
Need help keeping your students engaged in learning on the days leading up to winter break? Challenge them with a Christmas math project.
Every December, students seem even more energetic than usual and less focused on learning. I am always looking for fun and meaningful ways to engage them. This 12 Days of Christmas Math Project is challenging, yet fun, and allows students to practice problem-solving skills by calculating the cost of the 12 Days of Christmas. This activity is one of my favorites because it requires them to use higher-level thinking skills and they love it!
Christmas Math Project – 12 Days of Christmas Lyrics
To begin the Christmas math project, students read the lyrics to the “12 Days of Christmas” as the song is played. Then, students reread the lyrics and highlight the gifts for each of the 12 days of Christmas as they read.

Christmas Math Project – Task 1
The student’s first task is to calculate the cost of each gift. They use the lyrics and a recording sheet to write and solve an equation to determine the cost of each gift using a price list. The price list is provided two options, whole numbers, and decimals to the tenths to easily differentiate the project for your students.

Christmas Math Project – Task 2
The second task is to calculate the total cost of all the gifts given on each day. Students will use their answers from the first task to complete task 2. Students will calculate the cumulative total cost for all of the gifts for each of the 12 days. They will add the cost for each day to determine the total cost for the 12 days of Christmas.

Christmas Math Project – Task 3
The final task has students answer questions about the gifts. The first question asks students to determine the total number of gifts given. The remaining questions are opinion questions that have students changing the gifts and answering what the recipient of the twelfth-day gifts would do with all of those lords. 😂

Students in my classroom work with a partner to complete the project and we do one task per day. This Christmas math project could also be used as a whole class activity, in collaborative groups, in math workstations, or independently.
Interested in assigning a 12 Days of Christmas math project for your students? Check out this done-for-you resource that has everything you need. Just print and go.
And if you want to go paperless, there is a Google Slide version too, Digital 12 Days of Christmas Math Project

Want to read about more engaging math ideas for your classroom?
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