Reindeer Writing Activity

Have you ever read The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett? It is such a delightful holiday book and one of my absolute favorites to share with my class this time of year! And it goes perfectly with my reindeer writing activity!

The story follows Teeka, a young girl who is tasked with getting Santa’s reindeer ready for Christmas. Teeka tries to be firm with the reindeer during training, but that only causes trouble. She soon discovers that a gentler, kinder approach works far better — a wonderful message for kids of any age!

We read the book together as a group, and the kids were completely captivated. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and tell their own story alongside the text. My students loved poring over each page, spotting the little details and clues tucked into every picture.

What If You Had a Reindeer?

After reading, we talked about Teeka’s responsibilities — not just training the reindeer, but also feeding, grooming, and playing with them. Then I posed a question to the group that got everyone buzzing with excitement:

What if YOU had a reindeer? How would you care for it?

We brainstormed together for quite a while — what would they feed it, where would it sleep, and most importantly, what would they name it? The ideas were so creative, and the excitement in the room was contagious!

The Reindeer Writing Activity

Once we had brainstormed, it was time to put those ideas on paper! Students used a planning page to organize their thinking — deciding on a name for their reindeer, two ways to train it, what to feed it, and where it would sleep.