Featured January Freebies
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest leaders of our time, and I believe it’s important to honor him and recognize the impact that he had on America. However, as a classroom teacher I struggled to find appropriate teaching materials for elementary students on this topic. Most resources were either too vague to be effective or too detailed and overwhelming for 4th and 5th graders..
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year Literacy Activities
The first lesson is a sorting activity in which cards with facts about the Lunar and American New Years are placed on a Venn diagram. The second activity uses discussion cards to talk about the book Sam and the Lucky Money.
Lunar New Year Traditions
Celebrating the Lunar New Year is a terrific way to introduce kids to the concept of holidays around the world. Your students may not realize that people in other countries often celebrate completely different holidays, or they may celebrate the same holidays but have different holiday traditions..
24 Ideas for Celebrating the Lunar New Year
“How do you celebrate the Lunar New Year? What resources can you recommend to others?” The ideas below were shared on Facebook, but until now, I have never shared them on my blog. I recently came across this list of ideas and decided to share it because it includes so many fun and educational ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year!
Letters to the Future
Letters to the Future is a strategy for having students write letters to themselves that will be delivered in the future. This teaching packet includes a sample parent letter, teaching suggestions, and a graphic organizer for brainstorming ideas.
"Tree-mendous" Ideas
Stop! Don’t take down that Christmas tree! Here are some creative ways you can use your tree all year long.
(Thanks to Amelia Scott for these great ideas as well as the photo from her classroom.)
Mitten Science
Mittens keep our hands warm, but are mittens themselves warm?That’s the question Selina Smith of the Classroom Magic blog posed to students to kick off their mitten investigation..
Winter Pinterest Board
January Activities
Kick off January with a bang when you use these exciting lessons with your students! This 28-page packet includes directions and over a dozen activities for January or winter including literacy, math, science, and social studies activities.
Featured Activities in This Resource
(Click on each item below to preview.)
Resolutions to Ring in the New Year
“Goals for 2025” Writing Prompt
Happy New Year Word Challenge
New Year’s Reflections Spinner
Highlights and Visions
Happy New Year Homework Pass
Winter Word Sort
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Winter Math Puzzlers
New Year’s Math Challenge
Icy Road Investigation Science Activity
Interested in More Seasonal Activities?
Icy Road Investigation
Icy Road Science Investigation is a hands-on science activity that uses simple materials to help your students understand why roads are treated with a mixture of sand and salt during the winter.
Resource Description
The Icy Road Investigation product includes two pages of teacher directions with key points to discuss and a 3-page lab report for students to complete. A Google Slides version of the lab report is included. Preview every page on TpT!
Read The Blog Post
If you’ve ever driven on icy roads, you’ll know just how treacherous they can be. How do road crews make the roads safer for travel? You may have seen them spraying a solution on the roads prior to a big storm, but what exactly is in that mixture and how does it help?
Penguin Fractions
As usual, what started out to be a simple activity quickly exploded into a whole collection of resources! I’ve now created lessons, task cards, games, and activities based on the Penguin Fraction theme. To learn more about them, view my free Clickable Guide to Penguin Fractions.
Read The Blog Post
Fractions can be a tough concept at any grade, so I’m always looking for fun ways to teach them. A few months ago I decided to create a hands-on sorting activity with a penguin theme…
Penguin Fractions Mega Bundle
The Penguin Fractions series is a collection of engaging whole-group lessons, cooperative learning activities, task cards, and math center games to teach fraction concepts.
