“Christmas Gingerbreads” image courtesy of nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Christmas Day is not far away! Here is a song I wrote that my students love to sing and move to. My dear friend and Oxford co-author Setsuko Toyama from Niigata, Japan, created this wonderful activity sheet and picture cards to go with it. Just click below and print them!
It’s Christmas Time-Song by K. Kampa, Handout by S. Toyama
The steps to the activity are as follows:
1. Teach the six new words using the picture cards. Create a gesture for each word.
2. As a critical thinking activity, place the pictures for hear, smell, and see in a column on the left side of the board. Place the pictures for gingerbread, jingle bells, and Christmas tree in a column on the right side. Point to the hear card as you ask students, “What can you hear?” When students answer, “jingle bells,” draw a line from hear to jingle bells. Continue in the same way with the other words. In addition, you may ask questions such as, “Can you smell a Christmas tree? Can you see jingle bells?” and so on.
3. Hand out a copy of the activity sheet to each student. Play the song. As students listen, they point to the lyrics with illustrations (known as a rebus).
4. Play the song again, with students standing in a circle or at their desks. On each verse, pantomime the movement with your students. For a performance, you could have different groups perform each of the verses. On the chorus, students turn around slowly on “Christmas, Christmas.” On “Time to celebrate” students clap their hands three times. On “We can hardly wait,” students hug themselves, then reach their hands up high!
We hope you enjoy this wonderful Christmas song and activity!
It’s Christmas Time
Words by Kathleen Kampa, copyright © 2013 by Kathleen Kampa
(music adapted from The Muffin Man)
1. Do you hear the jingle bells,
the jingle bells, the jingle bells?
Do you hear the jingle bells?
It’s Christmas time!
Chorus:
Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate! XX
Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.
2. Do you see the Christmas tree,
the Christmas tree, the Christmas tree?
Do you see the Christmas tree?
It’s Christmas time!
Chorus:
Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate! XX
Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.
3. Do you smell the gingerbread,
The gingerbread, the gingerbread?
Do you smell the gingerbread?
It’s Christmas time!
Chorus:
Christmas! Christmas! Time to celebrate! XX
Christmas! Christmas! We can hardly wait.
4. We feel joy and happiness,
happiness, happiness,
We feel joy and happiness,
It’s Christmas time!
For the studio version of my song, go to iTunes and click on Track #13 of Kathy Kampa’s Special Days and Holidays. (Just click on iTunes above or the album cover below.)
Happy Teaching, and have a very Merry Christmas!
Kathy Kampa
MagicTimeKids 