Merry Christmas ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 0A · Unit 19Starter · Ages 4–6

Merry Christmas

This Christmas ESL lesson practises festive vocabulary and counting up and down with Santa's elves. Children sing Five Little Elves, answer 'How many?', use number cards and complete a counting worksheet. They draw themselves on Santa's sleigh, solve a matching maze and share a cheerful Christmas message.

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Lesson format

2 × 45 minutes

Level

Starter

Age group

Ages 4–6

Main focus

Speaking first

What students will learn

• Count from 0 to 5
• Practise 'How many?' and 'There are...'
• Recognise Christmas vocabulary: Santa, sleigh, elf
• Match sleigh items in a maze activity
• Draw and describe a Christmas scene
• Sing and move along to festive songs

Lesson flow

Children count elves on flashcards and sing along to Five Little Elves, counting down from 5 to 0 and pretending to jump in and out of sleighs. They complete a counting worksheet and a flashcard number game. The second lesson has children draw themselves on Santa's sleigh, complete a sleigh-matching maze, and sing Ten Little Elves counting upward, finishing with a festive 'Merry Christmas!' share-and-tell.

Target language

  • • Counting 0-5 and up to 10
  • • 'How many?' / 'There are...'
  • • Christmas vocabulary
  • • 'What's in your sleigh?'

Key vocabulary

  • Santa
  • present
  • gift
  • Christmas tree
  • star
  • reindeer
  • snowman
  • bells
  • carol
  • merry

Speaking questions students answer

  • • How many elves?
  • • What's this?
  • • Who rides in Santa's sleigh?
  • • What's in your sleigh?
  • • Can you count to 10?

Recommended teaching contexts

• Starter ESL and EFL classes• Ages 4–6• Primary school classrooms• Language schools• Private and small-group lessons• Teaching holidays vocabulary• Pair and whole-class speaking• Interactive whiteboards and online teaching

Why this lesson works

The lesson follows a clear progression: Count elves from 0 to 5 with a Christmas song, complete a counting worksheet, draw themselves on Santa's sleigh. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.

This lesson includes

• Interactive lesson slides
• Teacher guide
• Printable worksheets
• Speaking practice: "How many elves?"
• Classroom games
• Videos
• Vocabulary practice
• Pair work
• Extension activities

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