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Holiday Lesson: December Concentration Game

December Holiday

Return to Classroom Lessons Deliver Holiday Presence!

 

Subjects

Arts & Humanities
--Visual Arts
Educational Technology
Physical Education
--Games
Social Studies
--Holidays

Grades
  • Pre K
  • K-2
  • 3-5
  • 6-8

Brief Description

Build memory and attention-to-detail skills as students play this seasonal adaptation of the classic Concentration game.

Objectives

Students will
  • build memory and attention skills as they play the classic game of Concentration using cards with December holiday and weather pictures on them.

Keywords

concentration, memory, detail, game, Christmas, December, Chanukah, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa

Materials Needed

  • holiday and/or winter clip art from books or online resources (provided)
  • 3- x 5-inch index cards (30 per game)

Lesson Plan

Adapt the classic TV game show Concentration in this seasonal activity. Trim 30 3 x 5 index cards to 3 x 3 squares. Then create 15 pairs of cards; each pair should have the same seasonal image on the card. See the December Clip Art links below for some great image resources. Following are several ideas for using those resources and other holiday materials:

  • For younger students, keep the images simple and distinct. You might even limit the number of cards to 12 or 16 instead of 30. Christmas clip art sites are great sources of printable images. Cut out and then paste the pairs of images onto the cards.
  • Some sites listed below offer images that can create extra challenges in the game of Concentration. For example, see the Christmas Clip Art page, where you will find several different-colored bows, sprigs of holly, snow people, and so on.
  • Cut small square samples (1-1/2 square is a good size) of different kinds of holiday wrapping paper and mount them on different cards. Student will have to concentrate to match the locations of the matching wrapping papers.

Concentration Rules

You know how the game is played. Turn the cards of matching pictures upside down, mix them up, and set them up in six rows of five cards. Students work in pairs to play the game. The first student turns over any two cards. If the pictures on the cards match, that student takes the two cards and continues playing. If the two cards do not have matching pictures, the next play goes to the other student. Play continues until all matches have been made. The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

December Clip Art

Following are some excellent sources of December clip art. Some art is Christmas-related while some is simply winter-themed.

Assessment

Students have fun and build skills of memory, attention to detail, and cooperation while playing the game.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

TECHNOLOGY

  • GRADES K - 12
  • Basic Operations and Concepts

See more lessons and resources from Education World at our December Holidays Around the World Web page.

Click to return to this weeks Lesson Planning article, Classroom Lessons Deliver Holiday Presence!.


Links last updated 11/18/2011