20 Varied and Fun December Writing Prompts That Aren’t About Christmas

Christmas activities can add some fun to your classroom, but there’s only so much Rudolph and Frosty a teacher can take over the course of a few weeks.  Add that to the fact that many families don’t celebrate Christmas, and that can lead you on a lengthy search for high-quality (yet fun!) activities that still bring some December cheer.  The perfect solution to this problem?  Writing prompts that capture student interest by featuring special days in December! Keep reading to find 20 fun December writing prompts that will keep your students happily writing till break!

Encourage your students to eat healthily as they explore Expository Writing by sharing reasons why they should eat fruit every day.  

Bring red apples to class and allow your kids to experience eating one for themselves!

Buttery, salty, sweet, and crunchy – students will sharpen their Descriptive Writing skills as they describe their favorite type of popcorn.

Pop some popcorn and share it with your students as a pre-writing snack! That’s one way to inspire creative thinking that I could really get behind!

Practice Narrative Writing (as well as encourage kindness) by asking students to write about their favorite gift they have ever made for someone.  

Students can’t remember ever making a gift?  Tell them to think of a gift they could make instead!  Then encourage them to really create what they wrote about and give that gift to a loved one.

This writing prompt could also be used to work on How To writing.  Instead of having students write about a personal experience, encourage them to use that experience to teach someone else how to make the same gift.  

4. National Sock Day

How could a day get any cooler than this one?  Sneak in some Narrative Writing practice by asking your students to imagine they are ninjas for the day then write a story of their adventures!  

Another sneaky “Teacher Trick”?  Watch their hallway behavior improve 100% by pretending to be ninjas as they stealthily creep to the library, cafeteria, or gym!

Don’t let this Expository paragraph fry your brain!  Ask students to think about the benefits of using a microwave instead of a conventional oven and then explain them.  

Want to make this day memorable?  After writing, do a mini science experiment by microwaving different types of candy and see what happens! Then let them document their findings in their science journal.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is a day to remember the thousands of lives lost on December 7, 1941, during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  This day has an obvious connection to history and social studies.  

But don’t stop there. Teacher your students about remembrance in general and open their eyes and understanding to many special days we celebrate during year. Connect this idea to having students remember someone important to them.  This Descriptive writing prompt asks students to describe someone important to them.  Once students have finished writing, encourage them to draw a picture for or of that special person!

This prompt will propel students into the future!  The year 2144 to be exact!  Students will use their imaginations to pretend they are now in the future, then flex those Persuasive powers of theirs to convince someone from that time that they are from the past!

Do not pass up the opportunity to show your students that you are from the past too!  Pull out old kitchen gadgets, tools, or tech devices and explain their uses!  

Llamas sure are interesting creatures, and in this prompt, students get to describe just how interesting they really are by telling important details like what they are, where they live, and other cool facts.

To get the ball rolling on this prompt, perhaps show a quick YouTube video clip of llamas on a farm before asking students to write.  If you’d like to teach your students 10 interesting facts about llamas check out this video that was made for kids!  And . . . a silly picture like this one will get your students excited to start writing!

When writing a Narrative story, students naturally write better when the topic is themselves!  Have students imagine they won a Nobel Prize!  Students can share what they won the prize for and how.  

For a little inspiration, show pictures of past Nobel Prize winners and explain what important contributions they made to the world that earned them this prestigious award!

Linguine, rotini, spaghetti, or orzo – students will need to use their noodles to decide on their favorite pasta and write reasons as to why it’s better than any other type of pasta!

Give students practice making evidence-based arguments by holding a class discussion where students try to convince you that their favorite pasta is better than yours!

No matter what you think about the taste of gingerbread, there’s no denying that a well-made gingerbread house is simply adorable!  Let your students pretend they are gingerbread men and describe the gingerbread house they live in (down to the tiniest detail!).

Have students who don’t have experience with gingerbread houses?  Build some background knowledge before they write by showing a quick YouTube video of the Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn!  These incredible (and edible!) works of art are sure to inspire even the most reluctant writer!

In this Narrative prompt, students will imagine they are a musician performing in front of a large crowd.  They must write a short story that tells how they are feeling and what they are doing through this experience.  

To really set the mood, play orchestral music before or during your students writing time.

Yes, there really is a Monkey Day, and what better way to celebrate it than to allow students to choose their favorite primate and write a Descriptive paragraph about it?   You could also have students write about whether they would like to have a monkey as a pet.

Once students have written about their animals, allow them to share famous primates they know from movies or tv (ex. Curious George, Ivan, King Kong, etc…) and compare/contrast them with real primates.

There is not much that captures the interest of a kid quicker than the word “cupcake”!  Capitalize on that by asking students to write a Descriptive paragraph about their favorite cupcake.  Remind them that they should use all 5 senses in their description.  

If you’re feeling super festive, grab a platter of tiny cupcakes from your local bakery!  Have a class discussion where everyone describes the cupcakes as they are eating them!  

This Narrative prompt may just be a class favorite as students are asked to write a story where they forgot to turn off a chocolate fountain and chocolate has splattered everywhere!  

Not only will this silly prompt inspire some giggles, but the pictures they create in their minds as they write will definitely need to be drawn!  Give your students extra time to illustrate and share their stories with the class!

Introduce your students to Orville and Wilbur Wright and their invention to kick off this special day.  Airplanes are arguably one of the most important inventions in history.  In this Expository prompt, ask students to give examples of how airplanes have changed the world (a class brainstorming session before writing may be helpful if some kids seem unsure about what to write).  

When you are finished, have a paper airplane-making competition!  Design, color, and fly those paper airplanes to see which one can fly the farthest, make loops, or be the tiniest but can still fly, etc.

 

Buddy the Elf brings cheer to everyone around so why not have your students spread a little cheer just like him?  Students will pretend to be Buddy the Elf and write a descriptive paragraph detailing what they would say when answering the phone like Buddy.  

After writing, have students read their paragraphs aloud to the class using their very best “elf voices”!  Encourage your students to spend the rest of the day doing kind deeds for other people as a way to spread cheer (they can drop the “elf voice” though!).

Muffins make breakfast just a bit sweeter, and this Persuasive prompt asks students to make a choice- which muffin tastes better: oatmeal or blueberry?  Students must decide and write reasons for why others should agree with them.

And you know what goes well with a choice like this?  A taste test! If you’re able to, cut 2-3 blueberry and oatmeal muffins into bite-sized pieces so students can make an informed decision!  If not, a picture of each item may help students to get a better idea of what they are choosing between if they have never eaten them before.

A little class discussion about what caroling is, sharing past experiences, and perhaps singing a song or two together will help students connect to this Narrative prompt.  Ask students to write a story about a time they went caroling.  Many students may not have been caroling before, so ask them to imagine where they would go, who they would sing to, and what they would sing to help create an imaginary story of what they would hope their caroling experience would be.  

If your school allows it, practice singing a song together several times, then take your students to the principal, the cafeteria staff, or other classrooms and carol to them!

These writing prompts are so much fun, and I hope you can use them in your classroom!  You can find all of these December Daily Writing Prompts on Teachers Pay Teachers!  

You will find beautiful prompt pages (in both printable and digital formats) and student writing pages that are themed to go along with the day’s prompt.  You can even add your own prompts on the editable Prompt card and student page!  This resource will truly make the weeks leading up to break so much easier for you and fun for your students!  And . . . by the end of the 20 days they just might love writing a little more!

Not ready for December planning just yet?  Pin this post to your favorite December Activities Pinterest Board!  These ideas will be right where you left them, ready for when you need them!