Christmas Nutcracker Body Unit – Games, Worksheets, Flashcards, Dice & Activities for Elementary ELLs

 This resource is included in the Body Unit for Elementary ESL. Link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Body-Theme-for-Elementary-ELL-1836555

The story of The Nutcracker is associated with Christmas in many countries. focus on language and culture as you combine the holiday context with reviewing the body vocabulary. We are close to the end of a term so grab your  students’ attention often drifts with Holiday-themed lessons.

Begin class by showing the flashcard of the Nutcracker, asking students “Who is this?”

Students: The Nutcraker!

 Ask about the body vocabulary: “What parts of the body do you see?” and label on the board.

Use flashcards of the face and label with your students on the board. Then, use the cutout and say: Put the red hat on the Nutcracker’s head.

Students can practice left and right by sorting the Nutcracker legs and arms flashcards. This activity helps them recognize body vocabulary, develop spatial awareness, and use English while interacting with the cards. Children place each card under the correct label: “Left” or “Right.” After sorting, students say the words aloud and make simple sentences such as “This is the right leg” or “This is the left arm.” This hands-on activity is perfect for small-group centers or whole-class review.

Clothes Identification. Show the students a colored Nutcracker flashcard. Label the clothes on the nutcracker if your students know those words. Then,ask: “What color is his jacket?” “What color are the boots?”

Movement / acting game: Have students act like Nutcracker characters — “Walk like the Nutcracker.” Show the right arm flashcard and say: “Raise your arm like a toy soldier”, “Show me your leg / foot,” etc.

Great for kinesthetic learners.

Each student receives a Nutcracker small card, and the teacher silently mouths a body part. Instead of hearing the word, students must watch your mouth, identify the vocabulary item, point to that part on their Nutcracker card, and say the word aloud.

This type of activity strengthens visual discrimination, listening skills, and pronunciation, while also encouraging students to pay close attention to the shape of English sounds.

This worksheet helps students review and reinforce body vocabulary using a fun Nutcracker theme. Learners look at the arrows pointing to different body parts and write the correct words in the blank boxes. This activity improves spelling, vocabulary recall, and reading comprehension. It is perfect for independent practice, small-group work, or as an assessment during the Christmas season.

After students write the words, ask them to color the Nutcracker and write a short text about the clothes.

Nutcracker Read & Color Worksheet. Students read a short description of the Nutcracker’s body parts and clothing, then color the picture to match the text. This activity reinforces clothing words. It’s perfect for independent work.

Give each student the Nutcracker body cutouts template to build. Students show their Nutcracker to a partner and say:
“This is his right arm… this is his left leg.”

They can also write a short descriptive text.

Display Nutcrackers on a Christmas board or wall.

Nutcracker Dice & Color worksheet. Help your elementary English learners review body vocabulary, colors, and following directions. Students use two printable dice:
🎲 one Nutcracker body-part die
🎲 one color die

Students roll both dice, look at the body part and color they landed on, and then color that part of the Nutcracker on their worksheet.

More advanced students can describe what they are colored:
“The jacket is yellow.”, “I colored the boots black.”, “His hat is green.”

The dice add an element of surprise that keeps students motivated, and the worksheet allows them to produce a colorful final picture. This makes it perfect for centers.

Nutcracker Body Board Game with a Focus on Speaking in sentences + vocabulary review.
Students roll the die and land on a nutcracker. They turn a candy card and answer the question. If it is correct, they feed the any in the owl’s feed me box. If not, they return the candy card to the deck.

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