February is a short month, but it’s still packed with holidays and celebrations you can bring to your classroom. As a teacher, you spend lots of time prepping and preparing for holidays throughout the year, and it can become exhausting. That’s why I’ve put together a list of resources you can use throughout the month, like activities on Valentine’s Day and some for the 100th day of school.
The best part? All of these resources are free for you to use when you sign up for my Free Resource Library! This library contains tons of no-prep resources for grades 2-5. You’ll find seasonal activities, literacy resources, classroom management materials, and more.
#1 100th Day of School Activities
The 100th day of school is really fun but can quickly become overwhelming with the number of activities to prepare. To help take a few items off your plate, I uploaded three resources you can use on the 100th day of school.
Kick off the day with a When I Am 100 Years Old… activity. Students will brainstorm what it will feel like to be 100 years old by answering questions like what do you look like and how do you spend your days. Then, they will take these ideas and write a paragraph (or a whole page) about the topic.
You can continue the writing practice with the 100 Days in 100 Words activity. Students will reflect on the first 100 days of school, then write 100 words describing their time in school. The real challenge here is writing exactly 100 words. No stopping mid-sentence! It’s harder than you might think.
Lastly, create a 100 Reasons We Love (1st-5th) Grade bulletin board. I have the letters for your bulletin board ready to go – you just need to print it on colored paper and then cut them! I included 1st through 5th grade versions of the bulletin board. Then, on the heart cutouts, have students write why they love their grade and put it on the bulletin board.
You can get access to all three of these 100 days of school activities by signing up for the Free Resource Library. Already have access? Just enter the password to download your freebies!
Want more ideas for the 100th day of school? Read the blog on 7 Activities for 100 Days of School.
#2 Valentine’s Day Cards
Instead of Googling for activities on Valentine’s Day, feel prepared with a Valentine’s Day Card freebie. There are 7+ Valentine’s Day cards available in both black and white. Plus, there are several ways you can use these cards for both fun and educational purposes.
Here are a few ideas for activities on Valentine’s Day using these cards –
- Write to a Friend – Have students select a card and write a paragraph to a friend. Include a few parameters, like they should mention something positive about their friend.
- Write to Students – Spread the love around your classroom by writing a short, sweet note to students. You can put these on their desks in the morning or pass them out at the end of the day.
- Character Conversations – Read a story where characters engage in an act of kindness, overcome an issue, or show compassion. Then, have students write from the perspective of a character. For example, thanking them for helping out or always supporting them.
Grab the Valentine’s Day cards inside the Free Resource Library.
Looking for more activities for Valentine’s Day? Read through the Valentine’s Day Ideas for Elementary Students blog.
#3 Positive Tokens
Positive tokens are a great way to spread kindness throughout February or can be used in conjunction with over activities on Valentine’s Day. Each positive token has a phrase like, “You made a great choice!” or “Caught being kind!”
Throughout the month, hand out these positive tokens to students you see going above and beyond in the classroom. It’s helpful to have a discussion about this before implementing the system. Talk to students about what it looks like to show kindness and take initiative in the classroom. Then, they can redeem the tokens later for a prize or reward.
You can also use positive tokens along with other activities on Valentine’s Day. For instance, you can give every student a token at the start of the day and challenge them to notice other students’ acts of kindness. When they see someone being kind, they will give them the positive token.
This is a great way to talk about small acts of kindness and reflect on how we treat others. You can download the positive tokens for free inside the Free Resource Library.
#4 Response Cards
With more than half of the school year completed, it’s not uncommon to see student engagement dip and behavior increase. In order to bring the engagement back up, you sometimes need to refresh your strategies!
These response cards are an easy way to get even the shyest students involved in classroom discussions and learning. The cards contain items like thumbs up and down, true and false, this and that, and more. You can print all the cards to be one-sided or print a pair onto a card (for example, a thumbs up on one side and thumbs down on the other).
These cards can be used during whole group instruction to engage students in modeling or whole group practice. You can also use it as a quick check of student understanding or while completing a few practice questions together.
February is a short month, but with these free resources, you’ll be able to make the most of it! If you want even more seasonal resources, be sure to sign up for the Free Resource Library. It’s full of no-prep resources to help save you time and energy when planning.
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