February is packed with fun holidays, making it a great time to integrate seasonal activities into your lessons. This month’s special events include Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and Black History Month. But I’ll bet you didn’t know that it’s International Friendship Month, too!
Every minute counts during the school day, so seasonal activities MUST meet the same standards we apply to all of our lessons. They must actively engage students and provide opportunities for real learning. It can be challenging for upper elementary teachers to locate meaningful holiday-themed lessons, but it IS possible to find seasonal activities that are both academically rigorous and fun!
This teaching resource is jam-packed with engaging lessons and no-prep printables for February and winter. You can purchase February Activities on TpT, but my email subscribers can get it for free by clicking on the link in the welcome message that goes to the freebies page. If you aren’t a subscriber, click the Freebies link in the menu and subscribe. You’ll receive a welcome message with a link to a subscriber’s page that has over 75 free resources, including this one!
February Activities is just one of the items in my Seasonal Activities Bundle. If you like this resource, you’ll also enjoy my seasonal lessons for the other months of the year!
My Favorite February Lessons
Here are some of my favorite lessons and activities from the February Activities pack, but this is by no means all of them. This 27-page resource includes lessons and activities for Valentine’s Day, International Friendship Month, Black History Month and Presidents’ Day, and more! My daughter Amy is a freelance photographer, and she spent the afternoon preparing these activities and photographing them so that I could show them to you. Didn’t she do a beautiful job? 🙂
Heartfelt Thanks Appreciation Notes
To celebrate International Friendship Month, teach your students how to express gratitude and appreciation. Give each student a copy of the heart notes printable below. Discuss what it means to be thankful for something or someone, and provide class time for writing and exchanging notes.
Conversation Hearts Candy Fractions
If you’ve been studying fractions, your kids will love this lesson with conversation hearts! The focus of the lesson is on finding fractions of a number, and the final step is having students create their own fraction problems as shown below.
Writing Friendship Cinquains
Since February is International Friendship Month, it’s a perfect time to write friendship poems. Cinquains are simple 5-line poems, and this activity will lead your students through the poetry writing process as they interview a friend and write a poem about him or her.
Valentine’s Day Reading Marathon Activity
Valentine’s Day is bound to be filled with excitement, but it doesn’t have to be chaotic! Start the day with a Reading Marathon, an activity in which students choose their own books and read for an extended period of time, with short breaks to stop and create a storyboard.
More Seasonal Teaching Resources
If you like the activities in my February Activities pack, check out my Holiday and Seasonal Activities bundle which includes all 8 resources plus a Seasonal Mystery Words bonus. Each item can be purchased separately, but you’ll save over $15 by purchasing them in a bundle.
I enjoy creating interactive teaching resources for busy educators because I know just how much time it takes to plan engaging lessons. I hope this February Activities freebie lightens your lesson-planning load this month!
Where to Find the February Activities Freebie
Are you wondering where you can download this lesson-packed freebie? This 27-page activity pack is available for purchase here on TpT, but it’s also free for subscribers of my newsletter, Candler’s Classroom Connections. If you are a subscriber, look for it on the private page called Laura’s Best Freebies. You received a link to that page when you signed up for the newsletter. If you aren’t an email subscriber or you don’t know where to look for this freebie, click the Freebies link in the menu and subscribe to my email list. If you don’t find these resources to be helpful, you can unsubscribe at any time.
