by Rachel Wells
Looking for some super sweet ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year?
Valentines isn’t just a day for kids to show their friends and family how much they mean to them – it’s also a wonderful opportunity for students to practice creative reading and writing skills. Check out these engaging activities that will give a fun, educational spin on Valentine’s Day.
Write a “love letter” to a favorite character
This activity is great because it can be adapted to any grade level.
Have your student’s think of their favorite character from a book or TV show, then ask them to brainstorm the traits and interests of that character. The activity challenge is for your students to write a nice “love note” to their character personalized with as many of the characters likes and interests as possible.
Conversation heart stories
This is kind of like mad-libs with candy hearts. Challenge your students to write a story that includes as many candy heart words as possible in it. You can have them glue the candy heart words directly onto the story paper.
Sweet treat adjectives
This one is bound to be a hit with your class!
Give each of your students a sweet Valentine’s Day treat to enjoy. After they’ve finished, have them write at least 5 adjectives to describe it. You can also give students two different treats, and have them complete a Venn-diagram of adjectives to compare and contrast the two.
Have a card making station
Another super sweet literacy activity idea is to set up a card making station in your classroom. Choose a corner or table, and set out fun paper, envelopes, pens, and stickers. Encourage students to create kind notes to their classmates whenever they have a free moment or finish an assignment early.
Book character valentine cards
This is another activity that is easily adapted for any grade level.
Pick a book that the whole class has read, and challenge students to write Valentine’s cards as if they were one of the main characters in the book. The challenge is that the cards should sound like they came from the book character, not themselves!
Pipe cleaner hearts
This is a great activity for younger students. All you need is pipe cleaners and alphabet letter beads. Have students string the letters in their name, or write other sweet messages using letter beads onto the pipe cleaner. Leaving out a valentines themed word bank for students to reference when building their words with the beads can be super helpful. Of course, be sure to finish this sweet craft/activity off by twisting the pipe cleaner into a heart shape.
Cut heart puzzles
Perfect for your youngest students.
Cut hearts out of construction paper. Write the letters of your student’s name on the heart, and cut each letter out into its own puzzle piece. Have your child put the broken heart back together by putting the letters back in the correct order.
