Classroom Elf Writing Activities to Spark Creativity

Have you decided that you will have a visitor from the North Pole in your classroom this year? A classroom elf doesn’t have to be a time-consuming or complicated part of your December classroom routine.  In fact, a classroom elf can actually help with important skill practice, especially writing! In this post, I’m sharing my favorite elf writing activities for the elementary classroom that will get your students excited to pick up their pencils and write!

Why a Classroom Elf is So Engaging

The classroom elf is something that your students will be very excited about!  In fact, they will probably be itching to talk about the elf with anyone who will listen! When students are excited to talk about something, it is easier for them to write about it.  This is why I have found a classroom elf to be a great motivator for even the most reluctant writers in the classroom.

5 Elf Writing Activities for the Elementary Classroom

There are many different ways that you can incorporate your classroom elf into writing activities for your students.  Here are five of my favorites!

1. Daily Elf Journal

It’s common for a classroom elf to be up to a lot of shenanigans during the month.  Your students will be so excited to find the elf each morning to see where it is and what mischief it might have gotten into.  You can channel that excitement into a daily writing activity!

Your students can write a daily journal entry to document what the elf did or where it was hiding.  You could give them paper with different sentence starters, such as: 

“Today our elf…”

“I think…”

“I wonder…”

You might also decide to leave the journal entries more open-ended.  Students love to illustrate their journal entries to provide a full picture of the elf’s comings and goings.  Using writing paper with space for an illustration is also a great way to differentiate for all of the learners in your classroom.

2. Elf Writing Prompts

Another way that you can incorporate your classroom elf into writing activities is to have the elf deliver writing prompts for your class!  I have created a set of fun writing prompts that share a fun fact about the elf that then ties into a question for the students to answer. 

Writing prompts are always more fun when it’s an elf asking the question! Since the prompts are so conversational, it feels natural for the students to continue the conversation in writing. After writing all month long, your students will have a fun seasonal keepsake that they can take home to share with their families. 

3. “If I Were an Elf” Writing Craftivity

During the busy holiday season, it’s nice when a writing assignment can double as a festive bulletin board! Your students will learn a lot about your classroom elf from his or her daily visits and notes. They can use that knowledge to help them complete a writing craftivity!  

Students can write a passage about what they would do if they were an elf.  Where would they live?  How would they help Santa?  What would their life be like?  After completing the writing assignment, they can create an elf craft that doubles as a festive display for their work.  

4. The Helpful Elf Narrative Writing

As an alternative to the “If I Was an Elf” prompt, your students might enjoy a narrative writing activity.  This prompt can be introduced to students by reminding them that elves can be helpful to other people besides Santa.  You can remind them of The Shoemaker and the Elves and invite them to think of other ways that elves could help people.

After deciding what they will have their own helpful elf do in the story, each student can use a graphic organizer to help them plan their writing.  This elf writing activity is a great way for students to practice story elements and sequencing!  

5. Classroom Elf Correspondence

Since it’s very common for a classroom elf to leave a daily note for your students, you can use this as an opportunity to practice writing letters.  Your classroom elf can ask at least one question in each letter, which encourages students to write back to the elf.  This can be a great morning work activity that will give your class something engaging to write about as soon as they get to school. If you don’t have time to add letter writing to the daily schedule, it could be a motivating early finisher activity for your students.

For younger students, you might decide to write a class letter to the elf on the whiteboard or easel.  During a morning meeting, you could work together to compose a letter to the elf.  Encourage students to take turns writing words or sentences for a fun interactive writing activity! If you’re short on time, you can model the writing as you take suggestions from the students.  This is also a worthwhile activity that will benefit your students as they learn to write correspondence.

Printable Elf Writing Activities

I have created a set of fun elf writing activities that you can use in your classroom this December.  This resource contains daily writing prompts, journals, and the writing craftivities mentioned above.  There are multiple options for writing paper and prompts in order to meet the needs of the learners in your classroom.  This resource also comes with digital resources if you would prefer that option.

Your students will love all of the engaging writing prompts in this resource. They will be excited to write about the elf each day! If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this resource, you can find it on my website or on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Save These Classroom Elf Ideas

I hope this post has shown you how helpful a classroom elf can be to get students excited about writing!  

If you’d like to find these classroom elf writing activities later, be sure to save this post!  Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching or holiday board on Pinterest.  You’ll be able to quickly find these fun elf writing activities whenever you need them!