Writing a Letter to Santa: Free Printable Worksheet for Year 1

Writing a Letter to Santa is a free printable worksheet for Year 1 (ages 5 to 6), in Key Stage 1. Write a neat letter with a wish list It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, a growing library of free printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795.

It is two A4 pages. Page 1 is the activity for children. Page 2 is for the grown-up: it has notes on how to use the sheet, help for children who find it hard, and a stretch idea. Print it at home or in the classroom. Black and white printing works well.

What is on the sheet

This worksheet includes lines for writing.

Who this is for

Year 1 (ages 5 to 6) in Key Stage 1.

Key Stage 1 covers Years 1 and 2, ages 5 to 7. Children are building secure foundations in reading, writing and number, and short playful practice at home helps those foundations stick. Use it at home, in class, on a rainy afternoon or at a family gathering.

What children practise

• Letter writing
• Lists
• Handwriting

Writing a short letter with a greeting, a list and a sign off.

Learning focus and curriculum link

Subject: English. Key stage: Key Stage 1. It supports the subject at this level through short, focused practice.

This sheet is a practice and play activity. It supports classroom learning and is not a replacement for it.

How to use it

1. Print both pages. Page 1 is for the child. Keep page 2 for the grown-up.
2. Talk about what goes in a letter. Write in neat handwriting on the lines.
3. Work through the activity together the first time. Talk about each choice.
4. Check against the notes on page 2.
5. Come back to it another day. Repeating a familiar activity builds confidence.

If it feels too hard

A grown-up can write the words for your child to copy.

To stretch confident children

Check capital letters and full stops.

Make it a game

Make an envelope and post the letter.

Tips for parents and teachers

• Print on plain A4 paper. Black and white printing works too.
• Work through it together the first time, then let children try alone.
• Praise effort and thinking, not only correct answers.

A screen-free english activity for Year 1

Children spend a lot of time on screens. This is a screen-free english activity that needs only paper and a pencil. It works as quiet time after school, a rainy day activity, a holiday boredom buster or a calm moment before bed. Screen-free learning gives eyes a rest and gets children talking, thinking and writing by hand.

Free english resources for teachers

Teachers can use this worksheet as a starter, a plenary, an early finisher task, a supply teacher resource, a homework task or a table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing. The learning focus and skills are listed above so you can match it to your planning, and page 2 gives support and stretch ideas for mixed ability groups.

English ideas for parents at home

You do not need to be a teacher to use this. Read the sheet through, sit with your child for the first go and let them lead. Short bursts of ten to fifteen minutes work better than long sessions. If you are looking for free english worksheets for Year 1, or simple home learning for the weekend or school holidays, this is a good place to start.

Home education and tutoring

Home educators and tutors can print this as part of a wider english plan. It pairs well with books, outdoor play and everyday talk. Because the sheet is free and printable, you can use it again for brothers and sisters or for revision a few weeks later.

Why it helps children learn

Hands-on, paper based activities slow learning down in a good way. Children read carefully, think before they answer and see their own progress on the page. Games and challenges add a reason to keep going. That mix of play and practice is why printable activities like this are popular with parents, teachers and home educators.

Curriculum links for teachers

This sheet supports the areas below. It is matched to the published England frameworks. Please check it against your own school plan.

Framework	Subject or area	Strand	Year
National Curriculum (England)	English	Writing: composition	Year 1

What children will be able to do

• I can write a greeting.
• I can write a short list.
• I can sign off my letter.

Check it worked

Ask these when the sheet is finished. Listen for the reasoning, not just the answer.

1. What goes at the start of a letter?
2. How did you decide what to put on your list?
3. How do you end a letter?

Play it for real

Jaques of London has made games and toys since 1795. These go well with this sheet:

• Wooden Post Box

More like this

• Alien Words Game
• Christmas Alphabet Order
• Christmas Thank You Cards
• Christmas Wish List Planner

Same subject, one year up: The Kn and Wr Spellings | Same subject, one year down: All About My Dad

Why writing a letter matters

A letter is writing with a reason. The child knows who it is for and what it should say. A letter to Santa has a greeting at the top, a few lines in the middle and a sign off at the end. Our own view: those three parts give a young writer a shape to follow, so the blank page feels smaller.

The sheet asks for a greeting, a short wish list and a sign off. Our own view: A wish list is a list, and a list is a good first kind of writing because each line can be a few words. Our own suggestion: ask your child to say the whole letter out loud first. Then they write it.

The Ofsted English review says forming letters correctly requires effort and attention, as well as suitable motor skills. Our own view: spelling, gaps and capitals come on top of that, and Santa gives a child a reason to practise all of it.

What the research says children find hard

We looked for research on young children writing letters or wish lists. We did not find a study of that exact task that we could open and check, so we have not made up any figures. What follows comes from three sources we read in full.

• Writing takes two kinds of skill at once. The Ofsted research review of English, on gov.uk, says writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing them down).
• Effort in one can crowd out the other. The same review says pupils need sufficient capacity in their working memory to plan, compose and review effectively, and that this requires transcription skills to be secure. It therefore says fluent transcription skills should be a critical focus for the early years and key stage 1.
• Slow writing may get in the way of ideas. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance for Key Stage One says slow or effortful transcription hinders writing composition, because pupils have to concentrate on monitoring their handwriting and spelling and are less able to think about the content. We have not checked how strong the evidence behind that guidance is.
• Handwriting. The Ofsted review says that, according to 2 meta-analyses of research on handwriting instruction, teaching handwriting is closely associated with the quality, length and fluency of writing. These were reviews of research on handwriting teaching. They are not about letters to Santa.

The EEF is open about the limits. It says writing is a very challenging skill to learn and that there is less evidence about the most effective ways to teach writing than there is about reading.

What Year 1 children are expected to learn

The national curriculum for England, in its Year 1 programme of study for writing composition, says pupils should be taught to write sentences by:

• "saying out loud what they are going to write about"
• "composing a sentence orally before writing it"
• "sequencing sentences to form short narratives"
• "re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense"

The programme lists two further points separately: pupils "discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils" and "read their writing aloud, clearly enough to be heard by their peers and the teacher".

In vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, Year 1 pupils are taught "leaving spaces between words", "joining words and joining clauses using 'and'", "beginning to punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark", and "using a capital letter for names of people, places, the days of the week, and the personal pronoun 'I'".

We should be honest about one thing. The Year 1 composition list does not name letters as a type of writing. The sheet is a way to practise these skills, not something the curriculum asks for by name. The notes do say that "not all pupils will have the spelling and handwriting skills they need to write down everything that they can compose out loud" at the beginning of Year 1. That is why speaking first and writing second makes sense.

In Year 2 the list includes "writing for different purposes". A letter is one way to practise that.

Why a short writing task can help

We did not find a study of a Santa letter, or of any letter writing task, in Year 1 that we could open and quote. So we will not give you a number.

What we can offer is what the sources say about the parts. The EEF guidance lists a teacher encouraging children to clearly articulate what they are going to say in their writing as a useful speaking and listening activity. It says pupils' writing can be improved by teaching them to plan and monitor it, and describes sharing, reading and editing each other's work. It rates the evidence for planning and monitoring as moderate, from three meta-analyses, and notes that only a few studies involved 5 to 7 year olds. The curriculum also names saying a sentence out loud, writing it, then re-reading it.

The sheet's steps match those ideas: talk first, write second, read back last. But the sheet is practice. It is not a lesson, and it does not replace one.

How to get the most out of Writing a Letter to Santa

1. Talk before writing. Ask: "What would you like to tell Santa?" Let your child say it in a full sentence. The curriculum calls this composing a sentence orally before writing it.
2. Look at the shape together. Point to the greeting, the list and the sign off on the sheet. Ask what goes at the start of a letter and how it should end.
3. Say each line, then write it. Our own advice: if your child tires, you can write some of the words and let them copy them. The sheet says so too.
4. Use capital letters on purpose. Names, days of the week and the word "I" need a capital in Year 1. So does the start of a sentence. Santa starts with a capital S.
5. Leave finger gaps. The curriculum lists leaving spaces between words. Our own suggestion: a finger laid flat is a handy gap.
6. Read it aloud at the end. The curriculum asks pupils to read their writing aloud and to re-read it to check it makes sense.
7. Give specific feedback. The EEF says feedback should be specific, for example "It was good because you joined up your letters correctly", rather than a general comment. Our own advice: pick one thing, such as "I can see every word has a gap".

Common mistakes, and what to say

• No gaps between words. Our own advice: ask your child to read it to you. If they run out of breath, show where the gaps could go.
• A capital letter in the middle of a word, or none at the start. Our own advice: say: "Which letter does a name begin with?" Use the curriculum list: names, places, days of the week and "I".
• A list with no breaks. If the wishes run together, our own suggestion is to put each on its own line, or join two with "and". The curriculum lists joining words using "and".
• Stopping after the greeting. Our own advice: the task may feel too big. Say it out loud together first. Then write one line at a time.
• Spelling guesses. The Year 1 notes say that at the beginning of the year not all pupils have the spelling and handwriting skills for everything they can say. Our own advice: do not rub out every error. Pick one or two words to fix.

Why teachers matter to us

We are a games company, and we have been making games for families since 1795. We do not think a printable replaces a teacher. A 2011 interim report for the Sutton Trust looked at how much teachers affect pupil achievement. It found that in one year with a very effective maths teacher, pupils gain 40% more learning than with a poorly performing maths teacher. That finding is about maths teachers, not about writing, so we do not stretch it to a letter. We cite it because it shows that teaching quality can matter a great deal.

The same report found that for poor pupils the difference between a good teacher and a bad teacher is a whole year's learning, and that paper credentials explain less than 8% of teacher quality. A University of Bristol working paper (CMPO 09/212) found considerable variability in teacher effectiveness, using a UK dataset that linked over 7000 pupils to their teachers. Our own view: teaching a child to form letters and then put them into words is slow, careful work. We are grateful to the Year 1 teachers who do it.

A caution on the Sutton Trust figures: the report draws on US studies as well as English ones. The 40% compares a very effective teacher (at the 84th percentile) with a poorly performing one (at the 16th percentile). The figure that paper credentials explain less than 8% of teacher quality comes from US research. We use them as pointers, not as a promise about any one child.

Why education matters to us

Our own view: writing lets a child say something to someone who is not in the room. A letter to Santa is a small first step toward that. We want every child to feel that their words are worth writing down. Jaques of London has made things for children for generations. The Mini Minds Hub is our way of carrying that on: free, screen-free, and simple enough for a parent at a kitchen table to use next to a teacher in a classroom.

Writing a Letter to Santa: 20 questions and answers

1. What should a letter to Santa include?

The sheet asks for three parts: a greeting, a short list and a sign off. Our own suggestion: a line about what your child hopes for, and a "thank you" if they like.

2. How do we start the letter?

With a greeting at the top, such as "Dear Santa". Santa needs a capital S because it is a name. The curriculum says Year 1 pupils use a capital letter for names of people.

3. How do we end it?

With a sign off, then the child's own name. A name needs a capital letter. The sheet asks your child to write a sign off.

4. Does my child have to spell every word correctly?

Our own view: not every word has to be right. The Year 1 notes say not all pupils will have the spelling and handwriting skills they need to write down everything that they can compose out loud. Our own advice: choose a few words to get right, and let the rest be.

5. Should I tell my child how to spell words?

Our own suggestion: yes, if the word is not one they have learned. The national curriculum suggests using dictated sentences in Year 1 to apply and practise spelling. That is a different task from free writing, but it is the same skill.

6. What does "composing a sentence orally" mean?

It means saying the sentence out loud before writing it. The Year 1 curriculum lists this by name.

7. What if my child says a very long sentence?

Our own advice: split it into two. Ask: "What is the first thing you want to say?" Write that, then ask for the next.

8. What is a full stop for?

It marks the end of a sentence. The Year 1 curriculum says pupils begin to punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

9. Can my child ask Santa a question?

Yes. "Do you like biscuits?" ends in a question mark. The curriculum lists question marks and exclamation marks alongside full stops.

10. How do I show an exclamation mark?

Our own suggestion: use a happy line such as "I love Christmas!" The Year 1 curriculum names the exclamation mark.

11. How do we write a wish list as a sentence?

The curriculum lists joining words using "and". For example, "I would like a book and a ball." Our own suggestion: keep it to two or three items.

12. What if my child cannot think of anything to write?

Our own advice: ask what they did today, or what they are looking forward to. The EEF says planning activities before writing can help children think of and organise their ideas.

13. What is a planning activity?

It is anything done before writing to gather ideas. The EEF gives examples of remembering what you already know, or arranging ideas visually. Our own suggestion: draw three gifts, then write about each.

14. Should we read the letter back?

Yes. The Year 1 curriculum lists re-reading writing to check it makes sense, and reading it aloud clearly enough to be heard.

15. Why does handwriting matter?

The Ofsted review says that teaching handwriting is closely associated with the quality, length and fluency of writing, according to 2 meta-analyses. It adds that pupils then have more time to think about content.

16. Does my child have to use joined-up writing?

No. The Ofsted review says the national curriculum requires children to learn unjoined handwriting before they begin to join letters.

17. What pencil is best?

The curriculum notes say the writing tool should not be too large for a young pupil's hand and should be easy to hold. Our own advice: a standard pencil is usually fine, but let your child try one or two.

18. Does the left hand matter?

The curriculum notes say left-handed pupils should receive specific teaching to meet their needs. Our own advice: turn the paper slightly and let your child see what they have written.

19. How can we make the letter special?

Our own suggestions: decorate the border, use a nice envelope, or make an envelope together. The sheet suggests making an envelope and posting the letter.

20. How do we know if the writing has improved?

Our own advice: keep this year's letter and write another next December. Compare the gaps, the capitals and the full stops. Praise one thing that has changed.

Sources

1. Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study: gov.uk.
2. Ofsted, Research review series: English (2022): gov.uk.
3. Education Endowment Foundation, Improving Literacy in Key Stage One (2017): dera.ioe.ac.uk.
4. Sutton Trust, Improving the impact of teachers on pupil achievement in the UK, interim findings (2011): dera.ioe.ac.uk.
5. Slater, Davies and Burgess, University of Bristol CMPO Working Paper 09/212 (2009): bristol.ac.uk.

Frequently asked questions

What age is Writing a Letter to Santa for?

It is written for Year 1 (ages 5 to 6), in Key Stage 1.

What will children practise?

Writing a short letter with a greeting, a list and a sign off.

How do I use it?

Talk about what goes in a letter. Write in neat handwriting on the lines.

What if it feels too hard?

A grown-up can write the words for your child to copy.

Is it free?

Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use.

Is Writing a Letter to Santa suitable for teachers to use in class?

Yes. Teachers can use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing.

Is this a screen-free activity?

Yes. It is a screen-free printable that needs only paper and a pencil, so it works well for quiet time, rainy days and school holidays.

Can I use it for home education?

Yes. Home educators and tutors can use it on its own or as part of a wider plan. It is free to print again for brothers, sisters or revision.

How long does it take?

Most children finish page 1 in 10 to 20 minutes. The notes on page 2 suggest ways to make it shorter or longer.

Do I need to print in colour?

No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper.

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