An Elf on the Shelf has become a holiday staple in many homes and classrooms across the country. Every child is fascinated with Santa’s smallest helpers. Combined with academic work, elves can serve as inspiration for plenty of fun and festive writing! We have compiled 22 exciting and engaging writing activities designed to encourage creative thinking, independent work, and plenty of holiday fun!
1. Elf Application
Does your child or student wish they could be an elf? Not only will this get them writing, but it will also give them an opportunity to practice a real-life skill – filling out a job application that will have them answering simple questions.
Learn More: Thrills and Frills in First
2. If I Were an Elf…
Your child will get to continue playing along as an elf in this writing activity. Children need to envision what kind of elf they would want to be before sharing their thoughts in writing. Additionally, they can draw themselves as an elf!
Learn More: TEFL Course
3. Our Class Elf
This is a great writing activity for children who have an elf at school or at home. They need to color their elf before writing a description of their creation. They can also write about the different tricks that he or she pulls on them!
Learn More: Miss Giraffe’s Class
4. Elf Glyph Writing Lesson
For this fun holiday activity, students start with a glyph questionnaire and answer simple questions. This allows them to create their own, unique elf. After choosing characteristics for their elf, they will write a narrative about them. This activity also includes a craft that kids are sure to love!
Learn More: Traci Clausen
5. Elf for Hire
This writing activity is a perfect way for students to write about something they love while practicing their persuasive writing. Children need to write to Santa Claus and persuade him to hire them as an elf! You can display their work with a picture of the student as an elf.
Learn More: Simply Second Grade
6. Classroom Elf Journal
Do your students come running in excitedly every day to find the class elf? After they find it, give them this independent writing activity to work on. This is a great place to record everything that is happening with their elf.
Learn More: K Teacher Tiff
7. How to Catch an Elf
This activity starts with reading the picture book “How to Catch an Elf” with your kids. Afterward, students have to imagine how they would catch an elf themselves and practice sequence writing to create their story.
Learn More: Sight and Sound Reading
8. Daily Elf Writing
This writing activity is perfect for younger writers. Have students complete this check-in every morning after they find their elf. They need to draw where they found it and write a brief description.
Learn More: Elementary AMC
9. Elf Comprehension
Another great activity for younger writers and readers is this elf reading and writing comprehension activity. Students simply read the short story about the elf and then answer the questions in complete sentences.
Learn More: Keeping my Kiddo busy
10. Elf Adjectives
Are you working on grammar with your students? Children will start by drawing a picture of an elf and listing different adjectives that describe it. You can explain to your kids that the adjectives can be physical traits and personality ones as well.
Learn More: Saddle up for Second Grade
11. Elf Letter Writing
Why not have kids practice writing a letter to their elves? This is an engaging way to get them to write about something they are passionate about. This makes for a festive weekly activity during the holiday season.
Learn More: Little Owls Teacher Treats
12. Diary of a Wimpy Elf
This writing activity comes from the book, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. If your child has read that series before, they are sure to love this activity! This creative writing project will have them create a top-secret diary complete with illustrated diary pages!
Learn More: Teach with Me
13. Elf on the Shelf Word Search
Word searches are popular with children of all ages. Give your students this word search to practice reading, writing, and spelling. It includes different words that are related to the Elf on the Shelf, making it a perfect independent work activity.
Learn More: Royal Baloo
14. Silly Elf Sentences
Your students will practice writing full sentences and have a lot of fun while doing it! They will need to write three parts of a sentence including who, what, and where. Next, they can get creative illustrating their sentences above their writing.
Learn More: Rhonda Baldacchino
15. Jobs of North Pole Elves
This is a great elf writing activity for students to work on independently or together as a class, challenging them to brainstorm seven different jobs for North Pole elves. You could even pair your kids up to work on this too!
Learn More: Firstie Land
16. Elf Writing Prompts
We found a set of over 20 super fun elf writing prompts. In each prompt, an elf shares a short detail about himself for students to write about. The prompts are fun and engaging and available in print or digital versions.
Learn More: A Grace-Filled Classroom
17. Last Night Our Elf…
Each day students have to write about what their elf did the night before. You can have them turn this activity into a craft such as the one shown in the picture or create a daily elf journal.
Learn More: Top Teacher
18. Roll and Write a Story
Besides these worksheets, all you need is a die for each student to complete this writing activity. Students use a die to roll a series of numbers that they then use to write a narrative about a made-up elf.
Learn More: The Rocket Resource
19. I Would Be a Good Elf Because…
This is another persuasive writing activity where students explain why they would be good elves. This resource contains brainstorming and paragraph graphic organizers as well as several lined templates.
Learn More: TES
20. Wanted Elf
For this activity, children need to decide what their elf is wanted for and write about it. Did they steal candy? Did they make a mess in the house? It’s up to your child to decide and write about!
Learn More: First-Grade Blue Skies
21. Label the Elf
This short and sweet worksheet has your child reading, cutting, gluing, and coloring! If you’d rather that they write in the words, they can do that instead.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
22. 25 Days of Elf
This resource is ideal for classrooms that use Elf on the Shelf but can also be adapted for those that don’t! It’s very versatile and comprehensive, featuring 25 writing prompts with journal pages.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
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