‘Tis the season to infuse holiday cheer into the classroom while keeping students engaged and active. All while probably being exhausted yourself. I mean, the end of the quarter/semester is always a busy time, but add in all the extra holiday events and activities in your personal life and it would come as no surprise if you are feeling like a zombie (coming from the woman who is on her third caffeinated beverage of the day).
However, keeping students engaged and actively learning can be as simple as printing a few pages and hanging them around your classroom for a scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt? Yep! And the best part? It’s a scavenger hunt that has students reading and comprehending nonfiction text. Keep reading to find out more!
Getting Prepared
You can have this activity ready to go for your students in less than 5 minutes! Simply print your directions/student mission page, story cards, and student answer sheets. Then, cut the story cards in half and hang them around the room. You can make them as visible or hidden as you would like, which is one of the reasons I love this activity – you can truly make it your own or change the way you play from year to year or class to class.
Options Galore
Another reason I love this activity so much is because of the options for differentiation. For starters, you can have students participate in the traditional or modified scavenger hunt. You can even have both versions going at the same time! Just make sure students know if they are looking for cards with 1 or 2 Christmas symbols in the top right corner. Let’s take a closer look at each scavenger hunt option.
The Traditional Hunt
The traditional scavenger hunt has 10 nonfiction text cards with a code word question on each card. However, to find the answer to the question on that card, students must visit and read the other text cards around the room to find their answer. Because of the format of this play option, students will need to visit and reread text cards multiple times (this is a great way of encouraging students to repeatedly go back to the text to find their answers just like they will need to on state testing). Once they find their answer, students record the code word next to the number where the code word question was found.
For example, let’s pretend the code word answer for card 1 is jingle. This answer was found in the text of card 5, but students need to record the word jingle next to the number 1 on their answer sheet.
Once students find all of their code words, they will need to unscramble the letters in the gray boxes on their answer sheet. This will give students their final mystery word which means they completed the mission.
The traditional scavenger hunt is best for most learners. However, if you have a student who for whatever reason is going to become frustrated, overwhelmed, or angry about having to visit cards multiple times to find their answer, I would use the modified hunt option.
The Modified Hunt
The modified hunt also has 10 nonfiction text cards with a code word question on them. However, unlike the traditional hunt, the code word question in the modified hunt corresponds with the text on that card. So, students will be looking for their answer within the paragraph they just read instead of traveling to other cards to try to find their answer.
Just like the traditional hunt, students record their answers on their answer sheet and unscramble the letters in the gray boxes to get their final mystery word and complete the mission.
The modified hunt is better for students who may have trouble holding onto the question they are trying to answer as they visit multiple cards. Use this hunt for students who might shut down or get angry if trying to participate in the traditional hunt.
The Answer Sheet
Along with two scavenger hunt options, you also get two answer sheet options for both the traditional and modified hunt.
The regular answer sheet gives students 12 letter spaces to record their answers. However, not all questions will use all 12 spaces.
The differentiated answer sheet shows students exactly how many letters their answer needs to be. The remaining boxes in the row are blacked out so students cannot write in them.
Extra Gifts from Santa
Sometimes we need resources that keep giving. They provide more meaningful learning opportunities for students and really help support students learning and background knowledge on topics. For this reason, I have extension activities included with the scavenger hunt.
Frayer Vocabulary Model
I would personally use this activity before students participate in the scavenger hunt. It will build their background knowledge and expose them to some of the vocabulary words they will encounter in the text of the scavenger hunt.
Venn Diagram
After completing the scavenger hunt, maybe you want students to compare the two types of Christmas trees people purchase. So, you can print off the full text from the scavenger hunt (2 pages long) and a Venn diagram so students can read through the text in order and then complete the Venn diagram.
Persuasive Writing Prompt
Have students persuade their audience to buy either an artificial or a real Christmas tree. I’ve included 3 different graphic organizers for each tree type (6 graphic organizers total) for students to plan their persuasive essay before writing their rough and final drafts.
Word Search
This is just a fun extra you can throw in for morning work or early finishers. It contains words from the scavenger hunt text.
Versatility
This resource isn’t just limited to one use. Whether it’s sub plans, holiday stations, partner activities, gallery walks, centers, or independent work, the reading scavenger hunt fits seamlessly into any classroom and can be used for a variety of purposes.
A Teacher’s Dream
Let’s face it, December is exhausting. However, this activity is a perfect gift to yourself. With the exception of pressing print and hanging up a few cards around the room, you don’t have to do any planning or excessive cutting and prepping for this activity. Plus, your administration can’t complain that you are letting your students participate in meaningless “fluff” activities right before break. This is an engaging, academic based activity to add to your plans during the last week before winter break or a handy option for substitute teacher plans during December.
Conclusion
In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, keeping students engaged can be a challenge. The Christmas-themed reading scavenger hunt is a gift that keeps on giving – delivering joy, excitement, and meaningful learning. You will not only be helping students strengthen their reading skills but also helping create lasting memories in the classroom. Plus it lightens your load with one less thing to plan!
