Engage your students in December with this activity
Teaching and practicing capitals and punctuation in December with first graders can be challenging. Actually, teaching anything in December can be challenging. So, it’s important to keep your students in a routine, but also to provide engaging activities where they get to get up and move around the classroom.
I created these three activities after my students had so much fun with the Turkey Gobbler. You can read more about him here. They loved moving around the room to find the punctuation that the turkey “gobbled” up. So, I created three similar activities with some Christmas friends. What I like about these activities is that they also solve a riddle, which first graders always like! See the activities here or click on any of the pictures.
Gingerbread Man Activity
In this activity, the gingerbread man stole all the punctuation from the sentences (just like the turkey gobbler). It’s your students’ job to “catch him” by figuring out the missing punctuation in each sentence. Once they figure out the punctuation, the riddle will tell them where to find the gingerbread man. The answer to the riddle is “Look under the desk” so make sure to put some gingerbread men underneath your desk (or a desk… it doesn’t specify which desk). I found little felt gingerbread men at Michaels, but you could do gingerbread men coloring sheets, gingerbread men cookies, etc.
The Elf Is Tangled In Tinsel Activity
In this activity, the elf got himself tangled in tinsel while wrapping presents. Your students must figure out the correct capital letters in each sentence to figure out where to find the elf. The answer is: Find Me With A Book. So, if you have a classroom elf, this is a great time to have him hiding in your classroom library for students to find him (if they haven’t already! I know how eager they get!). However, if you don’t have a classroom elf, you can still do this activity! You could put elf coloring pages out by the books and your students would be so happy to find them there!
Oh Deer! Reindeer Activity
Reindeers have such funny jokes, right? 😉 In this activity, the reindeer tells a funny joke. Students figure out the punctuation to solve the riddle.
These three activities were fun to do the weeks leading up to winter break. There is so much going on in December, but yet you still have to teach somehow! If you are practicing capitals and punctuation, then make sure you check it out! I found this as a great way to get my students actively engaged, while also teaching what I was supposed to be teaching them. If you want to see these fun activities, click here or click any of the pictures to take you there.
