Winter is here, and the magic of the season is ready to unfold in your primary classroom! Get ready to turn chilly days into educational adventures with these engaging winter-themed resources that will leave your students excited to learn.
Why Teach with a Winter Theme?
The biggest benefit to teaching with winter themed resources is the longevity. You can teach with these resources for a solid 3 months. The other important benefit of winter resources is they aren't affiliated with a holiday, making them much more inclusive than Christmas resources. This is particularly helpful if you are teaching in a public school system.
Exciting Winter Themes
There are quite a few winter themes your little learners will be excited about. In this post, you'll see resources tied to Arctic Animals (Penguins), Hot Cocoa, Snow and more.
January Classroom Management
The week after winter break can be... challenging. It is important to take time to reteach routines and expectations. Having a management plan in place is key. Positive reinforcement and common goals for the class to work toward are effective ways to get back on track after an extended break.
Incentive Charts like those above are very engaging for students. Create a goal and celebration together as a class. Add marshmallows, snowballs or fish to the chart as you make progress toward your goal.
More Classroom Community Tools
Winter Math Activities
Differentiation is the name of the game when it comes to choosing effective math activities for your students. This means identifying activities that can work in different ways for the various abilities in your classroom. Here are a few of our favorites.
Hot Chocolate Ten Frames are so much fun! Use real marshmallows or white playdoh to fill the ten frames for a multi-sensory center!
Winter Shapes Sort & Trace includes 3 differentiated activities. Students have the option to sort shapes, trace shapes or cut/paste shapes to their outline. No prep for you and high engagement for students.
Penguin Add and Color provides students with an opportunity to MOVE! Post the cards around the room and students walk to find the sums. Find sums within 5, 10, 15, or 20.
Winter Color by Number Printables are a wonderful independent option for students who are rebuilding stamina and focus in the weeks after winter break. Grab the full set here or try one for free here.
This Hot Chocolate Math Craft is my new favorite. Students can match the marshmallows to numbers, addition facts or subtraction facts. One craft. Three different ways to support student learning.
Number Sense Activities are very important when it comes to providing students with a strong math foundation. We used c-clips to connect the different number representations and the printable to hold students accountable for their work. If students are not ready for this, you may want to work on simple 1:1 correspondence with a Count and Cover Activity.
You can find more Winter Math Centers here.
Winter Literacy Activities
Letter recognition, initial sounds, sight words and more! Creating a strong foundational base for early readers is important. These hands on activities cover a variety of skills and are perfect for morning tubs, guided groups and literacy centers.
Mystery Puzzles are my FAVORITE when it comes to keeping little learners engaged and excited about what they are learning. (You can read more about why I love them in this post.) Students match the letters or beginning sounds to reveal the mystery picture. Click the picture to see more. So much fun!
Ready for a challenge? Try the Sight Word Mystery Puzzles. Same concept as the letter match puzzles but with Fry's First 100 Words.
Do you wanna build a snowman? Snowman Sounds are ready! Practice matching uppercase, lowercase and beginning sounds to complete your snowman. Use the No Prep Printable to keep students accountable and to easily assess student understanding.
Winter Cookies Letter Trace are part of a new series of Cookie Tray Activities. Match the uppercase, lowercase or beginning sound cookie and trace the corresponding letter on the cookie sheet. This activity is sure to make your literacy centers a bit sweeter!
This Snowman Name Craft combines letter recognition, sorting, counting, cutting, pasting and coloring all in one activity. Not to mention it makes an adorable January Bulletin Board.
Want to try a Free Name Craft? This Winter Snow Globe Craft is SNOW cute. (See what I did there?) Perfect for that first week back in January. Click here to get it sent straight to your inbox.
You can find more Winter Literacy Centers here.
Winter Writing
Teaching the writing process doesn't have to be difficult or boring. Using no prep templates guide students through each step of the writing process for 4 different genres of writing.
⭐️How to Build a Snowman Procedural Writing
⭐️My Favorite Winter Memory Narrative Writing
⭐️Winter Opinion Writing: Build a Snowman vs. Sledding
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