Christmas Bulletin Boards

Christmas bulletin boards are often fun and colorful. This one certainly is! But it's also educational. Students help make the display, and they learn some key language skills in the process. That's more learning for them, and less work for you!

For this board, each student makes his/her own stocking out of construction paper. Then he/she writes a multiple-meaning word at the top and several sentences or definitions below. Scroll down for patterns, complete instructions and our ideas for variations.

Christmas Bulletin Boards

Directions:

1. Be sure the students understand the skill you're featuring. In the version shown above, STOCKING is a double-meaning word. We're stocking up, or collecting, Christmas stockings!  See my list of more multiple words in the blue box below. 

2. Cover the display area in green paper. Use Christmas gift wrap or other season-appropriate decorations for a border.

3. Ask each student to cut out his own Christmas stocking from red and white construction paper. Use one of our patterns, if you like, or let students cut out and personalize their own shapes. Encourage kids to made variations, like:

4. Instruct each student to select a different multiple-meaning word.
He writes this word in the top of the stocking, as shown.

In the bottom part, he writes two or more sentences using the different meanings of the word. Or, you may ask him to write definitions instead. Each student signs his name in the toe of the sock.

5. Attach long pieces of yarn to the board, draping as shown above. Tack each stocking to the display on top of the yarn.

For extra fun, try these Multiple-Meaning Jokes and Riddles!

Variations:

Try one of these variations for more Christmas bulletin boards:

Stocking Up on Spelling Words - Use this as a way to review spelling words in the past several units. Write Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, and so on at the top. Ask students to write the words correctly under each one.

Stocking Up on Synonyms - Each student writes a different adjective at the top of his stocking and lists several synonyms below. Examples:  HAPPY - cheerful, bright, joyful, jolly, lively, merry, upbeat.  DIFFICULT - tough, strenuous, severe, painful, demanding, burdensome. 

Stocking Up on Syllables - Each student writes one of these at the top:  1-Syllable Words, 2-Syllable Words, 3-Syllable Words, or 4-Syllable Words. He lists several words to match the heading.  Just for fun, here are a few great 4-syllable words: unbreakable, responsible, ordinary, mechanism, territory, community, television, procrastinate, evacuate, accommodate, helicopter, appetizing, and organism. Students will enjoy finding more of their own!

Try these Winter Bulletin Board Ideas! We have a Snowman theme and Penguin theme. Both require student participation for an educational (and colorful) classroom display!

More Christmas Resources

NEW!  Word Puzzles for Christmas - This is a fun and wacky puzzle, "Crazy Carols,"  that you're sure to enjoy! I've replaced each word or syllable of a well-known Christmas song with another one that rhymes. Can you figure out the correct song title for each one? Think: Fanta, Maybe...

Holiday Word Scramble - Who's ready for some holiday fun? Spellers of all ages are sure to enjoy solving this "Happy Holidays" word scramble puzzle! Unscramble each word and write it correctly on the printable page. 

Letter to Santa Bobby has written a heartfelt letter to his pal, Santa, but he has used lots of misspellings! Pass out the printable version to your students, ask them to circle the spelling errors, and then have them rewrite the short letter. 

Printable Christmas Brain Teasers - Two super-fun, challenging holiday cryptograms for upper grade students. Choose a holiday quotation, a list of fictional holiday characters to decode--or both! If you're unfamiliar with cryptograms, or how to solve them, no worries. Instructions are included here. 

Christmas Word Searches - Two very non-traditional word search puzzles that you're sure to love. Look closely for special words hidden inside Christmas stockings.  The first puzzle, you'll try to find out how many times STOCKING is spelled. In the second, you'll do the same for TOYS. These free Christmas worksheets are a bit tricky, and oh, so much fun! 

Ann Richmond Fisher is a longtime published educational writer, a former classroom teacher and a former homeschool teacher. Ann's spelling bee resources, graded spelling word lists, spelling games, worksheets, and other language arts resources have become respected around the globe since she launched Spelling-Words-Well in 2010.

Ann is also the creator of www.word-game-world.com.

Visit my YouTube Channel for fun spelling practice videos!

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