There’s something about December that turns even the most focused class into… well, a different kind of chaotic environment. Between holiday concerts, spirit days, and seventeen versions of “When is break?“, it can feel impossible to keep students on task and practicing their math skills.
The trick is giving them activities that feel festive and still sneak in the practice they need. Here are four winter math activities I use and love because they keep kids engaged without turning the week before break into chaos.
They also require very little prep on your end, which let’s be honest, December is not the month for extra prep!
1. Christmas Tessellations
Tessellations are one of those activities where students get to work on something creative and fun while you quietly know they’re reviewing the skill you need them to practice.
My Christmas versions (a Christmas tree and Santa) work beautifully during that stretch where you want something structured, but plain worksheets just aren’t cutting it anymore. With these Christmas math activities, students solve problems, color, and help build a classroom tessellation that you can display on your bulletin board!
Kids practicing math AND you get a festive, student curated classroom bulletin board display!
Christmas Tessellation skills include:
- Factoring Quadratic Trinomials (Santa)
- Multiplying Polynomials (Santa)
- Writing Linear Equations Review (Santa)
- Solving Radical Equations (Santa)
- Characteristics of Polynomials (Christmas Tree)
- Slope from Tables, Graphs, and Points (Christmas Tree)
- Systems of Equations Word Problems (Christmas Tree)
2. Student Work Winter Bulletin Board Displays
If you want a winter display that shows real student work (and doesn’t involve glitter…), these winter themed bulletin boards are a lifesaver!
Students work through the problems, add their design or color, and suddenly you have a bulletin-board hallway-ready display that checks a lot of boxes:
- Meaningful math practice
- Student ownership
- Something classroom visitors can quickly see & understand
It looks cute, requires little prep work from you, but still is rigorous. Win!
Winter Math Bulletin Board Display skills include:
- Hanukkah Dancing Dreidels:
- Solving Multistep Equations Review
- Interpreting the Discriminant
- Winter Mittens:
- Graphing Linear Inequalities
- Solving Multistep Equations Review
- Graphing Exponential Functions
- Polynomial Operations
- Holiday Light Strings:
- Graphing Polynomial Functions
- Graphing Slope Intercept Form
- Solving Systems of Equations
- Solving Polynomial Equations
- Gingerbread Smart Cookies:
- Synthetic Division of Polynomials
- Solving Systems of Equations by Graphing
EDITABLE Synthetic Division of Polynomials Gingerbread Man Craft Bulletin Board
EDITABLE Graphing in Slope Intercept Form Holiday Lights Bulletin Board Algebra 1
EDITABLE Interpreting the Discriminant Hanukkah Dreidel Bulletin Board Algebra 2
EDITABLE Solving Multi Step Equations Review Bulletin Board Winter Mittens | Algebra 1 | Pre Algebra
3. Winter Pixel Art
There is something about pixel art that gets even the tired-before-break students to perk up! They type in their answers, the image starts to reveal itself, and suddenly they’re motivated again – woo! We all know how hard it is to motivate teenagers sometimes.
This winter pixel art activity is self-checking, so students get instant feedback and you don’t have to grade anything! That alone is reason enough to use it in December before winter break and in January when you come back from winter break.
It’s perfect for independent work or a quiet workday when everyone needs to freshen up on their math skills during structured time. You can click here to check out the variety of skills the winter pixel art activities come in.
4. Winter Color-By-Number Worksheets
Color-by-number is my go-to when I need students to practice a skill, like using square roots to solve quadratic equations, without using their devices. There’s something about the coloring element that slows the classroom pace down and calms teenagers in the best way.
This one is particularly great for sub plans for that last class before winter break starts!
Winter Color-by-Number skills include:
- Solving Quadratic Equations
- Writing Quadratic Equations
- Polynomial Operations
- Systems of Equations
Winter Writing Quadratic Equations in Vertex Form Color by Number Worksheet Algebra 2
Winter Writing Quadratic Equations in Standard Form Color by Number Worksheet Algebra 2
Winter Writing Quadratic Equations in Intercept Form Color by Number Worksheet Algebra 2
Winter Solving Systems of Equations Color by Number Worksheet for Algebra 1
Winter Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring Color by Number Worksheet for Algebra 2
Winter Multiplying Polynomials Color by Number Worksheet for Algebra 1
Why These Work So Well in December
December is… December. Students want something different, but you still want real math happening.
These activities hit the sweet spot:
- they’re themed without being overwhelming
- they hold student attention longer than a plain old worksheet
- they’re teenager approved
- they’re low-prep options you can plug into your plans asap
These winter math activities help you keep your pacing moving while giving students something they’ll enjoy this holiday and winter season!
