Valentine’s Day activities can be especially hard to plan for our secondary students. On one hand, it can feel a bit cliché and gimmicky, but on the other hand, our students often enjoy a little something fun at this time of year! As educators, we want to find that perfect balance between having some Valentine’s Day festivities while ensuring they aren’t too distracting. That is why I have rounded up some of the best and most rewarding Valentine’s Day activities that your classroom will love – designed with both engagement and learning in mind. Get ready—we’re about to dive in and explore some awesome ideas on how you can celebrate Valentine’s Day with a creative twist!
Book Speed Dating
Ready for your students to choose new novels for independent reading or literature circles? Try book speed dating! This is a unique activity that lets students preview new books. Speed Date with a Book is a fun play on “speed dating” and what better time to use this activity than Valentine’s Day? Students spend a few minutes “getting to know” each book option before making a final selection. It is easy enough to put together yourself, but if you’re strapped for time, click here for my done-for-you resource.
Spruce Up Your Space with a Festive Classroom Banner
Classroom need a little refresh? Have students create a Valentine’s Day Classroom Banner. Coloring provides some nice stress relief and accompanied with a piece of candy, I can’t think of a better way to finish up a lesson than to let students think about things they love. Bonus: This activity creates some really nice classroom décor when they’re finished!
Practice Parts of Speech with Valentine’s Day Mad Libs
Celebrate Valentine’s Day without sacrificing content. Use my Valentine’s Day Mad Libs activity to practice parts of speech. This would be a fun addition to any classroom Valentine’s Day celebration. Students love sharing out their completed stories or even creating their own!
Add Themed Text
Incorporate Valentine’s Day activities in your classroom with the use of a themed text. Meet Cute is a diverse anthology of fictional short stories all about the moment two people meet. Allow your students to choose a story from the novel to read and complete some short story activities. You could also suggest a few teen romance novels for choice reading.
Another way to add related text into your classroom would be to choose a non-fiction article highlighting the pros and cons of Valentine’s Day and allow your students to argue the merit of the day. Students will love adding their voice to the discussion.
However you choose to spend the day, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas to add a fun Valentine’s Day activities to your classroom in honor of the day of love.
Happy teaching!
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