If you’re planning to use Barbara Robinson‘s hilarious book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with your students this holiday season, check out this collection of teaching ideas and cross-curricular activities.
Mrs. Armstrong breaks her leg, so Mother must direct the Christmas pageant. Everything goes wrong when the Herdmans, the worst kids in the history of the world, are the only ones to volunteer for all the main roles. Will Mother be able to pull it all together?
Read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson to see how one disaster after another is averted.
Activities for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Unit Samples
I want to let everyone try a sample of this book unit. This download includes the multiple-choice comprehension questions plus the constructed response question for Chapter 1. Following each constructed response question, you’ll find a full-page answer key. You can see the variety of skills and activities included in the unit with the “Table of Contents” and “Lesson Plans at a Glance” page.
You can get the free book unit sample by clicking the button.
Interactive Notebook Activity
In this activity, students summarize the two events in the book where the fire department comes to put out a fire. Students then contrast the two events from the story using a T-Chart. The activity makes a small four-page shape book that can be glued into an interactive notebook. Two versions of the cover are provided: a full-color version like the one pictured and a blackline version.
Applesauce Cake in the Classroom
In Chapter 6, the church ladies are busy getting ready for Christmas. They are baking applesauce cakes in the kitchen. At the same time, students are having a dress rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. Imogene decides to smoke a cigar in the bathroom during a short break. One of the ladies making cakes notices the smoke. The fire department is called, and the church is evacuated in a panic. After a thorough inspection of the church by the fire department, the only thing that is found burning is the cakes that were left baking in the ovens. Our class wanted to bake applesauce cake during this chapter. The only way to bake in the classroom was using a crockpot. Students had a blast. The cake was delicious, and students learned about measuring ingredients accurately.
Comparing Different Versions of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Have students compare different versions of the story. These YouTube videos will help. The first video is the 1983 made-for-TV movie. This 48-minute-length film stars Loretta Swit, Jackson Davies, and Antony Holland.
The second video shows a song montage. The film contains the songs only from the musical version of the story. Select one or two of your favorite songs and compare how the songs enhance the story. The full length of this video is 34:25.
Many audio versions of the story are available on YouTube. Mrs. Morris Reads is excellent.
Watch the Movie
You can watch the entire made-for-tv movie starring Loretta Swit, Jackson Davies, and Anthony Holland on YouTube. This movie was created in 1983 and is 48 minutes long.
See the product that inspired this post.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Book Unit contains graphic organizers for an interactive notebook and game activities covering vocabulary, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.