Have your child read (or read together) this collection of winter poems. {Click on the titles to view the full poem.}
   
6. As part of a northern lights study one year, Elizabeth created a travel brochure for the aurora borealis. She had to include information about when to travel and how to get there, the best places (countries) to view them, and a persuasive paragraph on why they should be on everyone’s bucket list.
   
7. Remember that reluctant writer I mentioned?  Elf for Hire  so delighted her, she completed it three times!
   
8. This 15×15 Christmas-themed crossword puzzle would be a nice challenge.  Something about the crossword puzzles challenges makes my middle schooler in a way I didn’t expect.
   
9.  Flip the switch. Challenge your kiddo to approach their favorite Christmas story or movie…and then rewrite it from another point of view.  This can be as simple as a short paragraph-long summary to a more complex project of writing part of a script.
   
10. Combine that assignment with this web quest to learn more about Charles Dickens in this author study & analysis.
    
11. I often use writing prompts as timed writing with the explicit instructions — just write. Forget about spelling, grammar, etc. (This frees up the brain to focus on being creative.) There are more writing prompts out there than you could ever use!  For a sampling: Christmas Writing Prompts, Writing Choices, Interactive Writing Prompts
    
12. A real Christmas tree or an artificial one?  Growing up, we had one of each but now we’re an artificial tree family.  The Great Tree Debate will have your young teen delve into the debate to decide which is best. (Depending on your kiddo, ask them which they prefer — then make them argue the other side!)