December is my favourite month! Teaching about French Christmas Traditions brings so much fun and joy to the classroom! I know that your students will love these French Christmas activities. PS. Don’t forget to grab the FREEBIE that’s linked below!
My French as a Second Language (FSL) classes travel around the world to see how different countries celebrate Christmas. There is a French twist to this adventure as we focus specifically on how Francophone cultures celebrate the holidays. This gives the students the opportunity to notice the differences, but also the similarities of these unique cultures. It is one of my FAVOURITE units to teach!
1) French Christmas Traditions Teaching Tip – Use Boarding Passes and Get on the Plane!
To start off the”journey”, each student gets a passport and a package of boarding passes.
Next, we fill out our boarding passes! Students fill in the departure and arrival dates, cities and times. I even let them pick their own seats on the airplane. Many of my students have never flown on a plane before so this is a fun new experience for them.
Once all of our boarding passes are prepped and ready, students make their way out into the hallway. I have them pretend to carry heavy suitcases. They pass me their boarding pass and I cut off the “airline copy” as they walk into the room, also known as the “airplane”.
Once all students have boarded the flight, I play an airplane take-off video on our SMART board. Students lean back and pretend that they can feel the flight lifting up into the air. I model the airplane taking off dramatically because the kids find it hilarious.
2) French Christmas Traditions Teaching Tip – Incorporate Videos
The first stop on our tour is always Québec City. Once the plane lands, our adventure begins!
We start by watching this video. I have students record any Christmas traditions that they see on their scrapbook page. (Grab this page for free here!) Then we have a discussion about the different traditions that they saw.
Some possibilities include:
- Santa Claus
- Elves
- Real Christmas Trees
- Carols
- Ice Skating
- Sledding
- Playing in the snow
- Christmas lights
- Christmas Markets
- Church
- Festival of Lights
- Skiing
- Outdoor Concerts
- Fireworks
3) French Christmas Traditions Teaching Tip – Serve Traditional Foods
Note: I usually ask families to donate the treats.
4) French Christmas Traditions Teaching Tip – Big Kids Like Crafts Too!
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