As the Christmas break approaches, it is sometimes difficult to keep students focused on classroom work. Consider keeping your high school students engaged by leading holiday-related activities that are also educational. Instead of being a time of low productivity, some students may be so interested in a Christmas lesson plan that they work harder than ever before.

Philanthropic Activity
For a homeroom, business or other class, consider organizing a classroom activity focused on philanthropy. At the beginning of December, ask the class to research various charity options, such as sponsoring a local family for Christmas, donating food or clothes to the food bank or buying a goat for someone in a third world country. As a group, students can vote on their favorite charity. If possible, allow students to plan and implement fundraising efforts during class time.

Multicultural Project
Use this lesson plan in a geography, history or in another high school course. Divide students into groups of three or four students. Ask groups to create a binder with visual elements and typed content. Each section of the binder can discuss how a different country traditionally celebrates Christmas or detail another holiday celebrated in December, such as Hanukkah, Ramadan and Kwanzaa.

English Class
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is a classic piece of literature, known by most North Americans who celebrate Christmas. For an English course, read "A Christmas Carol" together as a class. As an extension assignment, ask each student to engage in creative writing and to complete his own 1,000-word, modern-day version of "A Christmas Carol."

Chemical Ornaments
For a low-key chemistry lab, organize a homemade ornament-making activity. The Science Teachers' Resource Center describes how students make ornaments through plating copper on a piece of galvanized sheet metal. They cover both sides of the sheet metal with masking tape and draw a holiday design on top of the tape. Then, they cut out the design using a utility knife. Have students dip the ornament template into a copper (II) nitrate solution, rinse it with water and let it dry. When preparing for this activity, cut enough pieces of sheet metal for each student, and drill a hole in the top of each piece to hang the ornaments.