Name: _______________________ ACT Class Day: ________________ School: ______________________ Grade: _______________________

Holiday Break Challenges

Weekly Challenge

Holiday

Break is H

ere!

I hope you hav

e a fabulous holiday break!

I’m sure y

ou will hav

e tons of fun

with

family

, friends, an

d all of the joy the

holidays brin

g. Com

plete all NIN

E

challenges in

this packet and brin

g it back to A

CT w

hen w

e return to receiv

e a treat. D

o your best an

d have fun

!

I can’t w

ait to see you again

in class in

J

anuary

. Happy

New

Year!

Lov

e, D

r. Clark :)

NAME:_________________________________________________________________________

Favorite Reindeer Games!

All of the reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen) at the North Pole have their favorite reindeer games. Two of them prefer Santa Says; two prefer Freeze Tag; two like Capture the Stocking; and Red Rudolph is the favorite of two. Use the clues to find out which two like each reindeer game best!

1. Neither Dancer nor Prancer’s favorite game is Freeze Tag or Red Rudolph, but it is for Donner and Comet.

2. None of the reindeer who share a favorite game have names that start with the same letter. None of the reindeer’s favorite games start with the same letter of their own name.

3. Vixen’s favorite game is Red Rudolph, which is not the favorite of Comet or Cupid.

4. Dancer and Blitzen like the same game, but Prancer and Donner do not.

5. Dasher and Cupid do not like the same game.

Com

et

Cupi

d

Donn

er

Blitz

en

Sant

a Sa

ys

Free

ze T

ag

Capt

ure

the

Stoc

king

Red

Rudo

lph

Dasher

Dancer

Prancer

Vixen

Santa Says

Freeze Tag

Capture the Stocking

Red Rudolph

ANSWER GRID

Reindeer 1 Reindeer 2 Favorite Game Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen

Name:__________________________________________________________________

Santa’s Presents for the Family! Logic Puzzle

Santa brought presents for Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister. He wrapped each present differently, and put each present in a different spot in the living room. Use the clues to find out who got each present, where it was, and how it was wrapped.

Wat

ch

DVD

Book

Wal

let

Stoc

king

Fire

plac

e

In th

e tr

ee

Und

er t

he tr

ee

Gift

bag

Strip

ed p

aper

Sant

a pa

per

Snow

flake

pap

er

Mom

Dad

Brother

Sister

Gift bag

Striped paper

Santa paper

Snowflake paper

Stocking

Fireplace

In the tree

Under the tree

1. The boys did not get the DVD or the gift in the tree.

2. The gift on the fireplace wasn’t the watch or wrapped in the Santa paper.

3. Dad’s gift and the wallet were in or under the tree; the gift wrapped in snowflake paper and brother’s gift were not.

4. Dad’s gift, the book, the gift in the gift bag, and the gift on the fireplace all cost Santa about $20.

5. Neither of the kids got the DVD, and neither parent’s gift was in Santa paper.

6. The gift wrapped in snowflake paper was the DVD; the wallet was in the tree.

7. The cat tried to knock the gift bag out of the tree.

ANSWER GRID

PERSON PRESENT LOCATION WRAPPING Mom Dad

Brother Sister

Name:__________________________________________________________________________

The Elves Miss Ringing in the New Year! Logic Puzzle

Earl, Emma, Edgar, and Elsie are elves that were so busy, they missed ringing in the New Year! Use the clues to find out what each elf was doing, and where each elf was when the New Year changed.

1. Edgar wasn’t the elf in the basement or the elf that was eating cookies.

2. The elf playing Candy Crush was in the attic.

3. Emma couldn’t hear the elf singing karaoke, the elf in the den, or the elf in Santa’s room.

4. Earl wasn’t in Santa’s room or taking a nap in the den.

5. Neither of the girls was in the basement. Neither of the boys was playing Candy Crush.

Eatin

g Co

okie

s

Play

ing

Cand

y Cr

ush

Taki

ng a

Nap

Sing

ing

Kara

oke

Attic

Base

men

t

Den

Sant

a’s R

oom

Earl

Emma

Edgar

Elsie

Attic

Basement

Den

Santa’s Room

ANSWER GRID

Elf Activity Location Earl Emma Edgar Elsie

Name:__________________________________________________________________________________

Winter Wonderland or Sweltering Celebration?!?!

Location/Temperature (°F) 17 °F 34 °F 39 °F 47 °F 62 °F 64 °F 65°F 73 °F 84 °F 86 °F

Anchorage, AK, USA London, England Los Angeles, CA, USA Minneapolis, MN, USA Moscow, Russia Nairobi, Kenya New York, NY, USA Orlando, FL, USA Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Sydney, Australia

While movies and songs like to paint pictures of winter and Christmas time as chilly, snowy, and frosty, the majority of locations around the world experience a much different type of day on December 25th. Use the clues to find what the high temperature was at each location on December 25, 2014.

1. The locations with the highest high temperature and lowest high temperature were not in the United States.

2. The temperatures in Orlando and in Los Angeles were only one degree different.

3. The high temperature in Minneapolis was exactly double the high temperature of Moscow.

4. The city with the highest temperature is found in South America.

5. Nairobi’s high temperature was higher than New York’s, but lower than Sydney’s. All three cities were warmer than London.

6. The cities with high temperatures that were odd numbers were London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, and Anchorage.

7. Orlando’s high temperature that day was twice as hot as the freezing point of water is.

8. New York was warmer than London. London was warmer than Anchorage. All three cities were colder than LA.

Source: www.wunderground.com

Name:________________________________________________ Winter Holiday and Quote

Cryptogram

All of the items listed below are things associated with a winter holiday, followed by a quote from a famous children’s book.

X R D I

Stands for

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1 2 3

1 Z F Y Y 2 B Z H U Q P K O 3 W P K O E Y M Y E E B

4 5

4 T Y K H F G A 5 H F K G T Y K Z B

6 7

6 O P K O Y F M F Y G N A H I B Y 7 K G Z P L P Z X

8 9

8 B K H R C E G Q Y B 9 U G K N X U G K Y B

10 11

10 S H P K B Y Z Z P G B 11 Q R G K V G G U G K N E Y B

: “ , ”

J I H Z Y : “ T G X M Y U A F P B Z T G B , ” A Y

, “ ’

Z A H I O A Z , “ N H Y B K ’ Z U H T Y C F H T G B Z H F Y

… …

T G X M Y U A F P B Z T G B … S Y F A G S B … T Y G K B G

! ” ~ .

E P Z Z E Y M P Z T H F Y ! ” ~ N F . B Y I B B

NAME:________________

5

4

3

2

1

A B C D E

Find the coordinates of each box shown.

1. ______ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____ 5. _____

6. _____ 7. _____ 8. _____ 9. _____ 10. _____

Gingerbread House Grid

Name:_________________________________________ Using the coordinates at the top of each small box, draw in the boxes to see the holiday picture!

5

4

3

2

1

A B C D E

B4C1B1

E2

D5

A4 A3 B5

B3 B2 B1

C5B1

C4B1

E4

C2B1

D4C1B1

D3C1B1

D2C1B1

D1C1B1

C1B1

E3C1B1

E1C1B1

Copy the puzzle and cut out the pieces. Try to re-assemble the puzzle! There is only one correct answer!

PUZZLE TEMPLATE

Name:________________________________________________ WINTER Leap Words! Try to “leap” from the first word to the last word by changing just one letter at a time. Each time you change a letter, a real word must be made. Use the clues in parenthesis to help!

#1.

W A R M __ __ __ __ (a ground creature) __ __ __ __ (made from letters)

__ __ __ __ (a sturdy rope)

C O L D

#2.

S N O W __ __ __ __ (drips from your nose)

__ __ __ __ (ashes)

__ __ __ __ (winter footwear)

__ __ __ __ (holds wood together)

__ __ __ __ (keeps your pants up)

M E L T #3.

N I C E __ __ __ __ (white or brown grains)

__ __ __ __ (running contest)

__ __ __ __ (ties on a shoe)

__ __ __ __ (a narrow road)

__ __ __ __ (striped candy)

__ __ __ __ (holds things like instruments)

__ __ __ __ (put on a broken foot)

__ __ __ __ (opposite of first)

L I S T

#4.

C O A L __ __ __ __ (a baby horse)

__ __ __ __ (an unwise person)

__ __ __ __ (what we eat)

__ __ __ __ (how you feel)

__ __ __ __ (grows on old food)

__ __ __ __ (acting brave)

G O L D

Name:___________________________________________ Date:_______ Hour:______

The Great Tree Debate

It’s a familiar sight in December: twinkling lights, silvery tinsel, round shiny bulbs, a gold star, and presents, all on or under a fir or pine tree. Some people have a tradition of dusting off a box and bringing out a tree to assemble. Other families enjoy the annual outing to find the perfect real Christmas tree. But which is better: a real Christmas tree or an artificial one?

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, between 25 and 30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year. They are grown in all fifty states, and popular varieties include the balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, and white pine. It is better to get a real Christmas tree than an artificial one for many reasons. For one thing, the majority of the trees are grown in the United States, which helps our economy, whereas about 80% of artificial trees are made in China. Another benefit is that real trees are a renewable resource, since they can be grown again. Since most trees come from a tree farm, usually one to three seedlings are planted for each real tree that is harvested. Artificial trees are plastic- (and therefore oil-) based products. Oil is a non-renewable resource. Finally, real trees are biodegradable and can be re-used to enrich water environments, as mulch, or as a natural soil erosion barrier. By contrast, artificial trees are not biodegradable and some might contain lead, which is known to be harmful.

Despite these benefits of real trees, many people think artificial trees are better than real ones. One reason is that it saves time and money to have an artificial tree that is used year after year. Why keep paying $25 every year for a tree when you could buy an artificial tree and use it for many years? Another reason is that people who might have allergies around real trees won’t have problems with an artificial tree. Real trees give off fragrances and pollen that could be irritating. Third, you can buy fire retardant trees. Natural trees are wood, of course, and could potentially catch fire in your house. Additionally, artificial trees give you more options- you might be able to find a manufactured variety of tree that is not grown in your area. Furthermore artificial trees are easier to take care of: unpack, set up, take down, re-pack. There is no watering or cleaning up dead needles off the floor.

There are many good reasons for having either a real or an artificial tree; it comes down to your personal preference and priorities. You’ll need to consider the environment and what is best for it. You’ll also need to consider how much your time is worth and whether or not you can care for a real tree. So even though I prefer real Christmas trees, either way, trees are a great tradition around Christmastime and both trees look great with that handprint ornament you made in preschool hanging on them.

Name:________________________________________ Date:_____ Hour:_____

“The Great Tree Debate”

1. What is the central question posed in the article? _________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the claim and counter-claim addressed in the article? _______________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Circle all the transition words or phrases you can find in the article.

4. Fill out the diagram with pros and cons for artificial and real trees.

Real Trees- Pros

Real Trees- Cons

Artificial Trees- Pros

Artificial Trees- Cons

Name:_________________________________________ Date:_____ Hour:_____

Leading States for Growing Christmas Trees

State (abbreviation) Estimated Number of Trees Grown in 2010 (x 1000) Oregon (OR) 43,715

North Carolina (NC) 37, 161 Pennsylvania (PA) 17,660

Michigan (MI) 15,116 Wisconsin (WI) 10,841

Washington (WA) 5,095 All other states combined 28,087

Source: www.ag.census.usda.gov, Table 16

Make a graph of the number of trees grown in each state listed in the table above. Round the number to the nearest thousand for easier graphing. (Remember to put x 1000 in the units for the number of trees.)