Here are some great projects to keep your students tech-involved over the holidays. They take lots of critical thinking, problem-solving, and are worth the effort! Let me know how these go:
Create a word cloud of holiday-themed words in Tagxedo, Tagul, or Wordle. Link goes to a how-to using Tagxedo.
How to make a holiday newsletter in a desktop publishing program like Publisher. Time required: 30 minutes.
Make a Holiday Card or Write a Letter to Santa
Have students practice writing skills with a holiday card or a Dear Santa letter. Uses Word, KidPix, but can be adjusted for other word processing programs or drawing programs. Time required: 30 minutes
OR
Create a holiday card in a desktop publishing program. It’s easy in Publisher, but can be adjust for other DTP with card templates. If students created holiday cards in a drawing program last year, this is a fresh approach that will teach them new programs and skills. Time: 10 minutes-20 minutes
Create a festive holiday flier to announce a school concert, party, or Christmas celebration. Time required: 15 minutes
This book has 16 projects that can be adjusted to any holiday. Special holiday pricing (66% discount taken when you click ‘buy’)
A Holiday Story for Grades 2-7 or A Holiday Letter for Grades 2-6
Practice writing skills with a holiday story, then decorate it with borders, graphics, colors, and more. Time: 30-45 minutes
A Holiday Newsletter in Publisher
Build a newsletter to tell everyone about holiday events. Time required: 45 min.
A Holiday Calendar in MS Publisher for Elementary School
Build a holiday calendar to keep students and parents up to date on all the holiday happenings. Time required: 25 minutes
Holiday Picture with ASCII Art
Create a festive holiday picture using ASCII Art. All you need is a grayline picture and a keyboard!
Holiday GIF
Build this in Lunapic (no log-in or registration required) with one of their several templates. Time required: 5 minutes
23 Holiday Websites For Your Students
Lots of websites to get students ‘in the mood’ at home and school–and they’re kid-safe. Click the link>go to Great Websites>Holidays>Christmas
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of dozens of tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and dozens of books on how to integrate technology into education. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG Master Teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, a tech ed columnist for Examiner.com, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
