Christmas advent calendar Click on the day you wish to uncover to reveal a festive teaching idea, activity or game. When you have finished click ‘back’ to return to the main advent calendar page. Click to begin! © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

6 21 7 17 3 12 25 9 20 15 18 1 16 13 4 5 23 24 10 11 22 2 8 14 19 © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

Bah, humbug! It’s too early for Christmas. 2nd December (23 days to go) Bah, humbug! It’s too early for Christmas. Read Dickens’ description of Scrooge and analyse it, or create your own modern Scrooge. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

3rd December (22 days to go) Make a revision advent calendar How to Use Teachit’s advent calendar template, and fill in the blank calendar with a range of key quotations, themes and techniques to help you to revise. Cut out the calendar doors to reveal your notes. Stick the calendar together, and share your work with a partner. Make your own advent calendar to help you to revise your set text, or to focus on a key character or poem. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

Write a festive flash fiction story 4th December (21 days to go) Write a festive flash fiction story Read Neil Gaiman’s Nicholas Was story, and write your own 50 word story, inspired by the season. Christmas joke! Click for punchline! ‘Can you smell carrots?’ What did the snowman say to the other snowman? Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

5th December (20 days to go) Christmas carols Listen to a traditional Christmas carol or song, and read the words of the song. Change some or all of the words to create your own version of the carol, but try to keep the same metre and rhyme scheme. Alternatively, write your own carol from scratch. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

6th December (19 days to go) Christmas shape poems Working individually or in pairs, make a list of as many words as you can associated with Christmas and winter. Now write a poem in the shape of a Christmas symbol – a tree, a present, a snowflake etc. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

9th December (16 days to go) Letter to Santa Extra challenge Try to write your letter using the ‘voice’ of the character. What techniques does the writer use to achieve this effect? Choose a character from a book you are studying, and write a wish/present list letter to Father Christmas, imagining you are the character. Alternatively, use Teachit’s resource A letter to Father Christmas for other letter writing options. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

10th December (15 days to go) Make an origami paper game Put numbers (1-8) or themes on the outside folds and related questions inside, with the answers hidden inside the flaps. Play in pairs, and test each other, choosing a different number or theme each turn. Image credit: © Chris Lott 2011 https://flic.kr/p/a2fckq Find a template online, watch a ‘how to’ video on YouTube, or make your own by folding a square many times! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

11th December (14 days to go) Joyeux Noel! Bo Nada! Pace e salute! God jul! Christmas joke! Research Christmas customs in other countries. Prepare a short speaking and listening presentation. What should you say to Father Christmas when he takes the register? Click to reveal answer! ‘Present!’ Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

12th December (13 days to go) Pub quiz Each team will take it in turns to read out the questions they wrote (your team won’t answer this round of questions). Write down your team’s answers to the other question rounds. The team with the highest score wins! Working in 4-5 groups or teams, write 10 questions relating to a topic, character or theme which your teacher will give you, and choose a suitable name for your team. (Crisps and soft drinks optional!) Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

13th December (12 days to go) Consumerism and Christmas … Debate What do you think about the commercialisation of Christmas? Make a series of notes about your view of Christmas. Be prepared to support your ideas with evidence. Has the magic of Christmas gone in the frenzy of present-buying, eating and spending? What does Christmas mean to you? Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

16th December (9 days to go) Christmas pictionary Every student in the class should write down a key word, theme, or character name on a piece of paper, and put them into a ‘hat’. Playing in teams, with each student taking it in turn to draw, students have one minute to guess the word from the drawings on the board. When time’s up, other teams can ‘buzz in’ to guess. The highest scoring team wins! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

17th December (8 days to go) Christmas plenary display Using green post-it notes or squares of paper, write the most important thing you’ve learnt this lesson/ this term/ about your set text or topic. Stick them to a wall in the shape of a Christmas tree for a lovely seasonal display! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

18th December (7 days to go) Christmas meal Instructional writing Create a menu for a dream Christmas meal, and then write the recipes! Use imperatives (make, chop, don’t forget, etc.) Consider the effect of layout (headings, bullets, use of white space etc.) Address your audience directly (‘You should …’) Think about your use of connectives (First, Next) Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

19th December (6 days to go) Christmas hangman Play the classic word game on your whiteboard using a selection of festive words, or try Teachit’s interactive version of Hangman for an end of term treat! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

20th December (5 days to go) Word garlands and bunting Make character or set text paperchains to decorate your classroom. Choose a relevant shape and cover with quotations, events, and themes. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

21st December (4 days to go!) Christmas charades Did you know? Go back Play this Victorian Christmas classic by splitting into two teams. Each team must write a list of characters, events, themes or key words about the topic or text that you have been studying, onto different post it notes, to create the charade cards. Aim for between 20-30. Swap packs of completed post it notes so that each team does not know what may come up! Which team is the Christmas charade champion? Did you know? The game of charades was popularised by the Victorians and is mentioned in the works of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. One article in 1854 wrote: ‘A Christmas evening without a good frolicking game of acting charades is simply a Christmas evening lost!’ Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

December 1st (24 days to go) Interesting Christmas fact Christmas character Imagine you are writing a story about Christmas. Father Christmas is the hero, of course, but who would be the baddie? You have three minutes to think of their name and what they do! In 1647 Oliver ‘the Grinch’ Cromwell passed a law banning Christmas celebrations. The law wasn’t lifted until 1660! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

7th December (18 days to go) Band Aid What do you think? Bob Geldof’s 2014 re-release of Do They Know It’s Christmas? caused some controversy. Read the lyrics Watch Band Aid 30 (Note that some of the images in the video may be shocking.) Look up the responses by Emeli Sandé, Adele, Lily Allen and others. Do you agree/disagree with any of them? Write a speech arguing for or against the song. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

Christmas reads and films 8th December (17 days to go) Christmas reads and films Interesting Christmas fact Two-minute challenge! How many books or films do you associate with Christmas? Often people write ‘Xmas’ rather than ‘Christmas’. This isn’t just because it’s quicker to write – the letter ‘X’ actually means ‘Jesus Christ’ in Greek! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

14th December (11 days to go) A Christmas lunch Interesting Christmas fact Read the description of a Christmas lunch in the resource The best Christmas day ever and complete the activities. Before the turkey became popular for Christmas lunch in Britain, most people ate pig’s head and mustard! Yum! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

15th December (10 days to go) Christmas toys Interesting Christmas fact What do you predict will be the biggest seller this year? Plan an advertising campaign for your chosen item. The biggest selling Christmas toys of the ‘Noughties’ were: Bratz Nintendo Wii Razor Scooter Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

22nd December (3 days to go) Shoebox appeal Extra challenge Imagine one of the other characters in your chosen book is sending the tin. Include a letter with Christmas wishes and asking how things are. Ever wondered how the Christmas shoebox appeal started? Its origins can be traced to WWI when Princess Mary raised money to send embossed brass tins to the sailors and soldiers fighting in the war. They were to be a ‘gift from the nation’ for Christmas. Families would pack the tins with a variety of items such as tobacco, boiled sweets, chocolate, plum pudding, knitted socks and letters. Create your own Princess Mary tin to send to a character from a book you have been reading. Design the front of the tin and also draw the items that you would place inside to send as a present. Annotate to explain what you have chosen to include and why. Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

Interesting Christmas fact You’re invited! Christmas dinner party … 23rd December (2 days to go) Interesting Christmas fact You’re invited! Christmas dinner party … In the Czech Republic they enjoy dinners of fish soup, eggs and carp. The number of people at the table must be even, or the one without a partner will die next year! If you could invite any five characters from books or films to come and sit at your Christmas dinner table, who would you have and why? Share your ideas. Anyone pick the same guest? Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page

Go and have some festive fun! It’s the holidays! What are you doing here? Go and have some festive fun! Go back © www.teachit.co.uk 2012 20187 Page