If you are looking for holiday music activities to liven up your elementary music class during the holiday season, this post is for you! I have some of my very favorite holiday activities for music class, all organized by grade level for your convenience.
Holiday Music Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade
First Snow
First Snow by TransSiberian Orchestra has a fun holiday feel, while staying secular with no Christmas references. I created a scarf movement activity to go with it. It is a great way to get out those pre-holiday wiggles and learn about steady beat, phrasing and form.
Check out all the details in this post of Winter Music Favorites for Elementary Music.
Jingle Bells
This piece is great for starting to learn about the big and little beat and musical form. We listen to the song and determine that the form is AB. During part A (Dashing through the snow …) we tap the big beat. During part B (Jingle bells …) we tap the little beat.
Make it fun. Imagine different winter activities you could pantomime (snow falling, brush snow off yourself, put ornaments on the tree, etc …) and use those for your movements. During part A, do these motions to the big beat, and then switch to the little beat during part B.
Students need MANY repetitions of saying and doing the big and little beat to feel secure with that skill, and students have endless ideas of things to do, so you can really have a lot of fun and learning with this.
Then, we add jingle bells (of course!). You could use them during the whole song, but I like them just during part B and everyone claps during part A. I often use this as an assessment piece, where I watch to see if they can perform the big and little beat accurately. I have one row at a time use the jingle bells, which keeps down the noise level and makes assessment quick and easy.
Feliz Navidad
This is such a fun and upbeat song for the holidays. Students immediately perk up when they recognize this one. I also love the bi-lingual angle.
The first time the kids hear it, we listen for when there is singing and when there is not. We discuss how some parts are in Spanish and some parts are in English. Then we sit and practice clapping the beat to the A section (Feliz Navidad). I have students finger dance during the B section (I want to wish you a Merry Christmas).
Then, we stand up and practice moving around the room. During the A section, we freeze and clap our hands to the beat. During the B section, we do a conga line with the whole class (or just dance around the room).
Once students have done the whole song showing that they can move and freeze in the correct spot, we add the piece de resistance … maracas (or egg shakers in a pinch)! During the A section freeze and shake the maraca to the beat. During the B section, dance around. Let the fun ensue.
Quick. Simple. Fun. Useful for teaching form and becoming familiar with the maraca (Florida benchmark for K is for students to be able to name basic classroom instruments).
Holiday Music Activities for Second Grade and Third Grade
Skating
This is one of my favorites. This lilting piece by jazz great Vince Guarldi is recognizable from a Charlie Brown Christmas. And I’ve got a skating activity you and your students will love!
We usually listen along with a listening map first to get the lay of the land, musically speaking. The song is super short so it is easy to watch and follow along with feeling like you are wasting time. At the end I usually see if anyone can name the movie that it is from.
All you need is a lot of paper plates and the music and a sense of imagination, and you’ll feel like you are ice skating right along with Charlie Brown. Skate during the A section and spin during the B section. That’s pretty much it. Read all the details in my Winter Music blog post.
In the Window
Usually I keep my songs pretty secular, but if I do add Christmas songs, I make sure to represent other holidays too. One Hanukkah song that I like is In the Window.
It exposes students to music in minor, and meets a music standard of singing songs with multiple verse. In each verse, you add another candle to the menorah until all eight candles have been placed.
This can be a good time to talk about family holiday traditions. You might even talk a little bit about the meaning of the menorah, depending on how much you want to get into the religious aspect of the holiday.
You could also use this song to highlight solo singers. There is a repeating part “I will set you one little candle on this the FIRST night of Hanukkah.” (Then the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc).
Students could put a candle on a menorah (real or on a poster or whiteboard). As they put the candle on, they could sing the final phrase as a solo. You could even shorten it to “I will set you one little candle” and have the rest of the group chime in for “on this the FIRST night of Hanukkah.”
Because this song can kind of drag on with 8 nights and a slow tempo, you may have to do it once per class period until every child has been able to sing a solo, or have them sing in small groups.
Nutcracker
The Nutcracker Ballet is basically synonymous with the holiday season. So of course I have some holiday music activities to go with The Nutcracker.
In fact, I actually have a full blog post dedicated to music activities for The Nutcracker Ballet! My second graders used to go and see The Nutcracker Ballet as a class field trip each year, so I have a couple go-to lessons I have done over the years.
Some of my favorites? Trepak movement activities. A drumming activity to highlight the rondo form of the Nutcracker March. And listening as you color along with Nutcracker songs. Read all about it in Nutcracker Ballet: 7 Awesome Ideas To Add To Your Nutcracker Lesson Plan.
Holiday Music Activities for Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade
This is the group that can often be hardest to please. But I have found that giving them a challenge, highlighting different genres (like rock music), and allowing them to collaborate with each other can help pull them out of their shell.
Sleigh Ride
This activity is not mine to share, so I will just point you in the right direction. The Gameplan curriculum has a fabulous body percussion movement activity set to Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson.
I know. The Gameplan Curriculum is a little (ok a LOT) pricey. So if you don’t have access to this specific lesson, you could totally make your own body percussion to go with the piece. No bandwidth? Have your students create the motions! Win-win!
Carol of the Bells by TransSiberian Orchestra
TSO’s Carol of the Bells (also known as Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24) is a Christmas rock anthem featuring God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen and Carol of the Bells. And it rocks hard. Which my fourth and fifth graders love.
Here is a Carol of the Bells parachute routine to celebrate the holidays and have your fifth graders heading home for break thinking – I can’t wait until my next music class. It was AWESOME!
Carol of the Bells Holiday Parachute Routine
Definition of movement terms:
- Roll – hands move up and down alternating motion – like a drum roll
- Poof – both hands go quickly up in a short motion that “poofs” the parachute
- The Wave – one person lifts the parachute up and back down, then the person next to them repeats the same motion. This motion continues to be passed down the circle one person at a time and creates a wave effect.
At the beginning, the music begins quietly. Students should begin seated and motionless.
When the beat drops about 30 seconds in, students stand (8 beats). When the first Carol of the Bells theme comes in, move the parachute side to side to the beat for 16 beats.
Then step in 4 beats and out 4 beats. Lift the parachute up 4 beats and then down 4 beats. Pause 4 beats at the end to prep for the next section.
When the piano starts plunking out a melody on the low keys, have the class hold up the parachute and pick a small group to run underneath to a new spot. They will have 16 beats to get to their new spot. Maybe do the song twice. First time girls run under and the second time the boys run under.
Next, the music calms. Students will sit and “do the wave” around the circle. The piano is playing the God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman Theme on repeat throughout this section. You will know the section is done when this theme abruptly stops.
When the bass comes in with a heavy beat, everyone stands (8 beats). Then you will move the parachute side to side for 16 beats.
Lift the parachute up 4 beats and then down 4 beats. Roll for 8 beats. Lift the parachute up 4 beats and then down 4 beats. Pause 4 beats at the end to prep for the next section.
Give the parachute 8 short poofs to the beat. Roll for 8 beats. Then pause and count 1-2-3-4- TOSS! On the toss, you will toss the parachute in the air and everyone freezes as the parachute comes down.
Mic drop. Music lesson complete!
Pro tip: This piece is in 3/4. When I mention beats, I am counting downbeats.
Winter WTR
Get you kids up and moving with a winter write the room rhythm activity. Students have to travel around the room, spotting hidden rhythm posters and copying the rhythms on to their worksheet.
I like to put on some seasonal music and see how many posters they can find before the music stops. It adds a little more fun and creates a structured beginning and ending.
Once the music stops, students can compare answers and fill in any that they missed. Then, you might have them rearrange the rhythms to create their own song.
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