Silent Night – Fun Learning Activities for a Christmas Countdown

Silent Night – Fun Learning Activities for a Christmas Countdown

Hi friends!

I’m so excited to kick off a new series here on Printables by Janille – Teaching Fun for Kids! I came up with this idea as a fun, educational way to countdown to Christmas. Each post will feature a favorite Christmas carol, a little history, a simple craft, and reading and math activities for every grade from preschool through 6th. These are perfect for doing at home with your kids or in a classroom setting.

Today we’re starting with the classic, peaceful carol Silent Night.

The History of Silent Night

Silent Night (Stille Nacht) was composed in 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria, by Franz Xaver Gruber (music) and Joseph Mohr (lyrics). The song was first performed on Christmas Eve with a guitar accompaniment because the church organ was broken. Its gentle melody and soothing lyrics—about peace and the birth of Jesus—quickly spread across Europe, becoming one of the most beloved Christmas carols worldwide. By the mid-19th century, it had been translated into many languages and was sung during wartime truces, including World War I, as a symbol of hope and unity. Today, Silent Night remains an enduring hymn of calm, reflection, and international goodwill during the holidays.

Craft: Starry Night Mural

Here’s a simple craft to help your kids visualize the calm and beauty of *Silent Night*.

Materials Needed:

Dark blue or black construction paper

Gold or silver star stickers or cutouts

Glue stick

White crayon or chalk

Optional: small LED tea lights

Instructions:

1. Lay out your dark blue paper as the night sky.

2. Use the stars to decorate the sky. Count each star as you place it.

3. Draw a moon with a white crayon or chalk.

4. Optional: attach small LED lights around the edges for a glowing effect.

5. Talk about the meaning of Silent Night while creating your mural.

Worksheet/Visual Idea:

Include a page of numbered stars for children to cut and glue onto their mural.

Label stars with numbers 1–10 for counting practice.

Reading & Literacy Lessons

Preschool:

Trace “Silent Night” on a simple worksheet with dashed letters.

Point to the words while singing the first line.

Kindergarten:

Highlight sight words: “night,” “holy,” “sleep” on a printed lyric sheet.

Practice reading aloud “All is calm, all is bright.”

1st Grade:

Phonics focus: Identify beginning sounds “S” in Silent and “N” in Night.

Write the first line in their own handwriting.

2nd Grade:

Vocabulary: Define “calm” and “bright,” use each in a sentence.

Draw a picture showing what the song makes them feel.

3rd Grade:

Sequencing: Use picture cards (crib, stars, night sky) to put the first verse in order.

Writing prompt: “Describe your favorite part of Silent Night in 2–3 sentences.”

4th Grade:

Poetry study: Identify rhyming words (night/bright).

Rewrite a line in your own words while keeping the rhyme.

5th Grade:

Analyze mood and tone: How does the song make you feel? Why?

Write a short paragraph comparing the original 1818 version to a version sung today.

6th Grade:

Historical context discussion: Why would this song have been comforting in 1818?

Journal entry: Imagine attending that first Midnight Mass.

Visual/Worksheet Ideas:

Tracing sheets for preschool/1st grade

Lyric sheets with highlighted sight words for Kindergarten

Sequencing cards and drawing prompts for 2nd–6th grades

Math Lessons – Silent Night

Preschool (Counting and One-to-One Correspondence)

1. Count 1–5 stars on your mural.

2. Count 6 stars on your mural.

3. How many stars are on the left side?

4. How many stars are on the right side?

5. Point to 3 stars.

6. Clap for each star you see (1–5).

7. Touch each star and count aloud.

8. Count stars in a row of 5 stickers.

9. Place 2 stars on the tree, count how many now.

10. Draw 4 stars and count them.

Kindergarten (Sorting and Tallying)

1. Sort 10 stars into gold and silver. How many of each?

2. Tally the number of small stars.

3. Tally the number of large stars.

4. Draw 3 groups of stars and count each group.

5. Count how many stars are above the moon.

6. Count how many stars are below the moon.

7. Add the two groups together.

8. Circle all the silver stars and count them.

9. Draw 5 more stars and count the total.

10. Color 7 stars and leave the rest blank.

1st Grade (Addition & Subtraction)

1. 4 + 5 = ___

2. 3 + 6 = ___

3. 7 + 2 = ___

4. 5 + 5 = ___

5. 9 + 1 = ___

6. 10 – 3 = ___

7. 8 – 4 = ___

8. 6 – 2 = ___

9. 7 – 5 = ___

10. 9 – 6 = ___

2nd Grade (Addition, Subtraction, Word Problems)

1. 12 + 5 = ___

2. 15 – 7 = ___

3. There are 10 stars, 3 fall. How many left?

4. 8 + 6 = ___

5. 14 – 9 = ___

6. 7 + 7 = ___

7. 13 – 4 = ___

8. There are 16 stars and 5 are silver. How many are gold?

9. 9 + 8 = ___

10. 20 – 6 = ___

3rd Grade (Multiplication & Introduction to Division)

1. 3 × 6 = ___

2. 4 × 5 = ___

3. 6 × 2 = ___

4. 7 × 3 = ___

5. 8 × 2 = ___

6. 12 ÷ 4 = ___

7. 15 ÷ 3 = ___

8. 18 ÷ 6 = ___

9. 9 × 2 = ___

10. 5 × 5 = ___

4th Grade (Division, Multi-Step Word Problems)

1. 24 ÷ 4 = ___

2. 36 ÷ 6 = ___

3. 18 ÷ 3 = ___

4. 48 ÷ 8 = ___

5. 30 ÷ 5 = ___

6. There are 32 stars for 4 skies. How many per sky?

7. If 5 stars fall from 25, how many remain?

8. 60 ÷ 10 = ___

9. A tree has 24 stars, divided into 3 rows. How many per row?

10. 72 ÷ 8 = ___

5th Grade (Word Problems & Multiplication)

1. Each star twinkles 3 times per minute. 8 stars = ___ twinkles

2. 5 stars × 4 twinkles each = ___

3. 7 stars × 6 twinkles each = ___

4. 9 stars × 2 twinkles each = ___

5. If 12 stars twinkle 5 times each, total twinkles = ___

6. 3 groups of 7 stars = ___

7. 4 groups of 6 stars = ___

8. There are 10 stars × 3 twinkles each = ___

9. 8 stars × 7 twinkles each = ___

10. 15 stars × 2 twinkles each = ___

6th Grade (Fractions, Ratios, Multi-Step Problems)

1. 12 stars: 3 silver, 9 gold. Fraction silver = ___

2. Ratio silver:gold = ___

3. 18 stars: 6 gold, 12 silver. Fraction gold = ___

4. 24 stars: 8 gold, rest silver. Ratio gold:silver = ___

5. If 3/12 stars are silver, how many are gold?

6. 1/4 of 16 stars = ___

7. 2/3 of 18 stars = ___

8. If 5 silver stars are added to 10 gold, new ratio = ___

9. 12 ÷ 3 = ___ (fraction interpretation)

10. There are 15 stars, 5 gold, 10 silver. What fraction are silver?

Wrapping Up

I hope you and your kids enjoy creating, reading, and counting along with Silent Night! This is just the start of our fun countdown to Christmas series. Next week, we’ll dive into Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, with another craft, reading, and math activities for every grade level. Be sure to follow along and make learning a festive part of your holiday season!