Christmas STEM Story Stations: Makerspace Task Cards: Challenges & Read Aloud

Bring the holiday spirit into your classroom with this engaging Christmas STEM resource! Perfect for 1st-3rd grade classrooms, these STEM story stations combine read aloud books with STEM challenges and makerspace activities to develop critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Keep your students focused and learning with hands-on Christmas-themed STEM activities that encourage problem-solving and teamwork.

Why You’ll Love This Resource

• Engaging and Fun: Students will love working on Christmas STEM activities that tie into classic Christmas stories, making learning exciting and interactive.

• Promotes Critical Thinking and Creativity: Each challenge helps students apply the engineering design process, sparking creativity and problem-solving skills as they work through STEM challenges based on holiday stories.

• Builds Classroom Community: Through these collaborative makerspace activities, students will work together to solve problems, fostering a sense of community during the busy holiday season.

• Flexible for Any Learning Environment: Ideal for STEM story stations, literacy centers, or independent work. Use the read aloud activities to complement your holiday-themed lessons.

What’s Included:

• 10 Open-Ended Christmas Makerspace/STEM Challenges: Each challenge is tied to a specific Christmas story, designed to be completed with simple materials, encouraging students to think critically and creatively.

• Lesson Plans for Makerspace Stations: Easy-to-follow guides to help you implement each STEM activity seamlessly.

• Makerspace Resources: Includes planning and reflection sheets to help guide students through the engineering design process.

• Digital Version on Google Slides: Interactive version for virtual or blended learning environments.

• Digital Choice Board: Includes links to read aloud books on YouTube, allowing students to listen to the stories and work on their STEM challenges independently.

• Directions for Digital Use: Provides instructions on how to use the digital format in Google Classroom or other learning platforms.

Books Featured (Books not included):

• Bear's Christmas Star by Mireille D'Allance

• Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett

• Santa's Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene

• Are You Grumpy Santa? by Gregg & Evan Spiridellis

• Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Chris Plehal

• Hurry, Santa! by Julie Sykes

• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

• The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

• Santa's Underwear by Marty Rhodes Figley

• The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

How to Use This Resource:

• STEM Story Stations: Set up the makerspace task cards in STEM stations where students rotate through challenges based on Christmas stories.

• Read Aloud and Comprehension: Begin each activity by reading a Christmas book aloud to your class, then have students complete the corresponding STEM challenge, focusing on problem-solving and creativity.

• Classroom Centers or Independent Work: Perfect for Christmas makerspace activities in classroom centers, or as independent work for early finishers.

• Virtual Learning: Use the digital version on Google Slides for virtual or hybrid learning environments. The digital choice board allows students to listen to the stories and complete the challenges on their own.

Why Teachers and Parents Should Use This Resource:

• Keeps Students Engaged During the Holiday Season: The hands-on nature of the STEM challenges keeps students focused and actively learning, even during the excitement of Christmas.

• Blends STEM with Literacy: This resource makes it easy to combine STEM activities with read aloud books, covering important literacy and engineering standards.

• Encourages Collaboration and Critical Thinking: The makerspace activities encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity, essential 21st-century skills for young learners.

• Low-Prep, High-Engagement: With easy-to-follow lesson plans and ready-made task cards, this resource saves you prep time while providing high-impact learning experiences.

This Christmas STEM Story Station resource is perfect for bringing literacy and STEM together in a festive and educational way. Whether in the classroom or through virtual learning, your students will enjoy the holiday season while building critical thinking and problem-solving skills with these fun, creative challenges!