Captivate Students This Season: 3 Easy Holiday Hacks

Keeping students focused can be quite a challenge, especially during the holiday season. It’s understandable that students become distracted by the overwhelming array of activities, from winter events to holiday festivities and preparations to welcome the new year.

Worry not! Here are three simple and easy-to-implement tips to keep students engaged during the holiday season:

• Spice Up Your Theme: It’s important to stick to the everyday routine as much as possible. Elif Buber (2023), a language and cultures teacher for 20 years, states, “Contrary to common belief, adhering to routines is far from being monotonous; it actively promotes engagement in learning, strengthens neural connections, and plays a pivotal role in shaping human behavior.” Using holiday-themed materials in class will add some joy and laughter into the school day without disrupting the normal routine. Try incorporating our “Snow that Glows” article in science class to inspire conversations about bioluminescence. And students will enjoy learning about different cultures and geography with our Christmas Around the World lesson plan.

• Gamification: Utilizing gamification by including interactive features truly captivates students in lessons. This approach not only captures their interest but also increases their motivation to learn. Add some competition to the class day by using the differentiated questions available for each article and see how attentive and engaged your students become. Similarly, inspire students to test their knowledge with News-O-Matic’s included games, designed to target vocabulary and logical reasoning while also making history fun!

• Get Creative: Adding fun projects into the classroom can channel students’ excess energy into creative outlets. Fun winter or holiday-themed projects or crafts can increase student collaboration without interrupting learning. Creating a calendar for the upcoming year is an enjoyable activity, and it provides an opportunity to incorporate social studies by highlighting significant historical events on the calendar.

Navigating the challenge of keeping students focused during the holiday season demands creativity and adaptability from educators. While the allure of festive activities can be distracting, leveraging interactive features and introducing fun projects can help teachers maintain engagement while also infusing a sense of excitement into the learning process. By incorporating holiday themes into the daily routine, educators can strike a balance between embracing the holiday spirit and ensuring a productive and enriching academic experience for their students.