Seasonal and holiday printables are a real time saver!
Plus, they bring valuable skills practice.
Oh yes, and the children LOVE them!
1. Leave for a substitute teacher.
This is why I originally created seasonal printables. If I know I'm going to be out, I will make packets for my substitute to use for each of the subject areas. It's easy to differentiate both up and down.
- For an extra challenge, write in an extra challenge. (Example: in math, you can ask these students to write story problems with 2-digit numbers, then solve them!)
- To differentiate for more challenged students: give them fewer pages, or circle only some of the items for them to complete. (This is a trick I use all the time for both classwork and for homework. They know to only do the problems I have circled. If they finish early, they can attempt the other ones, but there's no "have to!" I am strategic when I circle the "have to")
2. Leave for when someone has to cover your class for a meeting.
You know those days: You'll have to leave your classroom with someone else. You don't want to leave complicated directions, especially if you don't even know who will be covering your class. But you want to leave meaningful skills practice that your students will enjoy.
3. Use on a day you just don't have the time to prepare.
We all know these days as well! Perhaps you were at school late the night before with parent conferences. Perhaps you've put in lots of hours preparing report cards. Maybe your child was up sick last night. Maybe you were up sick last night. There are a million reasons for running out of time to plan ahead. Seasonal printables to the rescue! Kids love them, and they'll make your life so much easier!
4. Use for independent practice.
Sometimes they just need something quiet to work on while you're working with reading or math groups. Seasonal printables will give them extra practice with their literacy and/ or math skills while letting them have a little fun. They really do enjoy the work a bit more if it has an element of fun!
5. Use for guided practice.
Your lower-abled students don't want to miss out on the fun of these seasonal pages! I've been known to use some of these printables during reading and/ or math groups for skills that are just a little beyond the abilities of my cherubs. (It might be the same thing some of the others are working on independently!) With a little bit of help, they'll feel a great sense of pride!
6. Use as partner work.
There are a lot of ways to partner up the students and a lot of good reasons to do this! Sometimes the partners would be relatively equal in abilities. This is a great way to get them talking! Yes, sometimes that's a good thing, isn't it? When they're talking through how they get their answers, that discussion internalizes learning! That's a good thing!
Sometimes it's ok to partner a stronger student with a weaker student, but this must be done very carefully. There is never a reason for a student to feel inferior to another. But with the right combination of students, some great conversations could happen, and they can both could learn from each other!
Here is a collection of Printables that could help you through the whole year: No Prep Activities and Worksheets for the Whole Year
Looking for some Science and Social Studies Printables? Try these! Science and Social Studies Activities for the Year!
What are your ideas for using seasonal and holiday printables?
