Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul

A Christmas lesson plan for primary school teachers

There’s something magical about stories that sparkle with festive cheer, and Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa brings that magic to life in the most delightfully chaotic way. This charming picture book follows everyone’s favourite spell-casting duo—Winnie the Witch and her lovable cat, Wilbur—as they tumble into a Christmas Eve adventure filled with mishaps, laughter, and a sprinkle of holiday wonder.

TOPICS: Christmas / team work / kindness / Christmas spirit

AGE GROUPS: 6-10 years old

LANGUAGE SKILLS: speaking, listening, writing (or drawing)

THINKING SKILLS:

LOTS:

remember

understand

HOTS

create

sequence

critical thinking

matching

SEL COMPONENT: empathy/ responsibility/friendship/ problem solving/ resilience/ generosity

VOCABULARY: Christmas words / simple actions

STORYBOX COMPONENTS: Christmas decorations, Santa puppet or picture, black cat puppet or picture, magic wand or witch hat

PROCEDURE

Pre-reading

Open your story box and start pulling out pictures or realia it contains. Elicit the name of each object and ask students to repeat to check pronunciation. Ask students what they think the story is about.

Review or pre-teach Christmas vocabulary. You can use your own flashcards or download ready-made ones. Some of the words included in the story are: Christmas card, lights, tree, letter to Santa, North Pole, reindeer, presents, sleigh.

Story time

Start with looking at the book cover and ask children to describe what they see. Explain that the witch is called Winnie and that her best friend is a cat called Wilbur. Ask students to explain what they think is happening to Santa.

Just before reading starts, tell students to listen carefully and raise their hand every time they hear one of the Christmas words previously introduced.

Make your reading as interactive as possible, encourage students to shout out "Abracadabra" when necessary.

Table time (select activity based on age and skills)

SKILL 1 - Remember

Create a storytelling plot matrix and ask students to complete it, using simple words and sentences. The following is an example of a matrix:

WHO	WHERE	WHAT
OBSTACLE	SETBACK	HELPER
SOLUTION	ENDING	LESSON LEARNT

If your students are particularly young, you can use a simplified version of the matrix and fill it in plenary.

SKILL 2 - Understand

Discuss why Winnie and Wilbur feel they must help Santa to deliver presents. Provide students with true and false options:

1) Santa says they must help or they won't get presents

2) they feel that Santa needs help and offer their time

3) Santa wants to use Winnie's magic wand

You can create as many options as you like. Discuss why each option is true or false.

SKILL 3 - Sequencing

Make a list or draw the problems Winnie and Wilbur find while helping Santa delivering the presents and ask students to order them as they appear in the story. The correct order is:

1) dogs 2) Christmas stocking 3) cat flap 4) igloo 5) roof 6) cake 7) Christmas lights

Alternatively, you can use a worksheet listing all the options and ask students to number the pictures. If you have a bit more time, you could ask students to cut out the pictures and stick them on their notebooks in the correct order. Fast finishers can colour the pictures.

If you wish to receive our free worksheet, get in touch!

SKILL 4 - Create

Using construction paper and felt-tip pens, students create their own letter to Santa. Younger students can draw what they ask for , while older students can write a short text. if your town has a Santa letter box, it may be worth organizing a short class outing so students can post them.

SKILL 5 - Make and Do

Students can create Santa, Winnie and Wilbur puppets out of toilet paper rolls. Puppets can be used to re-enact the story. Check these pages to find out how to make a witch and a cat and how to make Santa.

SKILL 6 - Matching sentences

Prepare 21 cards of which:

• 4 saying "Winnie"

• 3 saying "Wilbur"

• 1 saying "dogs"

• 1 with each with the following prompts: chase / slips in / is trapped / gets stuck/ slides / crashes/ gets tangled/ a Christmas stocking / in a cat flap/in an igloo / down a roof / into a cake / in Christmas lights

Students need to match three cards and create sentences that summarize what happens in the story. Solutions below:

1) dogs chase Wilbur

2) Wilbur slips in a Christmas stocking

3) Wilbur is trapped in a cat flap

4) Winnie gets stuck in an igloo

5) Winnie slides down a roof

6) Winnie crashes into a cake

7) Winnie gets tangled in Christmas lights

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