The Ultimate December Classroom Survival Guide for Upper Elementary

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December. The month where your carefully crafted classroom management system goes out the window faster than you can say “winter break.” Your students are excited, distracted, and convinced that learning stopped the day after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, you’re trying to squeeze in actual instruction while also planning a party, managing gift exchanges, and pretending you have your life together. And December teaching activities? Ha!

I’ve been there. Every year, I told myself December would be different. Every year, I was wrong. But here’s what I learned after years of teaching upper elementary: December doesn’t have to be chaos. You can survive it. You can even (dare I say it?) enjoy parts of it.

In this post, I’m breaking down exactly how to make it through December without losing your mind. We’re talking December teaching activities, behavior management strategies that actually work, indoor activities that don’t require a Pinterest degree, and a week-by-week plan to keep you on track. And because I’m all about making your life easier, I’ve loaded up my Feast of Freebies with December resources you can use right away.

Ready? Let’s do this.

Section 1: Behavior Management When Everyone Has Lost Their Minds

Your students aren’t trying to make you crazy. They’re just kids who are excited about presents, snow days, and two weeks off school. But that doesn’t mean you have to let your classroom turn into a zoo.

Strategy #1: Front-load expectations for every activity

Don’t assume they remember how to behave. Before every lesson, every transition, every activity, remind them what success looks like. “When we line up for lunch, you’ll walk quietly, hands to yourself, voices off until we’re in the hallway.” Yes, they should know this by now. No, they don’t remember in December. (Want help establishing procedures and routines that stick? Check out my post on how to get your classroom to manage itself!)

Strategy #2: Create countdowns that include academic goals

Everyone’s doing countdown chains to winter break. Fine. But add academic mini-goals to each day. “Only 8 days until break AND we’re going to master equivalent fractions!” It redirects that countdown energy into something productive. Plus, kids love checking things off. This makes tracking progress visual and engaging. With this December academic goal tracker, students can see their learning countdown alongside the holiday countdown. (Check out this blog post where we created a chain of consequences related to bullying. This is another chain that could be made for the countdown!)

Strategy #3: Build in movement breaks every 20 minutes

Sitting still in December? Not happening. Instead of fighting it, work with it. Every 20 minutes, do a 2-minute brain break. I’m talking jumping jacks, dance-offs, or my personal favorite: “Silent Ball” (Don’t have students stand on desks; instead, have them either sit on desks or stand next to them). And we all know that research shows that movement breaks improve focus.

Strategy #4: Reward the class, not individuals

In December, competition gets ugly fast. Instead, create a whole-class goal. “If we can all complete our work with effort today, we get 10 minutes of choice time.” Everyone works together, everyone wins. No drama. (Looking for more positive classroom management tips? Check out this post, 15 Classroom Management Tips.) This strategy reduces peer conflict, builds community, and maintains the positive classroom culture you’ve worked all year to establish.

To learn more about classroom management strategies, check out my Classroom Management section in my Amazon Shop.

Section 2: Indoor Recess Activities That Won’t Make You Cry

December means indoor recess. A lot of indoor recess. And if you don’t have a plan, those 20 minutes will feel like 20 hours. (Want to understand why recess matters so much for your students’ cognitive and behavioral success? This research review explains the science behind those crucial breaks. You can also check out my blog post, Should We Be Taking Away Recess.)

Quick games that need zero supplies as December Teaching Activities:

• Heads Up, Seven Up: Old school? Yes. Still works? Absolutely.
• Silent Ball: Already mentioned. It’s that good.
• Mafia is a social deduction party game that’s perfect for classrooms!
  • Here’s how it works:
    • Players are secretly assigned roles – most are ‘villagers’ (innocent townspeople), while a few are ‘mafia members.’
    • The game alternates between ‘night’ and ‘day’ phases. During the night, everyone closes their eyes, and the mafia silently chooses someone to ‘eliminate.’ During the day, all players discuss and vote on who they suspect is mafia.
    • The villagers win if they eliminate all mafia members, while the mafia wins if they equal or outnumber the villagers.
    • There are often additional roles, such as ‘detective’ (can learn someone’s role) or ‘doctor’ (can save someone from elimination), to add complexity.
    • It’s engaging because it involves strategy, deduction, and communication skills.
• Would You Rather: Project questions on the board and let kids debate. Philosophical discussions could happen with the right choices. It’s beautiful. You can find Would You Rather books here, including SEL versions and brain twisters.
• Four Corners: Call out a category (favorite season, pizza topping, etc.), and have kids move to the corner based on their choice.

Paper and pencil options:

• Pictionary: Write words on slips of paper. Done.
• Exquisite Corpse: Each student draws part of a creature, folds the paper, and passes it on. The final reveals are hilarious.
• Mad Libs: Project one on the board and do it as a class. You can find some great Mad Libs here.

Slightly more involved (but worth it):

Keep a bin of board games, cards, and puzzles. Rotate which table groups can use them. Teach your class how to play Uno once, and they’ll play it for the rest of the year. Want more ideas for using games to spark a love of learning? I’ve got multiple posts dedicated to game ideas that don’t require a ton of prep, that will be perfect for December teaching activities!

Section 3: Staying Organized (And Sane)

December is not the month to try new things. This is survival mode. Here’s how to keep your head above water.

Simplify your weekly planning with these December teaching activities:

Pick ONE subject each week and make it special. 

• Week 1- Fun math activities. (Try these math center ideas.)

• Week 2- Creative writing about winter. 

• Week 3- Science experiments. 

• Week 4- Probably nothing because half your class is absent and you’re all watching Elf.

Don’t try to make every subject magical every day. You will burn out by December 10th.

Prep Sunday night, not Friday afternoon

Friday afternoon, you are exhausted. “I’ll just wing it Monday!” No. Sunday evening, you are realistic. Spend 30 minutes getting your copies made, your lessons loosely planned, and your Monday outfit picked out.

Protect your lunch break

I know everyone wants to chat about the holiday party. I know you have 47 emails. But you need to eat an actual meal and breathe for 20 minutes. Put in headphones if you have to. Eat in your car. Do what you need to do. Maybe even check out this post, Hiding from Co-Workers During Planning Time?

Remember: Good enough is good enough!

Your classroom doesn’t need to look like a winter wonderland. Your bulletin boards can stay the same. Your students don’t need handmade gifts. They need a teacher who isn’t a stressed-out mess. Permit yourself to do less. (Read these teacher burnout prevention strategies that help you set boundaries without guilt.)

Section 4: Your Week-by-Week December Plan

Let me break down what to focus on each week so you’re not overwhelmed.

Week 1 (First whole week of December)

This is your last chance for “normal” teaching. Finish up any big units. Get your December bulletin board up (or don’t see above). Send home information about any parties or gift exchanges. Prep your December teaching activities for the rest of the month because you won’t have time later.

Week 2

Energy is ramping up. This is when you lean into project-based learning: the science challenges, research projects, and art integration. Anything where kids are busy, engaged, and you’re not talking to them for 40 minutes. Stock up on easy sub plans because someone will get sick this week. (Looking for engaging activities that use games to spark learning? Games can be powerful instructional tools!)

Keep them engaged with these Project-Based Learning Activities—hands-on activities that feel fun but are packed with learning.

Week 3

The final countdown. If you’re having a party, it’s probably this week. Keep academics light. Do review games, holiday-adjacent activities (winter science, celebrations of Holidays around the world), and lots of read-alouds. This is not the week to introduce new concepts. (If you’re managing lots of indoor recess this week, check out these classroom management strategies that can be used during recess that maintain structure while giving students the social breaks they need.)

Explore different celebrations respectfully with these Holidays Around the World Activities—culturally inclusive and educational.

Week 4

If school goes all the way to the 23rd, you’re basically running a daycare at this point. Own it. Do service projects, play games, and watch a movie. Half your class will be absent anyway. The kids who are there want to have fun. Give them (and yourself) that gift.

You’ve Got This

I know December feels impossible. I know you’re already tired. I know you’re wondering how you’ll make it to winter break.

But here’s the truth: You’re going to do it. You always do. And this year, you have a plan with some of these December teaching activities… even if they aren’t teaching as much.

Sign up for my annual (week of Thanksgiving) Feast of Freebies for free resources to get you started. It will include project-based learning activities, math activities, and more. Everything is ready to print and use immediately because you don’t have time to reinvent the wheel. (And if you’re wondering how to differentiate instruction without drowning in prep, that’s another key piece of sustainable teaching!)

And remember: Your students won’t remember every worksheet you assigned in December. They’ll remember that you showed up, you cared, and you made it fun even when it was hard. That’s what matters. 

Now go forth and conquer December. You’ve got this.

See you on the other side of December!

Want more survival tips? Share this post with a teacher friend who’s already counting down to winter break. And if you haven’t joined the Feast of Freebies yet, what are you waiting for? Five days of free resources designed to make your teaching life easier. No fluff, no gimmicks. Just good stuff that works.