Keep Your Classes Focused before Holidays

We know that it’s not easy to keep kids’ attention on studies just before holidays. Should you give in and just show movies, play games, and have parties those last few days? Not a great idea, because you don’t want to waste their time in the classroom. Perhaps you might structure some of your lessons with the holidays in mind. Think about engaging students in research about the origins of the upcoming holiday, creating a spreadsheet showing presents purchased with costs, writing holiday feel-good stories, creating holiday poetry in the foreign language they are studying, planning a project to help others—you’ll think of lots of other ideas. TeachHUB lists 10 Ways to Stay Focused Before Holiday Break that contains good advice for all of us. The list includes the topics: Stick to Your Structure; Plan and Engaging Project;  Keep Expectations High but Appropriate; Don’t Be a Grinch wit Classroom Decor; Add Holiday/Seasonal Cheer to Themed Lessons & Activities; Use Movement to Get Kids Focused; Keep Your Countdown Quiet; Spice Up Your Instructional Game; Dedicate Time to Short, Fun Activities; and Beat the Holiday Stress Through Efficiency.