Teaching Reading Skills with Animated Christmas Shorts

Animated Christmas shorts are a fantastic resource for teaching reading skills, especially when students’ attention might wander during the holiday season. These films are short enough to hold students’ interest while packed with rich narratives and visual cues that make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable. Using animated shorts in your lessons can capture students’ imaginations and make learning fun and effective.

Incorporating Animated Shorts into Your Lessons

Using animated shorts like Santa’s Intern and The Letter can enhance your reading lessons by providing students with engaging content that they can analyze and discuss. These films are excellent tools for teaching reading skills such as cause and effect, inference, and character development. They also offer opportunities to explore themes like perseverance, kindness, and the true spirit of the holidays.

Lesson Handout

I’ve created handouts with constructed response organizers for each film. These handouts are available exclusively in my Winter Vault, a special collection of seasonal resources for your classroom instruction during the winter months. The Winter Vault is filled with activities, lesson plans, and tools to help you teach reading and language arts skills. To access the Winter Vault, click the button below to sign up and get immediate access to these resources.

Teaching Skills with Animated Christmas Shorts

Santa’s Intern (Length 2:25)

“Santa’s Intern” is an animated short that follows Timmy, an intern learning the ropes of being Santa. On his first night delivering gifts on Christmas Eve, Timmy faces a series of humorous mishaps that turn his night into a comedic disaster. Despite the challenges, Timmy’s determination to spread Christmas joy shines through, making this short film both entertaining and heartwarming for students.

Discussion Prompts for Classroom Engagement:

Feelings and Lessons: How do you think Timmy felt after his mishaps? What lesson could he have learned from this experience?
Problem-Solving: What would you do differently to ensure the gifts are delivered on time if you were in Timmy’s shoes?

Extension Activities:

Creative Writing: Have students write a diary entry from Timmy’s perspective, reflecting on his eventful night as Santa’s intern.
Art Project: Encourage students to create a storyboard for a sequel to “Santa’s Intern,” imagining what adventures Timmy might face next.

The Letter (Length 1:22)

The second film, The Letter, is a heartwarming story about a postmaster discovering a lost letter that has been missing for years. He decides to fulfill the wish of the letter’s author, who is now an adult, showcasing the true spirit of Christmas. This short film offers an excellent opportunity to discuss themes of kindness and the power of small acts of compassion.

This short film is an excellent resource for discussing themes such as kindness, compassion, and the power of human connection. It is a perfect example for educators looking to inspire their students with stories that promote positive values and encourage thoughtful discussions.

Discussion Questions

In addition to the inference questions provided in the handout, you may wish to add a few to your classroom discussion.

Emotional Impact: How do you think the postmaster felt when discovering the lost letter? What emotions might the letter’s author have experienced upon receiving a response after so many years?

Themes of Kindness: What does the postmaster’s decision to fulfill the wish in the letter tell us about the importance of kindness and compassion? Can you think of a time when a small act of kindness made a big difference in your life or someone else’s? How did it impact you or them?

Modern Relevance: How would the story of ‘The Letter’ change if it were set in today’s digital age? Would the impact of the postmaster’s actions be different?

Extension Activities

Creative Writing: Have students write a short story or diary entry from the perspective of the letter’s author, describing his feelings after receiving the bicycle.

Art Project: Students can create an illustrated timeline of the letter’s journey, from its writing to its final delivery. This timeline can include drawings or digital art.

What People Are Saying

Here’s what one teacher, Kari, had to say about using these resources in her classroom:

“My students have loved using this resource. I have been utilizing this with my in-class learners as well as my online students. They love watching the short films and analyzing what they watched. This resource is helping them to understand the many different reading and writing skills in a way that is better for them to understand. I love it!”

Adding animated Christmas shorts to your reading lessons is a fun way to engage students during the holiday season. Use the button below to access the exclusive handouts available in the Winter Vault.