Introduction
The holiday season is upon us, and as middle school teachers, finding engaging holiday-themed activities can be a challenge. Cloze activities are an excellent way to incorporate the festive spirit while still focusing on language arts skills. Below are 21 Christmas cloze activities that you can use in your middle school classroom this holiday season.
1.Christmas Carol Cloze: Ask students to fill in the blanks for lyrics from classic Christmas carols.
2.The History of Christmas: Create a cloze activity on the origins of various Christmas traditions.
3.A Christmas Carol: Use an excerpt from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and have students fill in the missing words.
4.The Nutcracker Ballet: Provide brief passages about the Nutcracker Ballet story with selected words omitted for students to complete.
5.Holiday Recipes: Have students fill in blanks from a recipe for popular holiday treats like gingerbread cookies or eggnog.
6.Christmas Around the World: Students will learn about various countries’ holiday traditions while filling in missing words.
7.Santa’s Reindeer: Write a short passage about each of Santa’s reindeer, leaving out key vocabulary for students to complete.
8.Winter Weather Words: Include blank spaces within paragraphs discussing snow, ice, and other winter weather terminology.
9.The Twelve Days of Christmas: Create a cloze activity based on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song lyrics.
10.Holiday Movies: Extract quotes and phrases from famous holiday films like Elf or Home Alone, leaving out key words and phrases for students to replace.
11.The Legend of Saint Nicholas: Develop a passage on St. Nick’s fascinating history with critical information left out for students to fill in.
12.Hanukkah Meets Christmas: Find passages discussing cultural overlap between Judaism and Christianity during December holidays; remove select vocabulary for students to replace.
13.Holiday Proverbs: Write short paragraphs featuring traditional holiday sayings and idiomatic expressions with key elements taken out for completion.
14.Ode to Winter: Utilize poetry passages centered around the winter season; selectively remove words for cloze practice.
15.Christmas Tree History: Delve into the story behind placing evergreen trees in our homes and decorating them during the holidays.
16.Poinsettia Poem: Share a poem encompassing the legend of poinsettias, purposely omitting integral phrases that require student completion.
17.Famous Christmas Characters: Explore well-known holiday figures from books, movies, and plays, like Buddy the Elf or Ebenezer Scrooge; choose essential words to leave out for student involvement.
18.Christmas Traditions Cloze: Assign passages with various activities people enjoy during the holiday season (e.g., caroling, tree-lighting ceremonies).
19.The Science of Snowflakes: Choose an excerpt on snowflake formation and characteristics; use cloze to gauge student comprehension of this fascinating weather phenomenon.
20.Winter Animals in Hibernation: Create a descriptive paragraph detailing how animals prepare for hibernation; exclude notable terms that reveal procedures for surviving harsh winter climates.
21.Dreaming of a White Christmas: Use excerpts from newspaper articles describing memorable white Christmases with carefully-chosen passages for cloze application.
Conclusion
These 21 Christmas cloze activities offer a perfect balance between education and celebration. By covering such diverse topics related to the holiday season, middle school students will stay engaged and learn important language arts skills along the way. Enjoy this festive time while expanding young minds in your classroom!
