Friday, November 28, 2025

Christmas Elephant Activities for Kindergarten ELLs – Worksheets, Flashcards, Games

  This resource is included in Zoo Animals Unit for Kindergarten-Holistic English Series 26 which can be found at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Zoo-Animals-Unit-for-Kindergarten-Holistic-English-Series-26-8078353



The Christmas theme and the cute elephant instantly capture students’ attention. This makes it easier for young English learners to absorb and remember holiday words, colors, and objects. Activities with the elephant help students practice naming, identifying, matching, and describing—core early-literacy skills needed for language development.

Flashcards are easy to incorporate into  whole-group lessons, morning work, —giving teachers ready-to-use materials . There are full size cards and small cards. The activities work with both.

Teachers can guide students to use frames like “The elephant has a ___ gift” or “The elephant is holding a ___ ornament.”

This boosts oral production in a playful, safe way.


Flashcard Runway. Place flashcards in a line like a runway.

Students walk down the “runway” and stop at a card to say the phrase: . Great for: confidence, movement, speaking.

Mystery Santa Bag. Put the flashcards in a bag. Students reach inside, take a look, have the class guess it before pulling it out.

Team Relay Race. Teams line up. Place flashcards on the board. Students stand at the opposite end. Call a flashcard  first student runs, picks it up, says it, and returns. Use my flashcards.


Worksheets help students see, trace, match, and use the new Christmas words many times, which strengthens long-term vocabulary retention.

Word Formation Tracing Worksheet. English learners practice early writing skills while reviewing Christmas vocabulary. Students trace the Christmas words. This activity works perfectly for literacy centers, morning work, or small-group practice during your holiday lessons.

Christmas Elephant Cut & Paste – Body Parts Worksheet. This is a review of the parts of the body while working with a cute Christmas Elephant theme. Students color the elephant, cut out the body-part words, and glue each label in the correct place. This hands-on task supports early reading as children match simple words like head, ear, leg, and trunk to the picture. Perfect for independent work during your holiday lessons!


Listen & Color – Christmas Ornaments Worksheet

In this activity, students listen to the teacher’s instructions and color the ornaments accordingly—for example, “Color two ornaments red.” This simple task helps young English learners practice listening comprehension, color vocabulary, and following directions.


Draw More Cookies Worksheet. Students help the Christmas Elephant by adding more cookies to the plate.

Color by Number Worksheet. This color-by-number activity helps students practice number recognition and color words. A perfect independent activity for morning work, or a calm holiday lesson!

Christmas Elephant Tracing Paths Worksheet. Students trace each path to help the Christmas Elephant reach the matching Christmas item. Tracing different lines and patterns strengthens fine-motor skills.

Christmas Elephant Printable Booklet. This easy-to-assemble booklet lets students color, read, and learn Christmas vocabulary with a fun Christmas Elephant theme. Each page features a simple sentence and picture, helping young learners practice early reading skills. Perfect for  a festive take-home activity!


Christmas Elephant Feed Me Box Game. Students cut out the items from the worksheet and “feed” them into the Christmas stocking box as they name each item.


Christmas Elephant Spinner & Mat Game. Children spin the Christmas Elephant spinner, say the word aloud, then find and cover the matching picture on their mat.


Picture–Word Matching Dominoes. Students match them end-to-end like a domino train.

Great for vocabulary recall + reading. It’s encourages speaking as students name each picture they match.


Visit my other blog:

👉 https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/

You’ll find fresh ideas for every unit, from vocabulary games to hands-on crafts—all designed to support young ELLs in fun and meaningful ways.

 

 

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Thanksgiving Sharks Activities for Kindergarten ELLs

 This resource is included in the Sea unit for Kindergarten English Language Learners at this link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sea-Unit-for-Kindergarten-Holistic-English-Series-29-8348964

Students learn Thanksgiving words to expand foundational English vocabulary in a fun way. Activities are designed with simple visuals, large images, and clear vocabulary, making it easier for beginners to understand without needing long explanations.

Vocabulary Introduction with the flashcards. Show them one by one and teach the vocabulary (cornucopia, turkey, pie, hat, etc.). Students repeat.

Teacher: What is this?

Students: It’s a shark!

Teacher: The shark has a cornucopia!

Touch and Show” Game.Place the flashcards on the the floor. Call out: “Find the shark with the pie!” Students run, touch, or point to the correct card.

Small cards for Sentence Practice: “The shark has…” Students make simple sentences: “The shark has a turkey.”  Add actions or gestures for extra fun.

Feed the Turkey Game. Students choose a small card, name the Thanksgiving vocabulary, and “feed” it to the turkey by placing it in the turkey’s mouth. For this game prepare the box using the template provided.

In this creative worksheet, students color and decorate the shark to turn it into a Thanksgiving character. They can add Pilgrim clothes, Thanksgiving foods, or festive items to complete the picture. Then they finish the sentence “My shark is a ______.” This activity builds vocabulary, encourages creativity, and helps students practice simple descriptions in English.

In these worksheets, students read the color word on each shark and color the picture correctly. This activity helps young learners connect written color words with their meanings. It’s perfect for building confidence in early literacy and color vocabulary.

Class Printable Shark Book. This printable book features a shark holding different Thanksgiving items. Each student colors one page, following the simple vocabulary on the picture. When the class finishes, all pages are assembled into a group book that students can read together. This activity promotes teamwork, reading fluency, vocabulary review, and pride in creating a shared class book.

I’d love to have you visit my other blog, where I share freebies, activities, tips, and resources designed especially for elementary English teachers!

Explore it here: https://eflelementaryresources.blogspot.com/

You’ll find practical classroom ideas, engaging worksheets, and freebies to make your lessons even more fun and effective. See you there!