Elementary teachers looking for lesson plans and activities for The Crayons’ Christmas will find this post helpful. It includes resource recommendations, free teaching ideas, and information about the book. You’ll have everything you need to deliver engaging interactive read aloud lessons based on this story.
With themes of feelings, this The Crayons’ Christmas picture book by Drew Daywalt is a favorite in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. It will be a big hit in your classroom too! Learn more about this book below!
Engage Your Students with The Crayons’ Christmas Lesson Plans & Activities in 3 Easy Steps:
- Read a summary of The Crayons’ Christmas. You can find it in the section below.
- Check out the teaching ideas for reading comprehension strategies, grammar topics and social emotional learning skills that can be taught using this children’s book.
- Download the book companion to make lesson planning simple with The Crayons’ Christmas reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, teaching ideas & no-prep extension activities.
THE CRAYONS' CHRISTMAS SUMMARY
Fans of Drew Daywalt’s crayon books will love this Christmas story about their favorite characters. As Duncan and his crayons start preparing for Christmas, they also start receiving letters and packages in the mail. Readers will learn how Duncan, his crayons and their families celebrate the holidays.
The story starts off with a letter from Peach Crayon’s mother who has sent some clothes, knowing that Peach Crayon has always been shy. As Duncan and the crayons start to take out the Christmas decorations, they receive their second letter. This time it is a note from Beige Crayon’s father. He has sent a recipe for Christmas cookies and hot cocoa that the crayons enjoy making. Soon after, readers to learn about Gray Crayon who is away celebrating Hanukkah with family. A note with a dreidel has been sent for Duncan and the crayons.
After the group goes caroling, they return to find that Chunky Toddler Crayon has ordered a present for everyone online, it is a game that they can all play! The very last letter the friends receive is from Estaban and Neon Red Crayon. Duncan is disappointed to learn they won’t be home for Christmas because they’re helping Santa deliver toys. While Duncan is happy his crayons received so many letters and presents, he feels sad they won’t all be home. Thankfully, his crayons are there to cheer him up with a Christmas surprise.
THE CRAYONS’ CHRISTMAS LESSON PLAN IDEAS
Each of our 600+ Starts With a Story book companions come with a teacher’s guide to make lesson planning quick and easy, printable worksheets and digital resources that cover ALL of the standards-based reading comprehension skills.
When it comes to writing lesson plans and finding activities for The Crayons’ Christmas, we’ve already done all of the heavy lifting for you.
We found this book was especially good at teaching the topics listed below.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
The text-based The Crayons’ Christmas reading comprehension questions focus on:
- summarize/retell
- analyzing setting
- identifying genre
- sequencing
- cause and effect
LITERATURE-BASED SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS
We found this story to be a great SEL picture book to promote:
- feelings
GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY & WORD STUDY
- proper nouns
- irregular verbs
- compound words
- antonyms
THE CRAYONS’ CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES
You’ll receive all of the following resources aligned to the story:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
YOU HAVE 2 OPTIONS! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK COMPANION?
BOOK INFO FOR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS
What are the reading levels for The Crayons’ Christmas?
- Lexile® Measure: 580L
- Guided Reading Level: M-N
- DRA Level: 28-30
- Accelerated Reader Level (ARC): 3.2-3.3
Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
The book was written by Drew Daywalt. It was illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.
What genre is The Crayons’ Christmas?
It is a fiction book. You may want to check out our genre activities or read our blog post, How to Teach Genre to Elementary Students.
How many pages are in the book?
The story is 32 pages long.
