December Tips & Tricks

By. Meredith Biesinger 

Can you believe it is already December?! December is a month full of merriment and activities! It’s also a month that brings challenges such as keeping students’ attention as they are anticipating the upcoming holiday break—and let’s be honest, teachers are too! 

Here are some tips and tricks to keep your students engaged in the classroom while still learning over the next few weeks: 

For the Classroom

Candy Cane Experiment: Here’s a simple Christmas-themed experiment that you can do to spark students’ curiosity and critical thinking. Start by generating predictions. Ask: What do you think will happen if you put a candy cane in water? What about vinegar or oil? Then, do the experiment to test the predictions. Note: In this experiment, you can also use red-and-white peppermint candies to reduce the liquid needed to cover the candy.

  Step 1: Place one candy cane in each cup.

 Step 2: Fill each cup with equal amounts of water, vinegar, and oil.

 Step 3: Predict Which liquid will dissolve the candy cane the quickest?

 Step 4: Start a timer. Describe what is happening to each candy cane after five minutes.

 Step 5: Examine the candy canes after 20 minutes. Describe what happened.

Tell students that candy canes are made up mostly of sugar. Sugar dissolves in water. It will also dissolve in vinegar, but a bit more slowly. Oil, as you can see, slowly dissolves sugar. Ask: What if we put the candy cane in hot water? Would the candy cane dissolve quicker or slower in hot water than in water at room temperature? Then, test the prediction with the class and record your data and results.

A Festive Debate: For older students, ask the question, “Is Christmas re-gifting okay? Instruct students who answered “yes” to stand on the left side of the room and those who answered “no” to move to the right side of the room. “Undecided” students should stand in the middle. Then, have students explain their viewpoints. Students convinced by opposing arguments can change positions; however, be sure to have them explain what convinced them. If you teach online, pose the debate question using an online polling tool. Finally, challenge students to write an essay titled “Four Reasons Re-Gifting Is Great” or “Four Reasons Re-Gifting Is Unacceptable.” This is an excellent opportunity to practice writing a thesis! 

Other FUN Ideas

Tis the season for crafts! Here are some fun and easy holiday ornaments that students can make. They make great family gifts that will be treasured for a long time! 

1. Trace hands on green construction paper, cut the hands out, and glue them together (facing downward). This will look like a Christmas tree; all they need to do is cut out a star and put it on top! 

2. Purchase clear ornaments that can be opened, then measure each student with a red string. Cut the string and put it inside the ornament with a note about how tall they are this holiday season! This will be a keepsake over the years! 

3. Use simple supplies such as popsicle sticks, paint, and pom pom balls to create various festive ornaments! Think reindeer, Christmas trees, stars, and more! Remember your hot glue gun! 

Happy Teacher

Happy Holidays! This is the most wonderful time of the year and also the most challenging time of the year for many students. Remember that you have the opportunity to bring joy into students’ lives every day, not just during December. Take a minute to pause, turn on some festive music, and remember to enjoy the season with your students.