This Christmas in Australia resource can be used as a stand alone unit or as part of a larger holidays around the world unit. It includes tons of Christmas in Australia facts and information you need to teach your students about this special winter holiday.
Australia is a very popular choice when doing a Christmas around the world or holidays around the world unit. You’ll be surprised when reading Christmas in Australia facts how similar Christmas in Australia is compared to Christmas in the United States. There are, however, some differences which makes it an interesting place to explore with elementary students during the month of December.
What is Christmas in Australia like?
This is an excerpt from the reading passage and student mini-booklet that can be found in the Christmas in Australia unit:
“December is a very hot month in Australia. That means the holiday season is very warm and sunny. Some Australians even celebrate on the beach!
People decorate their homes with lights, trees, and ornaments. Australians also decorate with Christmas Bush. Christmas Bush is a native Australian tree with small green leaves and colored flowers…”
Why You Should Teach Students about Christmas in Australia
The month of December is a great time of year to teach elementary students about the different holidays and celebrations that take place around the world. Students are already thinking about the upcoming holidays, so it makes sense to use this excitement to engage them in their learning. There are so many different ways to tie this topic into your curriculum – especially social studies and literacy standards!
Christmas in Australia is a particularly interesting topic to explore because it has many similarities to how Christmas is celebrated in the United States, which many of your students will be familiar with. At the same time, there are some components that are a little bit different, which makes it interesting for students to compare and contrast the two.
5 Facts about Christmas in Australia
Here are five Christmas in Australia Facts:
- December is a very hot month in Australia.
- Some Australians celebrate Christmas on the beach.
- People decorate their homes with lights, trees, and ornaments.
- Australians decorate with Christmas Bush, a native Australian tree.
- On Christmas Eve, there are many “Carols by Candlelight” services where people get together and sing while holding candles.
Christmas in Australia Unit
This Christmas in Australia unit is available as an individual resource, as well as part of a larger holidays around the world bundle. Learn more about it below!
What’s Included?
This Christmas in Australia resource includes the following:
- resource overview that identifies all of the printables included in the product
- teaching ideas that offer suggestions for how to implement the resources in your classroom
- organizational tools to help you keep track of the resources you add to this thematic unit
- book suggestions to help you find relevant read alouds you might like to use as part of your unit
- close reading passage for both teachers and students to learn facts about Christmas in Australia
- printable book for students to use to learn about the holiday
- two-column notes graphic organizer so your students can organize their ideas and the research they collect
- top-down web graphic organizer so your students can take the information they collected and transfer it into a paragraph framework
- cover pages that students can color in or design their own illustration
- geography map to help students make sense of where the country is in relation to themselves
- flag bunting that looks great displayed on a bulletin board
- flag coloring page that pairs well with the writing project and makes a great bulletin board
- postcards so students can show what they learned in a fun and creative way
- travel scrapbook so students can show what they learned in a fun and creative way
- travel journal so students can show what they learned in a fun and creative way
- art project to engage your students in a fun learning experience based on an academic topic
- recipe for students to bring home, share with their families, and enjoy a hands-on learning extension
- digital version of the product so students can access the materials in school and at home
5 Reasons Why You Will Love It
- This Christmas in Australia resource includes a bunch of activities, so it’s a great value!
- Many of the Christmas in Australia resources are completely print and go, which saves you lots of prep time.
- You can customize this Christmas in Australia unit to fit your needs by selecting which included activities you implement.
- The Christmas in Australia activities are open-ended, which makes it easier to differentiate and make modifications. It also enables you to use this in multiple grade levels.
- This Christmas in Australia unit is a great way to keep students engaged during a month where that can feel extra challenging!
How to Implement a Christmas in Australia Unit
Below are suggestions for how to implement a Christmas in Australia unit.
1. Activate Schema
Locate Australia on a Map
Like all lessons, you will want to begin by activating student schema and engaging them in their learning. You can do this by:
- Locating Australia on a map.
- Discussing Australia’s climate.
- Inviting students to participate in mapping activities that help them understand where your students are in relation to Australia and the rest of the world.
This Me on the Map project has long been the most effective way I know to teach students where they are located from a global perspective.
Many teachers use it as part of a map skills unit at the start of each school year, but it also works so perfectly as an introduction to your Christmas Around the World or Holidays Around the World lessons.
Read Picture Books Related to Australia
Learn about Australia by reading aloud fictional picture books that take place in Australia and non-fiction books teaching facts about Australia.
Our favorite book is Christmas Wombat! We loved it so much we added it to our Starts With a Story collection. Learn more about holidays around the world picture books!
Christmas Wombat
The book, Christmas Wombat, is a short and funny story told from the perspective of a wombat. In the book, the wombat is describing his day, almost like a journal. He comes across some carrots and excitedly eats them. However there are some strange creatures, Santa’s reindeer, eating his carrots! The wombat continues to follow Santa and the reindeer, eating all of the reindeer’s carrots. He has never seen so many carrots in his life! By the time he returns home is he too full to eat the delicious grass he sees. Check out these Christmas Wombat activities!
2. Engage in the Activities from the Christmas in Australia Unit
The Christmas in Australia Unit includes tons of activities to choose from. Read through the resource overview and list of teaching ideas included in the unit to determine which activities you’d like to implement.
Read the Christmas in Australia Texts and Complete the Note-Taking Activities
This unit includes a close reading passage and printable book that your students can read to learn about the holiday. There is also a two-column notes graphic organizer and a top-down web graphic organizer that students can use to collect information about the holiday.
Analyze a Map of Australia
This unit includes a map to help students make sense of where the country is in relation to themselves. Our Me on the Map activities is a nice compliment to this activity.
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Make a Travel Journal, Scrapbook, or Postcard
Having students create a travel journal, scrapbook, or postcard will invite them to show what they have learning in a fun and creative way.
Send Home a Traditional Australian Recipe
Send home a traditional Australian recipe for students to share with their families and continue their learning at home.
Make an Australian Craft
Take some time to do a craft with your students to represent the country you are focusing on, Australia. It is so hard to fit in creative activities, but a winter celebrations around the world unit is a perfect time to incorporate fun hands-on learning experiences.
Here is what we made when we studied Australia! Check out these directions for how to make this craft and get ideas for other holidays around the world crafts!
3. Assess Students Using the Resources from the Unit
There are tons of different ways to assess students during and at the conclusion of your Christmas in Australia unit. You can use the graphic organizers, classroom observations, and class discussions as informal assessments. You can use the postcard, travel scrapbook, and travel journal as formal assessments. You can decide what works best for you and your class of students!
Holidays Around the World Unit
What is Included?
You can get the Christmas in Australia unit on it’s own or as part of the popular cost-savings holidays around the world bundle, which includes the following winter celebrations around the world:
- Australia
- Brazil
- China
- France
- Germany
- Mexico
- Italy
- Israel
- Holland / The Netherlands
- Sweden
- Spain
- The United States
- Christmas
- Chinese New Year
- Boxing Day
- Diwali
- Epiphany
- Hanukkah
- Kwanzaa
- Las Posadas
- St. Lucia’s Day
The bundle also includes the following bonus materials:
- Access to a digital portal for easy planning
- Passports and country stamps
- Luggage craft activity
- Boarding passes
- Travel map
- Compare and contrast countries with Venn diagrams
- Craft ideas
- Scrapbook cover
- Recipes
Check Out These Other Related Resources
In addition to the winter celebrations around the world resources spotlighted above, a study about Las Posadas lends itself to a variety of other complementary projects like travel brochures, an animal research project and crafts.
1. Travel Brochures
You could have your students create travel brochures by researching the country. This can be done in class or as a homework assignment to complement what you are doing in school. These printables travel brochures make it super simple!
2. Animal Research Projects
You could have your students learn about the wildlife native to Australia. This print and go animal research resource packet can be used over and over again through the school year because it was designed to be used when researching any animal.
If you need ideas specific to Australia, I suggest:
- dingos
- kangaroos
- wallabies
- koalas
- wombats
3. List of Christmas in Australia Books
We’ve curated a list of picture books for each of the countries. Check out all of the holidays around the world books on our list!
4. List of Christmas in Australia Videos
We’ve curated a list of videos for each of the countries. Check out all of the the holidays around the world videos on our list!
5. List of Holidays Around the World Posts
This post is part of a series designed to help teachers and homeschool families teach kids about the winter celebrations around the world. Other posts can be found below as well as the links to my other posts that you may find helpful in the month of December.
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I also encourage you to visit this article to learn how to manage a holidays around the world learning experience in your classroom. The Christmas in Australia facts and information, as well as the printable and digital resources, will help you with planning and teaching lessons about Christmas in Australia, as well as a comprehensive holidays around the world resource. Your elementary students will love learning about the Australian customs and traditions!
