Make Memorable Classroom Holiday Magic with Effective Hexagonal Thinking Templates
The holiday season brings more than just decorations and festive cheer—it brings stories. Whether it’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a retelling of A Christmas Carol, The Christmas Pig, or a cultural tale tied to Diwali, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, these narratives are packed with themes, character choices, and moral dilemmas waiting to be explored.That’s where hexagonal thinking templates come in.
Hexagonal thinking templates invite students to connect ideas beyond the surface, synthesizing themes, motivations, and moral questions in ways that stick.
In this post, you’ll discover why hexagonal thinking is such a powerful tool for seasonal texts, how to set it up in your classroom, and where to grab ready-to-use hexagonal thinking templates—including a free SEL version you can start with today.
Why Hexagonal Thinking Templates Work for Holiday Stories
Holiday stories often feel familiar to students, yet they carry deeper messages worth unpacking. Using hexagonal thinking templates helps students move beyond summarizing the plot to making meaningful connections.
Here’s why it works so well:
- Encourages synthesis – Students connect themes, characters, and questions in multiple ways rather than sticking to one “right” answer.
- Activates engagement – The hands-on nature of hexagons feels like a puzzle, which keeps energy high even during the busy holiday season.
- Builds empathy and perspective-taking – By linking motivations and moral questions, students consider issues from angles they may not have thought of before.
Want to test this strategy without the prep? Grab my free SEL Hexagonal Thinking Templates here. They’re flexible enough to use with any story, seasonal or not, and a great entry point into the practice.
How to Set Up Hexagonal Thinking Templates for Holiday Stories
Getting started doesn’t require anything fancy. Here’s a simple way to introduce hexagonal thinking templates into your seasonal lessons:
- Choose your text – Pick a holiday story that resonates with your class. It could be humorous like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, classic like A Christmas Carol, or culturally diverse folktales.
- Prepare your template – Print a blank hexagonal thinking template (you can sketch your own or use my stress-free guide).
- Populate the hexagons – Add prompts such as:
- Themes (generosity, forgiveness, prejudice, belonging)
- Character motivations (why Imogene Herdman behaves as she does, why Scrooge resists change)
- Moral questions (What makes a family “good”? Is forgiveness always deserved?)
- Connect and discuss – Students link hexagons to show relationships between ideas, then explain their reasoning.
This simple structure transforms a holiday read-aloud or class novel into a deeper discussion.
Example: Using Hexagonal Thinking Templates with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Take The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a favorite in many classrooms. Using a hexagonal thinking template, you could set it up like this:
- Theme hexagons: kindness, judgment, acceptance, community
- Character hexagons: Imogene Herdman, the narrator, the church ladies
- Moral question hexagons: Is it fair to judge people by their reputation? What makes a family “respectable”?
As students connect their hexagons, they uncover how themes overlap, how characters drive conflict, and how moral questions remain relevant beyond the holiday setting. The web they create becomes a visual map of higher-order thinking.
Tips for Making the Most of Hexagonal Thinking in December
Here are a few ways to maximize your use of hexagonal thinking templates during the holiday season:
Link SEL directly: Try the free SEL Hexagonal Thinking Templates to surface emotions, relationships, and identity questions alongside holiday texts.
Keep it simple: Don’t overcomplicate. A few strong themes and questions are enough to spark conversation.
Differentiate easily: Give struggling learners pre-filled hexagons while asking advanced students to generate their own.
Use collaboration: Small groups can negotiate connections, encouraging talk that sharpens understanding.
Compare across cultures: Pair Christmas stories with Hanukkah or Diwali tales to broaden perspectives.
Ready-to-Use Resources for Holiday Hexagons
If you’d like the thinking without the prep, I’ve already built hexagonal thinking templates for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever or The Christmas Pig—ready to print and use. You can find them here on TPT.
And if you’d like to create your own templates for different stories, check out this guide: The Stress-Free Way to Create a Powerful Hexagonal Thinking Template.
Pair these with the free SEL Hexagonal Thinking Templates, and you’ll have a toolkit to spark meaningful holiday discussions all season long.
Final Thoughts
Holiday stories are more than festive entertainment—they’re opportunities for students to wrestle with kindness, fairness, family, and cultural traditions. By using hexagonal thinking templates, you give students a structured yet flexible way to connect those big ideas.
This December, bring out the hexagons. Your students will not only engage with holiday stories—they’ll learn to see the deeper connections that make literature (and life) meaningful.
Happy Teaching!
