Those last few music classes before the holiday break can be difficult – kids are feeling distracted and excited, it’s not a great time to introduce new concepts, and you need something that can engage your kiddos while hopefully addressing at least a few curriculum expectations.
Here are some Christmas music activity ideas I’ve used to help get my music classes to the break as painlessly as possible.
Disney Christmas Karaoke
Years ago I bought a DVD I found in a discount bin. It had Christmas carols with words so you could sing along, but the best part was it had Disney cartoons to accompany each song. Unfortunately none of our computers at school have working DVD players anymore, but you can find most of the songs on YouTube. I’m always surprised at how many kiddos don’t know the words to popular carols – so this is a great opportunity to get in some singing that’s just for fun. This Christmas music activity has become a tradition in my classroom, to the point that even my 12 year olds will request it!
A Christmas Carol – Musical Versions
I’m a bit of a “A Christmas Carol” junkie. I think I’ve watched just about every film version that exists. The film version of the stage musical (by the same composer as The Little Mermaid) starring Kelsey Grammer is a lesser-known gem that I highly recommend for junior grades. The music is high quality with recurring themes and engaging melodies, but isn’t widely known so it’s likely your students will have never heard it before.
I made this “colour-along” Christmas music activity for my classes to use last year while watching the A Christmas Carol musical. For each song in the film, there is a coloring page worksheet that requires students to reflect on the music. I encouraged them to circle their answers while the song was playing, and then they could work on their colouring during the scenes so they didn’t feel rushed.
Christmas Music Activity: Truth or Dare
Music Truth or Dare is such a fun way of sneaking in some “trivia” (aka curriculum expectations) to a Christmas music activity while also giving them a chance to stretch their creative muscles.
Your class is split into two teams that compete against each other for points. One at a time, each player chooses a card and wins a point if they are able to complete the challenge.
The TRUTH cards ask students to answer trivia questions relating to Christmas music (song lyrics, name-the-song, etc), and includes blank cards to add your own review questions for whatever you’ve been working on.
The DARE cards challenge students to complete tasks that stretch their creative thinking, including improvisation, found-item sound exploration, etc, all within the theme of Christmas. DOUBLE-DARE cards pit the two teams against each other in a head-to-head competition of lyrical recall.
Holiday Film Scores
Film scores are a great way to help students understand how using specific musical elements (melody, timbre, dynamics, etc) can evoke certain ideas or feelings.
A few years ago, I created this mini-unit to explore exactly this topic. “What makes Christmas music SOUND like Christmas?”
The unit starts with lessons on the difference between soundtracks and film scores, tone colours, and other musical elements. Then students are ready to play the game!
In the final game, students will listen to music clips from a variety of Christmas movies while completing the “name that movie” chart. They’ll try to name each movie of course (which is the fun part) but can also demonstrate their understanding of the musical elements by describing the musical elements that they hear – even if they aren’t familiar with the movie.
Christmas Rhythm Activity Pack (Center or Digital)
This is a great Christmas music lesson plan to leave for a sub or to do yourself. My students love assembling the cube to roll to choose their own rhythms, and then write them on the composition sheet.
I’ve also included a digital copy of the activity so it can be used in the classroom as a digital center or assigned for remote learning.
I love this activity pack because it’s just so versatile for different classroom situations – including remote learning or homeschooling.
Christmas Carol Music Activity – Music Mystery
This Music Mystery series is a super engaging of reviewing basic music theory with your older elementary classes.
This Christmas music mystery activity starts out with a fun film noir style story featuring a kid detective. In order to solve the mystery, students must use their understanding of music theory (time signatures, rhythms, key signatures, etc) to analyze Christmas carols and reveal each clue.
It’s a fun and super easy addition to your Christmas lesson plans – just print and go!
The best part is that the activity itself is not specific to any holiday, so it’s very inclusive.
Music Gift Exchange Project
This is a fun way for music classes to do a “gift exchange” without needing to go shopping or even bring anything from home. It also satisfies a couple of music curriculum expectations, while having some holiday fun! (Plus you’re teaching a little retro music history.)
Students will draw a name (or have one assigned to them) and create their own “mixed tape” as a gift for them, using the planning sheet and templates. A rubric is included so that the project can be assessed if desired.
This project takes several class periods to complete, making it a perfect choice for that last week of school before the holidays.
Christmas Music Lesson Plans for Elementary Students – Rhythm Worksheets
These Christmas rhythm worksheets are low-prep and easy to use, with a fun Christmas theme. They are perfect for reviewing rhythm concepts (and can even generate a mark, if you need it) before the break.
- Primary Christmas rhythm version (perfect for grades 2 & 3)
- Junior / Middle school Christmas rhythms version (grades 4, 5, & 6)
Grab all these lessons together in the Christmas music bundle and save!
Click here for the music teacher’s Christmas survival kit.
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