Activity

[MUSIC GAME] Christmas Musical Pursuit (JHS - SHS)

Christmas music quiz version of Trivial Pursuit!

About the Game 🎄

This "Christmas Musical Pursuit" game is perfect for Junior High School students and can also work well for low-to-medium-level high school classes. It's an easy-to-set-up activity packed with music, videos, and lots of interaction. Whether you're prepping for winter break or just want something different, this game has you covered!

Objective 🎯

Teams compete to earn points by answering questions from five Christmas-themed music categories.

Materials Needed 📝

  • A computer with PowerPoint
  • A TV or projector
  • A whiteboard or blackboard for keeping score
  • Small whiteboards and markers for each team

Game Setup 🔧

  1. Divide students into teams of 3-6.
  2. Provide each team with a whiteboard and marker.
  3. Open the “Christmas Musical Pursuit” PowerPoint and display it for everyone.
  4. Track scores on a whiteboard or blackboard.

How to Play 🎶

Introduction

Explain that students will answer questions from five categories. Each team writes answers on their whiteboards, and points are awarded for correct responses.

Categories

  • English Pop 🎤

    Listen to snippets of popular English Christmas songs and fill in missing lyrics. Bonus points for identifying the song name and artist.

  • Listen 🎧

    Hear a Christmas song in another language. Guess the country or language it originates from.

  • Words ✍️

    Fill in the missing lyric from a multiple-choice question after listening to a short clip.

  • Watch (Scene It) 📽️

    Watch a music video or movie scene and answer a fun, simple question about it.

    (Note: I made a full “Christmas Scene It” game with 8-9 movie clips—great for Elementary and Junior High School! Check it out in the sidebar.)

  • Karaoke 🎤

    Based on the karaoke melody of a famous Japanese Christmas song, name the song and artist (in Romaji or English).

Gameplay

  • Teams take turns choosing a category and question value.
  • ALL teams write answers on whiteboards and reveal them simultaneously.
  • Points are awarded for correct answers; no penalties for wrong guesses!
  • Rotate team selections until all questions are completed or time runs out.

Winning 🏆

The team with the most points wins. 🎉

Christmas Song List by Category 🎶

Each category features five festive songs that add variety to the game.

  • English Pop

    • Santa Tell Me – Ariana Grande
    • All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
    • Last Christmas – Wham!
    • It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
    • Santa Baby – Laufey
  • Listen

    • O Tannenbaum – Helene Fischer
    • Happy and Merry – TWICE
    • Petit Papa Noël – Céline Dion
    • El Burrito Sabanero – David Bisbal
    • Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells) – Mykola Leontovych (Sung by Eileen)
  • Words

    • Mistletoe – Justin Bieber
    • Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson
    • Winter Wonderland – Snoop Dogg
    • Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon
    • The Night I Met Santa – Billie Eilish (SNL skit)
  • Watch

    • I Believe in Santa – Meghan Trainor
    • Let It Go – Various Artists (Frozen OST)
    • Prep & Landing – Opening Scene
    • Snowman – Sia
    • Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé
  • Karaoke

    • Christmas Eve – Tatsuro Yamashita
    • Christmas Carol no Koro ni Wa – Junichi Inagaki
    • Christmas Song – Back Number
    • Suteki na Holiday – Mariya Takeuchi
    • Shiroi Koibitotachi – Keisuke Kuwata

Download and Setup 🔗

This PowerPoint uses audio and video clips, so the file is large. Here’s what’s included:

  1. Full version with embedded media (Updated December 6th)

    https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qNCJ9HDeaEZ6nEhTKMbruWimj666CuMY/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113914641691941479397&rtpof=true&sd=true

  2. Simplified version without video media

    For those with ALTopedia premium but no access to GoogleDrive at school. I’ll provide the videos below for you to insert into the PowerPoint on your own PCs.

Why Your Students Will Love It ❤️

This game is all about teamwork, music, and holiday fun! Even if your students don’t know all the song names or artists, they'll enjoy the process of listening, guessing, and working together. Try it out, and let me know how it goes! 😊

Happy teaching,

CarpenterBee

Files:
Medium files (requires an account to download) -
  • PREVIEW Christmas Musical Pursuit.gif (10.6 MB)
  • Snowman Sub.mp4 (39.4 MB)
  • How to insert the videos for the Watch (scene it) section.pdf (1.06 MB)
  • Editing Karaoke Section.zip (3.53 MB)
  • Large files (requires a subscriber account) -
  • Prep and Landing Sub.mp4 (107 MB)
  • Let it go Sub.mp4 (46 MB)
  • Baby its cold outside Sub.mp4 (74 MB)
  • I believe in Santa Sub.mp4 (47.3 MB)
  • Musical Pursuit Winter 2024 (Updated Dec 6) - No Videos.pptx (107 MB)
  • 164
    Submitted by CarpenterBee November 25, 2024 Estimated time: 40-55 min
    1. chelay December 17, 2024

      Thank you so much for creating this game. My students enjoyed it a lot! Even my JTE joined the game. This was very unique game.

    2. Anna19 December 18, 2024

      This ws very well made. You're so awesome! Thank you sooo much!

    3. KevinBtheALT December 18, 2024

      This is such a fun activity and my students (2nd year SHS) loved it! Thank you! You are a powerpoint making god.

    4. nisaa1234 December 18, 2024

      Lovely presentation! We played in first grade JHS class today. It was a blast but they had no idea about the karaoke songs, they said it was too Showa and were retro songs lol.
      I have just one suggestion to change the karaoke portion with kinda recent/viral J-pops like the Christmas song of Ketsumeishi and some other options. I loved the subtitles and each portion was really clean cut. I'm so soo grateful for all the activities you share! Thank you for sharing!

    5. samalama December 19, 2024

      This game was an absolute hit with my 3rd year JHS. It was hilarious to watch their faces during the English Pop section as they tried to guess the words- the concentration was intense. Laufey was a huge challenge for them haha The only thing I would suggest changing is Suteki Na Holiday- 0 students or teachers knew the song. But, that's a totally minor thing. Overall, this was absolutely fantastic, thank you so much for your hard work.

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