December can be a challenging time to keep students focused on grammar practice. These Christmas grammar activities bring a little holiday fun into your ELA lessons while reviewing important skills. From hands-on activities to printable worksheets, these ideas help students practice grammar without adding hours to your planning. They’re also easy to work into your December schedule.
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1. The Runaway Christmas Ornament: A Preposition Activity
Get students moving while practicing prepositional phrases with this hands-on Christmas grammar activity! Students create a lightweight ornament and follow its journey around the classroom. As the ornaments travel, students build sentences by adding prepositional phrases describing each movement.
Materials Needed
- Green colored paper (tissue paper also works)
- Red washi tape (or ribbon)
- Pipe cleaners
- Recording paper
- Pencils
Directions:
- Give each student a pipe cleaner cut in half
- Have students create a “hook”
- Next students tightly crumple a paper around the pipe cleaner (this helps the pipe cleaner stay in place)
- Lastly students wrap the washi tape around the ornament to look like ribbon and help secure the sphere and pipe cleaner
Short on time? You can skip the craft and grab a set of plastic ornaments instead. They’re shatterproof, so they won’t break when they roll off a desk or bump into a chair leg. I tested them myself, and they held up just fine!
Activity Directions
- Give students the sentence starter: The ornament rolled…
- Students gently roll their ornaments and record a prepositional phrase describing the movement.
- They gently nudge their ornaments with their feet to continue the journey.
- After each movement, students add another prepositional phrase to their growing sentences.
For example:
The ornament rolled off the desk, across the floor, under a chair, past the bookshelf, and into the corner.
Challenge students to include at least five prepositional phrases while keeping their sentences logical and grammatically correct.
Teacher Tip: Establish boundaries before starting. Have students record each phrase before moving their ornaments again.
Want a free template? Grab it by clicking the image below.
(I kindly ask that you use it for your classroom, but please do not repost the image on the internet.)
Another Option:
For a quieter activity, have students imagine a gingerbread man running through the classroom. Students create a sentence describing his journey, adding prepositional phrases as he travels.
For example:
The gingerbread man ran out the door, down the hallway, past the library, and into the cafeteria.
Challenge students to see how many prepositional phrases they can include while keeping their sentences logical. (Template included in the rollaway ornament.)
2. Candy Cane Commas: A Christmas Punctuation Activity
A candy cane can look like a comma. This hands-on Christmas grammar activity uses that to help students practice punctuation. Students place small candy canes where the commas belong, then check their work.
Materials Needed
- Mini candy canes (wrapped) or small printed candy cane cutouts
- Mike and Ike Merry Mix candies (optional)
- Sentences with the commas left out, printed large with extra space between words (sentence strips or one sentence per page) or comma task cards
- Sheet protectors or a binder (optional)
- Answer key
- Pencils
Directions
- Give each student or group a handful of mini candy canes or printed candy cane cutouts.
- Give students sentences with the commas missing.
- Students read each sentence and place a candy cane wherever a comma belongs.
- Students check their work with the answer key.
- Students rewrite each sentence with the commas in the correct places.
For example:
Santa packed toys games books and candy into his sleigh.
Santa packed toys, games, books, and candy into his sleigh.
Want to make it more challenging? Add sentences with introductory words (Yes, we can bake cookies today.) or dialogue. For dialogue, students use two candy canes at the top of the line as quotation marks.
No candy canes? Red and green Mike and Ike Merry Mix candies make great commas too.
Teacher Tip: Slip the sentences into sheet protectors so you can use them again and again. They’re perfect for literacy centers! You can also keep them in a binder so students can flip through them at a center.
If you’d rather skip writing your own sentences, these comma work mats are ready to go. They work perfectly with candy canes or any other holiday candy.
Another Option:
For a whole-class version, write sentences on sentence strips and place them in a pocket chart. Students take turns coming up and placing regular-size candy canes where the commas belong. It’s a fun way to model the activity before students try it on their own.
3. Christmas Grammar Worksheets for 4th and 5th Grade
Christmas grammar worksheets can come in handy during those busy weeks leading up to winter break. They give students opportunities to review familiar skills while working independently.
One way to use them is to set up grammar stations. Assign a different skill to each station and have students rotate through the activities. You can also use individual pages for morning work, quick reviews, or early finishers.
This Christmas Grammar Packet includes 10 activities covering sentence structures, conjunctions, verb tenses, possessive nouns, and other grammar skills.
Frequently Asked Questions about Christmas Grammar Activities
How do I keep Christmas grammar activities from turning into chaos?
Set clear expectations before anything moves. Mark off where students can go, keep each round short, and have students write their answer before they take another turn. That last part matters most, because it keeps the focus on the grammar and not just the fun. A quick exit ticket at the end, like one sentence using what they practiced, shows you who actually got it.
What grammar skills should 4th and 5th graders review in December?
December is better for review than for teaching something brand new. Prepositional phrases are part of the 4th grade standards. Commas in a series and commas after introductory words are part of the 5th grade standards. Verb tenses, conjunctions, and possessive nouns are also worth a quick look before winter break, so students come back in January still remembering them.
What if students have food allergies or can’t have candy?
You don’t need students to eat anything for candy-themed grammar activities to work. Keep the candy wrapped and use it only as a game piece. Printed candy canes or paper cutouts work just as well. It’s a good idea to check your school’s policy on food in the classroom before you start.
Can I use these Christmas grammar activities with 3rd graders?
Yes! Give 3rd graders a prepositions word bank, and ask for three prepositional phrases instead of five. For comma practice, start with sentences that list three items before you add introductory words or dialogue.
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