Creating Inclusive Themed Activities During the Holidays

I love holidays. It shows in every part of my life: my clothes, my home, and my work. Working as a school-based SLPA, I get to share that love with my students, building a connection between us. It is also vital to create a safe and inclusive space for students, one where they can express themselves without feeling out of place or excluded. 

This combination gets a little tricky when the current holidays are religious based rather than, say, National Squirrel Day. 

Inclusion

Multiple studies show that students who feel included are more likely to succeed academically and socially and have higher attendance. So, how do we incorporate that when doing themed therapy? 

Themes

Over the years, I have used three approaches to creating lesson plans for my themed therapy units that include elements of the holiday season, without excluding students. They are: 

• Use a theme that is weather or seasons (i.e., snow, winter, etc.)
• Create projects that have a variety of holiday and non-holiday choices (i.e., both Santa and Snowflakes)
• Use a theme that feels seasonal, but doesn’t revolve around a holiday (i.e., penguins)

Example

Last year, my theme was snow. My bulletin board was filled with snowflakes. Students read articles or books about snow and snowmen. We played a game that involved throwing fake snowballs and a board game based on Olaf from the movie Frozen. For crafts, I provided multiple options of the same activity, allowing students to color ornaments, snowflakes, presents, snowmen, Santa, or hockey scenes.

Ideas

Here are some of my favorite activities

• Books
  • How to Catch a Snowman by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
  • Gingerbread, A Day in the Life of a Gingerbread Man by Monaes Speech House (on TPT)
  • Polar Bear, Polar Bear: What Do You See? by Eric Carle
• Games
  • Trouble: Olaf’s Ice Adventure
  • Snowball Fight (I bought fake snowballs and have them try to hit numbers taped to the wall. An alternate idea is to have them try to knock over a tower of paper cups).
  • Dice-and-Dot Activities (available online from various creators; print out multiples with different themes).
• Crafts
  • 50/100 Articulation Trials (Available to print from multiple creators, these are my favorite activities. I have several versions printed and let students choose from several different holiday or seasonal themes. Then they can color the mini pictures as they complete trials.
  • Cut out snowflakes to hang around the room, or color snowflake coloring scenes 
  • Hot cocoa cups (print out a picture of a large cup of cocoa. Students can color it, then make little marshmallows with their words on them to glue on)

Creating a fun learning environment while remaining inclusive can get a little tricky around holidays. Hopefully, with these ideas, you’ll be able to make a fun and inclusive lesson plan. Happy planning! 

Author: Cathy Chase Yaghi, SLPA