The month of February brings several opportunities to integrate seasonal activities into your language arts lesson plans. Valentine’s Day is of course the most popular event, but February also features Black History Month, Groundhog Day, President’s Day, and one of my favorites, Random Acts of Kindness Day! Each of these events offers a unique backdrop for your daily lessons.
Over the years, I have created many holiday-themed language arts resources to help engage my students while adding some seasonal fun! The lessons and resources featured below are my favorite February activities to use with middle school students.
Valentine’s Day Reader’s Theater
When it comes to balancing purposeful lesson plans with holiday themes, reader’s theater scripts are my go-to resource every time. My Valentine’s Day reader’s theater toolkit features an original 7-page, 13-character script and reading comprehension activities you can use in small groups or whole-class instruction.
A group of sixth-grade students come up with a plan to add some Valentine’s Day fun at a nearby senior living facility after the school principal challenges them to carry out good deeds and reflect on them in a journal.
This high-interest, realistic fiction reader’s theater will have your students laughing out loud at the thoughts and actions of the 13-character cast while also reflecting on how they can work to make a difference in the lives of other people.
See full description here.
President’s Day Reader’s Theater
Presidents Day and Washington’s Birthday land on February 19, 2024. While most school districts are closed that Monday, it is important for students to know the story behind this national holiday. My Presidents Day Reader’s Theater offers a unique way to incorporate history into your language arts activities
You can use this resource to teach about President’s Day or to practice fluency, reading comprehension, and journal writing. It also works well for ELA sub plans when you need to keep students engaged and working.
The students at Caldwell Middle School are doing research in order to create a living museum. They are each responsible for learning as much about a significant American as they can in order to give a presentation to their peers dressed up as that noteworthy individual. One student struggles to find the best-fitting costume, and a classmate comes to his rescue. In the end, the presentation goes off without a hitch, and students learn a great deal about two early presidents and how they have come to be celebrated.
See full description on TPT.
Close Reading PAssages
This bundle of February and Valentine’s Day reading passages is the perfect tool to learn and implement close reading strategies. They feature high-interest, February-themed topics like Black History Month, Random Acts of Kindness, Valentine’s Day, and Ground Hog Day. Do your students need more work with close reads to enhance their focus with reading passages? This February Close Reads for BIG KIDS is the ideal reading tool for your students.
See full description on TPT.
February Novel Unit
Brian’s Winter is the perfect novel study unit for the winter months. Not only is Gary Paulsen an AMAZING writer that seems to take readers right inside the setting, but your students will forget to complain about the cold temperatures when they discover all that 13-year-old Brian Robeson must do in order to survive during the winter months in the Canadian woods after a plane crash. Check out this blog post for more information on how I use this novel study in my classroom.
See full description on TPT.
