Holiday Activities and Freebies!
December is a short but exciting month in the first grade classroom! With all of the holiday excitement in the air, it can be tempting to let some learning routines slide during the weeks leading up to the holiday break. However, first graders thrive on routine, so it’s a good idea to rely on familiar activities like homework! In this post, I’m going to share some tips and ideas to keep December homework for first grade up and running.
By December, first graders have learned so many new literacy and math concepts! As winter break approaches, it’s helpful to review as many of these concepts as possible so students can keep their skills sharp while they’re away from school.
When planning homework for first graders, it can be difficult to narrow down the skills to focus on because they have been learning so many new skills! Here are some of the things that I like to include in a first grade homework routine for December.
As first graders become more confident and fluent readers, it’s important to continue to practice phonics patterns regularly. Homework can provide many opportunities for students to keep their phonics knowledge sharp! Not only does this help students decode more fluently, but it also helps them with spelling.
This consonant blends practice is a great example of how you can include phonics practice in a homework routine. In this holiday cookies and milk activity, students will say the picture on each glass of milk and listen for the consonant blend at the beginning of the word. Once they’ve identified the blend, they will color the cookie that has the letters of the blend written on it. They can then use their phonics skills to spell the entire word and write it on the line provided.
In addition to phonics, it’s also helpful to include grammar review in your homework routine! There are so many different grammar skills that first graders have been working on during the first half of the school year. It’s a good idea to review some of those grammar concepts with literacy homework assignments.
For example, this Christmas lights activity is a fun way for students to review parts of speech! Each light has a different noun written on it. Students will decode each word and then decide if it is a person, place, thing, or animal. They will color each Christmas light according to the code. For additional writing practice, students can also sort the noun types by writing them in the columns provided.
As students grow more confident in their writing, it’s a good idea to give them plenty of practice so they can continue to increase their stamina for writing sentences. Consistent writing practice allows students to master sentence conventions like punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
This holiday-themed sentence scramble is a fun way for students to practice writing during their homework routine. Each Christmas train car includes a word that belongs in the sentence. There is also a picture that students can use as a clue for the topic of the sentence. They will put the scrambled words into a complete sentence, using their knowledge of conventions and punctuation to help them put the words in order. This would be a fun worksheet to send home during a Polar Express thematic unit!
In addition to literacy activities, your homework routine can also include important math practice! Homework is an excellent way to help students get the repetition they need with addition and subtraction to build their math fluency.
This gingerbread-themed activity is a great example of activity that can give students plenty of repetition in an engaging way. Students help the gingerbread man navigate to the gingerbread house by checking addition and subtraction sentences. They will color the true sentences one at a time to create the path the gingerbread man will take home.
It’s never too late to help students review number sense concepts! A strong foundation of number sense will help your first graders in future math instruction. You can incorporate this review into your homework routine using engaging activities.
This number sense activity gives students the chance to review the concept of even and odd numbers. Plus, it also includes review for addition and subtraction. Students will solve each equation and then decide if the answer is even or odd. Once they have sorted all of the math equations, they can attach them to the page.
An easy way to make homework more engaging for students is to include holiday-themed activities. First graders are always excited for the holiday season, so it’s a good idea to give them a way to channel some of that energy into meaningful activities.
This Christmas lights activity is a fun way for students to practice addition with three numbers. They can color the string of lights with three colors to model the addition equation, then write the total number of lights that they colored. This festive, colorful activity is just one way that you can motivate students to practice important concepts at home.
I know how busy December can be in the classroom, so I’ve put together a resource that can save you some planning time! This printable December homework for first grade is full of activities that you can send home with your students. This engaging literacy and math practice will help your students sharpen their skills before the long winter break.
If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this resource, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or in my TPT store.
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite board of first grade teaching ideas. You’ll be able to quickly find this post when you’re working on your December lesson plans.
