Festive Fun

Overview

This 60-minute lesson for Year 6 students focuses on engaging, interdisciplinary Christmas activities tailored to meet the NSW Curriculum outcomes in the Other learning area, particularly integrating English, Creative Arts, and Personal Development skills. The activities encourage creativity, communication, collaboration, and cultural understanding, providing students with a festive, inclusive experience that promotes respect and empathy.

Curriculum Links and Learning Objectives

• English (Literacy):
  • Students create and share imaginative and procedural texts for particular audiences and purposes. (NSW English Year 6 Achievement Standard)
• Creative Arts (Cross-disciplinary)
  • Students use elements of art and design to convey ideas and meaning.
• Personal Development (Health and Physical Education)
  • Students propose strategies to demonstrate respect, empathy, and inclusion. (Health and PE Year 6 Achievement Standard)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Design and create a Christmas-themed multimodal text (card, poem, or story).
• Demonstrate teamwork and collaborative problem-solving through festive group activities.
• Express respect and empathy by exploring diverse Christmas traditions.
• Reflect on the cultural significance of Christmas in Australia and globally.

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Lesson Plan

Time	Activity	Details	NSW Curriculum Alignment
0-10 min	Warm-Up: Christmas Traditions Brainstorm

• Create a mind map on the board with “Christmas Traditions”.
• Each student shares a tradition they or their family observe, including diverse perspectives (e.g., multicultural or Indigenous holiday practices).
• Teacher facilitates discussion about respect and empathy towards different traditions. | Health & PE: Respect, empathy and inclusion strategies | | 10-25 min | Creative Writing: Festive Story or Poem |
• Prompt students to write a short Christmas story or poem incorporating at least two traditions discussed.
• Focus on developing characters, setting, and narrative structure or rhyme and rhythm.
• Students use topic-specific vocabulary and literary devices to engage readers (e.g., similes, adjectives). | English: Create texts with varied language features and structures for purpose and audience | | 25-35 min | Collaborative Craft: Design a Christmas Card |
• In pairs, students design a Christmas card incorporating their writing or key ideas from their piece.
• Use drawing, painting, cut-outs, or digital tools if available.
• Encourage use of symbols from various cultural traditions to promote inclusiveness. | Creative Arts: Use elements and design to express ideas; Personal Development: respect and inclusion | | 35-50 min | Group Game: Christmas Quiz & ‘Find Someone Who…’ |
• Conduct a Christmas-themed quiz with questions about traditions worldwide and interesting facts.
• ‘Find Someone Who…’ activity: students find peers who can share something unique about their Christmas (e.g., favourite carol, gift tradition).
• Facilitates listening skills and social interaction. | English: Interact and share ideas with others; Personal Development: Communication and social skills | | 50-60 min | Reflective Sharing and Feedback |
• Each student shares their favourite part of the lesson or their creative work briefly.
• Discuss what they learned about different Christmas traditions and the importance of respect.
• Teacher provides positive feedback and guides reflection on cultural empathy and creative expression. | English/Health & PE: Develop and elaborate ideas for audiences; propose respectful and empathetic behaviours |

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Assessment

• Formative: Observation during discussions, collaboration in group work, and engagement in quiz activity.
• Summative: Evaluate student-created writing and Christmas card design for use of language features, creativity, and inclusion of cultural perspectives aligned to the English curriculum standards.

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Resources Needed

• Whiteboard or large paper for brainstorming
• Writing tools and paper
• Craft materials: coloured paper, markers, scissors, glue etc.
• Prepared Christmas quiz sheets or digital quiz setup
• Optional: digital devices for card design or story presentation

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Differentiation & Extension

• Provide writing sentence starters or templates for students needing support.
• Challenge advanced students to write a bilingual Christmas poem or research and present a Christmas tradition from a less familiar culture.
• Integrate Auslan signs for Christmas greetings to increase inclusivity.

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Teacher Notes

• Foster a safe, respectful classroom environment where diverse cultural expressions of Christmas are valued.
• Embed explicit teaching of empathy and cultural respect alongside creative tasks.
• Use the festive theme to enhance motivation and student engagement in literacy and social skills development.

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This lesson is designed to ‘wow’ teachers with its interdisciplinary approach, combining literacy, creativity, and social-emotional learning centred on Christmas, fully aligned with the NSW Curriculum for Year 6 students. It offers lively, hands-on engagement while meeting rigorous learning outcomes.