Whether you’re planning festive lessons for December, searching for engaging activities to kick off the new year after break, or looking for fun moose-themed classroom ideas, Moose Theme Day offers a variety of winter classroom activities your students will love. Keep scrolling to discover creative and easy-to-implement ideas that will bring your classroom to life this winter!
The idea behind Moose Day…
One of my favorite holiday read-alouds is Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini. It’s such a fun and festive story that my students always enjoy. Poor Moose works tirelessly to prepare for the holidays, but in all the hustle and bustle, he forgets one key detail: the Christmas tree! In true Moose fashion, he steps up in a big way—by becoming the tree himself, all thanks to his fabulous mustache. The magical storyline paired with the playful rhyming makes it a student favorite, and it’s always a hit in my classroom.
For this book, we focus on the reading comprehension strategy of problem and solution, which we spend a lot of time practicing in December. Mooseltoe is a perfect fit for this, as it offers a clear problem (the missing tree) and a creative solution (Moose becomes the tree). After we dive into the comprehension activities, we always have fun decorating Moose with holiday lights—each one unique and adorable in its own way!
Over the years, reading this story became so much fun that I decided it deserved a whole day dedicated to it. That’s how my “Moose Day” was born! I used it as part of the “12 Days of Christmas” in my classroom, completing it before winter break. But since there’s no direct mention of Christmas in the story, it’s a theme that can be used year-round, which is why I included it in my Winter Theme Day Bundle as well.
Getting Started with Moose Theme Day
On Moose Day, when my students walked into the classroom, they’d see a bright “Moose Day” sign glowing on the board. We kicked off the day by making moose headbands, so everyone could wear them all day long. Next, we activated their prior knowledge by discussing what they already knew about moose. Then, I read a simple nonfiction reader I created about moose, and together we filled up a chart with all the new facts they learned.
Once the headbands were on and the moose facts were in place, I introduced the day’s activities. Each student received a checklist of centers to complete, so they could move around the room, tackling fun hands-on tasks. It was a wonderful way to combine learning with the holiday spirit, and the students absolutely loved it!
Moose Activities for Phonics, Math, and Writing
The Moose Day phonics activities include:
- Compound Word Puzzles
- Homonym Puzzles
- CvC Word Task Cards/Scoot/Center
- Real vs. Nonsense Digraph Sort
- Word Search
- Abc Order
- Asking versus telling
- Syllables
The Moose Day math games and activities include:
- Number Bond Task Cards
- Roll and Subtract from 10 Cover All Game
- Spin and Add 10 Bingo
- “Moose”ing Around Up and Back Board Game
- Moose Bingo Spin and Add 2
There are several Moose Day writing activities to choose from too! The writing activities include:
- Fill in the blank
- Informative writing with a web
- Opinion writing with prewriting (2 versions)
- Moose survey
- Label a Moose
In addition to the moose-themed activities, I’ve also included follow-up tasks for the nonfiction mini-booklet we read together. These reading comprehension activities help reinforce the new information we learned about moose. Plus, there are general templates that can be used with any moose-themed fiction book, making it a versatile resource for other lessons as well.
Moose-themed Snack
While the students are rotating through the different centers, I take charge of the snack center. This is always a highlight of the day—not only is it fun, but it’s also a delicious treat! Together, we make a creative moose-themed snack that adds an extra bit of joy to the day’s activities. It’s a perfect way to wrap up the learning with something both tasty and memorable!
Here’s what a few other teachers had to say about Moose Day in their rooms:
“This is a well designed and engaging product. I have used it in my K-1-2 split class during our moose theme week and the children really enjoyed it. Thank you!”
“My students loved these activities! They also absolutely loved the treat that went along with it!”
Digital Moose Day Activities
Moose Day was always a big hit in my classroom! Even during COVID as we were learning from home my students still had a virtual Moose Day over the computer. Now, I use this Digital Moose Day as a fun digital center in my classroom.
More Moose Activities
If you and your students want to dive even deeper into learning about moose, I have a complete nonfiction unit that covers everything you could want to know about these amazing animals. The unit includes a book with real photos and more detailed information, along with a report template and tons of informational text standards. This comprehensive unit could easily be used over the course of a week, making it a great way to extend the learning in the classroom!
Check out my other winter theme day blog posts:
Moose Theme Day is included in my Christmas and Winter Theme Day bundles below!
