Holidays Around the World: The Classroom Trip They Remember All Year

There are classroom activities children enjoy for an afternoon. Then there are the ones they are still talking about at the end of the year.

For my students, Holidays Around the World is that experience.

Almost every child names it as a favorite when we look back on our year. Parents rave about how much their children are learning and how much fun they are having. And my favorite part? Students have been able to share special, deeply rooted traditions from their own families.

Those moments make the learning personal. A child gets to contribute something that belongs to their family and their life. They have something important to tell us, and we get to listen.

That is the kind of excitement I want in my classroom during the holiday season.

Well, that and everyone remembering where they put their glue sticks.

A little classroom travel, a lot of meaningful learning

This unit turns learning about countries and holidays into a classroom journey. Students have plane tickets, passports, stamps, and a suitcase journal to collect their learning along the way.

Those little details matter. The passport gives each stop a place in the bigger adventure. The journal becomes a record of what students have discovered. The crafts, postcards, and mini books give them more ways to connect with what they are learning.

And underneath all that excitement, there is real teaching happening.

We are reading, discussing, building vocabulary, finding places on a map, learning about traditions, and putting ideas into writing. Students are making connections across reading, writing, oral language, social studies, geography, and art.

The activities fit together, so the craft connects to the learning and the writing has something meaningful behind it.

Want to see the whole journey? Explore the Holidays Around the World Unit on TPT.

The part I love most: children bringing their own stories into the room

Learning about holidays gives us opportunities to notice something important: families have traditions, and those traditions do not all look the same.

Some things may feel familiar to a child. Others may be new. Even families who celebrate the same holiday may celebrate differently.

In my classroom, students have shared special traditions from their own families during this unit. I love that they can contribute to the discussion from their own experience. There is pride in being able to tell your classmates about something meaningful to you.

I want every child to feel that their family and their experiences have a place in our classroom.

Sharing is always an invitation, though. A child does not need to explain a holiday, speak for an entire country, or represent everyone who shares their background. We can learn together, stay curious, and make room for different experiences.

That sense of belonging is one of the most valuable things this unit can help us build.

What a stop on our journey can look like

You do not need to turn your classroom into an airport to make this feel special.

A ticket, a passport, and an invitation to discover somewhere new are a lovely place to start. We locate the country or discuss where a holiday is celebrated, then use the slideshow to begin exploring.

From there, the learning follows a familiar rhythm:

• Look and listen. Introduce traditions, foods, celebrations, and vocabulary.
• Talk together. Give students time to notice, ask questions, and share connections.
• Write about the learning. Use the coordinating journal-help page to support a response.
• Celebrate the completed work. Students receive a seal in their journal when they finish their pages.
• Choose a hands-on connection. Add a craft, mini book, or postcard activity when it fits your plans.

The scenic background slides can stay on the screen while students work, helping the classroom continue to feel connected to that day’s destination.

You can use the same routine across the unit without making every day identical.

Writing feels different when children have something to say

A writing page can feel like a very big assignment when a child is staring at it without an idea.

Here, students have already seen the slideshow, heard the vocabulary, and talked about what they learned. The journal-help pages give them picture word banks, sentence starters, flags, and writing reminders to refer to as they work.

They have a starting point.

The unit includes three journal line formats to support use across kindergarten through third grade. You can choose the format that works for your students and adjust how much support you provide.

Some children may draw and dictate before writing. Others may use a sentence starter, while students who are ready can develop a longer response.

I love that the finished journal holds both the learning and the child’s own work. It becomes something they can look through, talk about, and take home with pride.

Two slideshow styles, one coordinated experience

Teachers have different preferences for what they put on the screen, so the unit includes two PowerPoint slideshow styles.

One uses realistic-style illustrations to bring foods, places, and traditions into view. The other uses a clean, simple clip-art style.

Choose the version that suits your classroom, or use parts of both. The coordinating journal support helps connect the presentation to what students do next.

The goal is to give you useful options without asking you to invent the lesson around them.

The keepsakes are part of the learning

The crafts are fun to make. The postcards are fun to explore. The mini books give students another way to revisit a country or holiday.

But I also love what happens when those pieces become a collection.

A journal filled with a child’s writing, a passport with stamps, and crafts they made themselves give students something tangible to share. They can show what they learned instead of trying to remember an entire school day when someone asks, “What did you do today?”

The unit includes 18 country and holiday stops, with coordinating mini books, postcard sets in two styles, and journal materials, along with crafts, passports, stamps, and plane tickets.

You can select the pieces that serve your students. Everything does not have to happen in one sitting, or even on one day.

Looking for read-aloud ideas to pair with your journey? Browse my Holidays Around the World Resource Guide for book suggestions.

A big unit should make planning easier, too

There is a lot here, and I want the organization to help you use it.

The 26-page teacher guide includes how-to information, lesson plans, a scope and sequence, flexible pacing, and K–3 standards connections. You can plan a longer journey or choose stops that fit the time you have.

The updated collection contains 369 PDF pages and 406 PowerPoint slides, including alternate versions. You do not need to print every page or present every slide. The options are there so you can choose what works, not so you have another giant stack to get through.

For me, the most important part is still the experience: children excited to learn, proud to contribute, and eager to share what they have made.

When they remember this as a favorite at the end of the year, that says a lot.

See the complete Holidays Around the World Unit on TPT and start planning your class’s journey.