Teach with the Grinch before Christmas break. Here are 15 Grinch lesson plans, ideas, printables and resources to teach with the Grinch in your classroom.
Grinch Day Activities
Grinch Day is one of my favorite days of the year! It’s the perfect opportunity to calm some of the pre-Christmas craziness while keeping children engaged and learning. These Grinch Day activities are perfect for your little learners this December. Keep reading and be inspired to host your own Epic Grinch Day celebration!
Of course, you (obviously) can’t host a Grinch Day without the Grinch book. Can you believe this classic was published all the way back in 1957 and is still so well loved today? I also suggest getting a Grinch movie to have on hand. If you don’t already own them, you can purchase them by clicking the images below. (Please read my Disclosure about affiliate links.)
I like this version of the Grinch movie because it’s only 26 minutes long, and it doesn’t have some of the inappropriate language of the Jim Carey version.
Math Activities for Grinch Day
First Grade WOW Blog has a fun and FREE 100’s chart mystery picture that’s perfect for your Grinch day math. Students love mystery pictures and don’t even realize they’re learning or practicing important math concepts. This activity would work for Kindergarten or first grade as students must recognize written numbers from 1-100.
These math word problems (source unknown) are another fun Grinch Day activity. Students create an addition and subtraction problem booklet with Grinch themed story problems. You can download this FREEBIE here.
Grinch Day Literacy Activities
Have students write a friendly letter to the Grinch persuading him to be nice. I love seeing the ideas they come up with, and this writing template is perfect for kindergarten and first graders. I have a freebie at the end of this post where you can download this writing template!
Another fun writing activity we love to do on Grinch Day also includes a Grinch craft. I created this FREE template so your little learners can make the Grinch. In his mouth, they draw and write about how they would make him GRIN. Even my preschool students love this craft and writing prompt! Click the image below to grab this FREE craft template.
Teach With The Grinch
Seuss Vocabulary Worksheet – Use context clues to determine what ramshackle, slunk, sneer and other clever vocabulary words of Dr. Seuss mean. For 2nd-5th grade.
Make the Grinch Smile Writing Prompt – What would you do to make him grin from ear to ear? Here’s an alternative version simplified for kindergarten.
Fill in the 120 Chart – Fill in the missing numbers to 120 (perfect for 1st grade)… looks like somebody grinchy stole them!
Problem Solving Booklet – Students draw Seuss inspired illustrations to demonstrate solving first grade word problems. Also includes a link to free writing papers.
Grinch Classroom Lesson Plans
The Grinch Readers Theater – Create a classroom version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas with this readers theater with 14 Whos, a grinch, Cindy Lou Who and a thought bubble narrator.
Parts of a Story Anchor Chart – Dissect the movie or the read aloud and fill out a themed anchor chart. Then have students complete their own graphic organizer using the next listed resource.
Graphic Organizer – Break apart the story into characters, setting, problem and solution and write a summary.
Fun Ways to Teach with the Grinch
Showing Kindness Classroom Management – Place the focus on being kind and promoting helping others with this simple heart-earning system for the month of December. A fun way to add spice to your classroom management.
Grinch Jail – If you think inviting the Grinch into your classroom sounds like a fun alternative to the elf on the shelf, he could put your classroom reading buddies into Grinch jail.
How to Draw the Grinch Guided Drawing – Teach how to draw the Grinch with steps laid out. Perfect for a guided drawing lesson from an art teacher. Or create cool painted versions with this tutorial video.
The place for creative, free teaching ideas and activities
for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Simple Grinch directed art project
So, on the last day of winter break we had a little GRINCH day. It was a last minute idea and my team couldn’t find ANY Grinch attire. we searched everywhere! So, we tried our best with a green theme. I do have green on under that black coat – promise! 🙂
I thought I would share a couple of activities we did with you. I found this adorable directed drawing from Art Projects for Kids. It was just PERFECT!
I love how they all turn out so different! Some of them weren’t happy with theirs at first, but once they began coloring them I heard things like “Mine is just perfect!” and “This is my best drawing ever!” I think those smiles tell you how proud they are of their work. 🙂
Of course, I always create one right along with them and they just oooh and ahhh over my work. They think I should become an art teacher (HAHA) but what they don’t realize is that I’m just as amazed as they are that I created something that somewhat resembled the Grinch! 🙂
But, they always think the teacher’s work is golden. So, I use that to my advantage. I like to “auction” mine off at the end of the day and let a student take it home. This time of year, you can even use that as a little behavior management technique and let them earn “tickets” into the auction. (Hey. we need all the help we can get the week before Christmas break, right??)
We’re currently working on learning to use dictionaries and thesauruses in our classroom, so I knew I wanted to get some green paint strips from Lowe’s. I write an adjective describing the Grinch at the top of each strip and students worked with partners to find synonyms in a thesaurus. They had to be able to pronounce their chosen word and use it in a sentence to share with the class. They loved learning new Grinchy vocabulary!
Next year, I’ll be ALL SET for Grinch day! Today, I received a snail mail package from Jen over at Teaching in the Tongass – a Grinch shirt, water bottle, and flash drive FULL of clip art sets from her shop! I won a contest she hosted – Merry Christmas to me. I LOVE Jen and use her amazing clip art on a ton of my products. Go visit her shop – you’ll love her work!
