Looking for some fun ways to celebrate Groundhog Day with your students? Keep reading for 8 easy to implement, cross-curricular ideas.
- Learn about real groundhogs. As you might know, I’m biased towards read alouds and Groundhog Gets a Say is perfect for learning all about real groundhogs! I have a minimal prep Rounding Out the Read Aloud unit for this book that includes reading and writing lessons and 6 extension activities.
- Find out more about the history and traditions of Groundhog Day. This Groundhog Day nonfiction text and activities gives you a printable and digital book, along with 4 graphic organizers, a vocabulary activity and board game!
- Predict whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow and share what you’re hoping will happen. As a class, gather your predictions prior to Groundhog Day. Then, you can watch the live-stream together to find out what actually happened.
- Practice finding and/or writing facts and opinions about groundhogs. This Groundhog Fact and Opinion FREEBIE pairs perfectly with the nonfiction text above and leads to some great classroom discussion. BONUS: It’s easy to turn into an adorable bulletin board display!
- Make dirt pie! This could be just for fun, or you could incorporate math skills such as measuring, counting, adding, and multiplying by having fun with the various toppings. Here’s a recipe that I think is adorable! (Note: This recipe is not peanut allergy friendly.)
- Discuss the meaning of the common phrase, “It feels like Groundhog Day.” Then, have students write about a time they felt like it was Groundhog Day.
- Practice researching using provided texts or the web. Students can research the town of Punxsutwaney, Pennsylvania and then share what they learned.
- Create an illustrated infographic about Groundhog Day. Have students highlight some of the most interesting facts and statistics about the day, town and/or groundhogs in general. Check out National Today for some infographic inspiration and where you can find some quick facts.
Regardless of whether we have 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring, I hope you and your class have a wonderful time celebrating. Please tag me on Instagram @tealpencil to share your Groundhog Day celebrations!
