If you want to bring cultural learning to life this December, this Christmas in Spanish speaking countries project gives your students an engaging way to read, research, and create while learning about holiday traditions across Latin America. This resource combines reading comprehension passages with a hands-on 3D research project that helps your students understand how Christmas is celebrated in different Spanish speaking countries. It comes in English, Spanish, and a bilingual bundle so you can choose the format that works best for your classroom.
December can be a challenging month for planning, especially if you want activities that feel festive without losing instructional value. This bundle gives you a complete set of ready-to-use materials that support literacy, cultural studies, and creative expression for your upper elementary students. Your students learn about real traditions and celebrations, then apply what they learn through a research project that becomes a colorful display for your classroom, hallway, or December bulletin boards.
Ready to grab yours? Click here to find the Christmas in Spanish Speaking Countries Project on TPT.
Why This Christmas in Spanish Speaking Countries Project Works So Well
The unit begins with six high-interest reading passages that focus entirely on Christmas in Latin America. These passages help your students understand cultural practices, foods, decorations, and traditions in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Cuba. Each passage includes full color images that show what celebrations look like in real communities, which helps students visualize the traditions as they read.
Your students also answer four multiple choice questions and one written response question for each passage. This gives you an easy way to integrate reading comprehension into your holiday units without creating extra worksheets or activities. You can project the passages for whole group lessons, assign them digitally in Google Slides, or print them as part of a December literacy rotation. Because the texts come in both print and digital forms, you can use them in whatever format fits your teaching style.
Once your students have explored Christmas across these six Spanish speaking countries, they transition to the hands-on portion of the bundle. This is where the excitement really builds, because the 3D research project helps students take information from the readings and turn it into something creative, colorful, and meaningful.
Christmas in Spanish Speaking Countries Project: How the Research Portion Works
Instead of writing a traditional report, your students complete 12 themed research tasks using the provided templates. The tasks help them organize information about each country’s traditions, foods, decorations, symbols, and celebrations. Students cut, color, and assemble their pages to create a 3D research ball that can hang from the ceiling or become part of a December display.
The templates are easy for students to follow, and the teacher directions include step-by-step assembly photos so you can guide your class even if you have never used a project like this before. The final projects look impressive on hallway displays and make a wonderful end-of-unit showcase that families and administrators love.
Because your students get to choose a country and take ownership of their research, the project feels personal and engaging. They enjoy building something hands-on, and you get to see their understanding in a creative, student-centered way. This also makes the project an ideal option for early finishers, small groups, or independent research time.
What’s Included in the Complete Bundle
Christmas in Spanish Speaking Countries Reading Passages
- 6 reading passages about Christmas across Latin America
- Countries included: Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Cuba
- 4 multiple choice questions and 1 written response question per passage
- Answer keys for quick grading
- Google Slides versions of the passages and questions
Christmas Around the World Research Project
- Student checklist with all 12 research tasks
- Template pages for the 3D research ball
- Step-by-step teacher directions with assembly photos
- Rubric for easy grading
This bundle gives you everything you need to help your students read, research, and create without spending hours prepping materials or hunting down sources. The reading passages provide the content knowledge, and the research project gives your students a place to apply what they learn in a hands-on, memorable way.
How to Use This Bundle in Your December Classroom
There are many ways to incorporate this Christmas in Spanish speaking countries project into your lessons. You can teach one country per day and turn the entire unit into a cultural study that runs through the month of December. You can also use the passages as part of a nonfiction reading unit, or as a social studies extension that explores geography and cultural diversity.
If you teach in a bilingual or dual language setting, you can use the Spanish version of the passages to support language development while still exploring holiday traditions. The bilingual bundle makes it easy to differentiate for your students, provide choice, or move between languages with ease.
- Click here to grab the English version
- Click here to snag the Spanish version
- Click here to nab the bilingual bundle
Teachers often use the completed 3D projects for door decorations, hallway displays, or a final showcase that celebrates student learning. The projects look impressive and help your students feel proud of their work.
With Christmas in Spanish speaking countries research project, your students read, research, create, and celebrate global traditions in one meaningful December resource. If you want a no-prep way to make your holiday lessons culturally rich, academically strong, and highly engaging, you can find the bundle here.
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10 Festive Christmas Books in Spanish
