Bring the holidays to your ESL class with 12 days of Christmas!

The 12 days of Christmas is a popular Christmas song that is sung all around the world. Many people don’t know that the song actually has a hidden meaning. The 12 days of Christmas is a great song to use in the ESL classroom to teach about Christmas traditions and culture.


Here are some ideas on how to use the 12 days of Christmas in the ESL classroom:

• Discuss the origins of the holiday and the carol
• Go over the lyrics of the song and discuss the meaning
• Have students act out the scenes in the song
• Make a class book or collage with the students' illustrations of the song
• Have a holiday party and sing the song together
• Make a 12 days of Christmas themed word search or crossword puzzle
• Have students write their own version of the song
• Play a game of musical chairs to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas"
• Have a "gift exchange" where students bring in wrapped gifts (not necessarily real gifts) and draw numbers to see which order they will choose gifts
• Learn common vocabulary associated with Christmas like "santa", "presents", "ornaments", etc.
• Make a class "Christmas tree" out of construction paper and have students decorate it with their own ornaments

These are just a few ideas. The important thing is to make the 12 days of Christmas relatable to your students and their cultures. You can do this by incorporating traditional Christmas activities from their cultures, or by finding creative ways to teach the 12 days of Christmas in the ESL classroom that are fun and interactive. Either way, your students will be sure to enjoy learning about this festive holiday!