So it's just not winter without learning about penguins.
I LOVE learning about winter animals. Polar bears are also a ton of fun!
These are great for students to practice nonfiction writing and show what they've learned about penguins and polar bears. You could also have them compare and contrast penguins and polar bears and write about each OR make it an opinion writing activity where you ask them which of the 2 animals is better or which is their favorite and have them write their opinion.
I also like to throw in some creative writing, too, because kids just love winter animals and can write such imaginative stories about them for some reason!
I think imagining they had a penguin or a polar bear for a pet is always a fun activity! It's a good one to brainstorm together on the carpet - what would you and your penguin do? What would his/her name be? Would you bring them to school?
Speaking of creative writing, there is just a ton of creative writing you can do for winter time!
One of my favorite writing prompts is "If it Snowed Ice Cream" because I mean, how awesome would that be? Creative writing is great for practicing sequential writing - first, I would... next, I would... then, I would.. last, I would.. or whatever sequencing words you teach.
What if they lived in an igloo? This is a great time to talk about different homes people around the world live in. You can do great comparing activities of what it'd be like to live in an igloo vs. a house. Then, they can write about what it'd be like if they lived in an igloo!
Or what if a snowman came to school?? That's another fun writing prompt that gets students' imaginations going.
For more snowman fun, they can practice how to writing by explaining how to build a snowman.
Another fun how to writing prompt is how to make hot cocoa!
I also make other simple prompts like how to ski, how to ice skate, etc. in case there is extra time in the day and you want to just do a quick writing activity. You can always just give them the sheet of these to write and color and skip the cutting and gluing part if you want to just give a quick write type activity.
I don't know if you've met Oliver from any of my other packs but this is Oliver the owl and he is quite a cutie! He does a lot of little adventures so this one is about Oliver getting a snow day at school and what he does. I think it's fun to have a character who pops up for various holidays and moments so kids feel a connection to him and what they're writing about. I recommend a cute owl stuffed animal who looks like him named Oliver to have in the classroom to let students who are writing quietly and focused hold him while they write. It's an awesome classroom management trick that's easy - if you see someone working really hard on their writing, put Oliver on their desk. They know they get to cuddle with him for a few minutes and when you come back to their desk, they know to give Oliver a hug and hand him back to you - when you see someone else working really hard, they get him next! Talk about some focused writers you'll have :)
Another fun one is writing about magic mittens. Bring in a pair of mittens and say you found them and THEY'RE MAGIC. When I put on my magic mittens, I can talk to animals. Oooh. Ahhh. Have them pretend they found a pair of magic mittens on the ground and think about what happens when they put their magic mittens on. What do theirs do? Can you tell I love creative writing?
Just a few more... writing about snowflakes or what you learned about hibernation...
You can grab ALL of these crafts I showed above in my Winter Writing Crafts Bundle!
Some of them like the Penguins, Polar Bears, How to Build a Snowman, and Hibernation I also have separately but it's a way better deal to get the bundle :)
I also made some of these crafts in Spanish too!!
Hope you have a ton of January and winter learning fun!!!!
You can check out my other monthly writing crafts in these posts:
February Writing Crafts
March Writing Crafts
April Writing Crafts
October Writing Crafts
November Writing Crafts
December Writing Crafts
Also - don't forget to join Miss Giraffe's Class so you never miss out on fun ideas and exclusive free stuff from me only for subscribers!
I like that you begin by recommending that teachers make sure to use Making 10 to Add only if the student is fluent in their math facts. Great post!
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