There are SO many things to love about February. I mean hearts, pink, flowers, and cute little Valentine’s Day cards.
Not everyone is equally as excited about Valentine’s Day as I am (I mean ewww cooties), especially some of my students. So that’s why this list of themes for February Lesson plan ideas is so useful.
I find that incorporating these themes into morning meeting questions, writing prompts, and even literacy or math centers really gets kids excited, so you might want to consider these ideas as you make your February Lesson Plans.
7 themes and topics To use while brainstorming February Lesson Plan Ideas
Groundhog Day
Don’t forget that February 2 is Groundhog’s Day! It’s a great time to talk about seasonal changes, observations, and supporting opinions/ predictions with evidence. You can do the typical opinion writing “Do you think the groundhog will see a shadow?” You can also jazz things up with color by code activities, and learning about the life cycle of a groundhog (here’s a great comprehension and science activity combined).
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is perfect for brainstorming a long list of February lesson plan ideas. I’ll admit that all of the hearts and pink and red make me feel cheerful. It’s also an awesome time to teach students about love, kindness, and friendship. Since I’ve worked at schools that do not allow the students to bring in sweet treats, and we can still make things special with arts and craft activities, fun math activities, and some of our favorite stories (The Love Monster is a definite favorite!) Check out some of my favorite Valentine’s Day Resources here!
Football
Are you ready for some football? Students ( especially your sports lovers) will be super excited for the Superbowl! I’m not a huge sport fan myself, but the snacks at the Superbowl and the fun parties definitely are fun. My students have always been so excited if we had some fun football themed activities the Friday before or the Monday after the bowl. Last year I created this cute little Boom Card Counting Deck that is great for little ones this time of year!
100th Day
If you haven’t celebrated the 100th day yet, it usually falls sometime in February, so it’s another great February Lesson Plan ideas! This, of course, depends on the time of year that you start school. The 100th day is so fun especially for young students, although I’ve even had fun on the 100th day in 5th grade with students. One of my favorite things to do is a 100 second challenge. Think Minute to Win it, but 100 seconds instead! I have a free booklet you can check out for the 100th day here!
I’ve also got a color by code resource for the 100th day!
Presidents Day
Presidents Day falls in February. We love the days off at the beginning of the week, but we also revisit any discussion we may have had in November surrounding Presidents. I’ve also created this President’s Day resource designed for my first graders.
I also have this free color by code resource perfect for around this time.
It’s a great way to check out the type of color by code resources I have to offer to see if you like them!
Friendship
Even if your students aren’t big on love (eww cooties), it’s a great time to discuss friendship and communities. Students often can think about doing nice things for friends. Some of my favorite February lesson plan ideas include offering free choice time opportunities to write letters, make cards or pictures, and even teach them about friendship bracelets.
Dental Health
February is Dental Health Month! It’s a great time to teach young learners about how to take care of their teeth and all the other fun stuff that comes along with it. Dental health is also a great informational topic that also has many narrative stories that go along with it (We LOVE Dr. DeSoto). I also love having the students write tips they think the tooth fairy would give them about taking care of teeth, and even painting with toothbrushes!
Get my dental health activities resource here!
BONUS: Chinese New Year
Bonus: Be sure to check your calendar! Sometimes Chinese New Year falls in February and sometimes in January, so this one can be applied wherever appropriate for the year you are in!