Celebrating Groundhog Day

Ideas for Read Alouds, Writing Prompts, and Crafts

It's that time of year again – Groundhog Day is almost upon us! With the holidays and Valentine's Day so recent, it can be easy to forget to plan for this special day. But fear not! I've got you covered with a range of fun and engaging ideas for read-aloud, writing prompts, and crafts.

Enhance Your Writing Prompt with a Fun Groundhog Craft

Integrating a craft activity into a writing prompt is always a crowd-pleaser for students, and this Groundhog craft is no different! This versatile craft can be utilized from pre-K to 4th grade for writing about a range of topics, including groundhog facts, Groundhog Day traditions, predictions, responses to read-aloud, short stories with groundhog protagonists, and even groundhog poetry.

Involving Students in Groundhog Day Predictions

When it comes to Groundhog Day, students are always eager to make their predictions about whether or not Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. As previously mentioned, encouraging students to write about their predictions is a great idea. Alternatively, you could have students cast a vote on the matter.

Recognizing the Importance of Holidays in the Classroom

As educators, it can be challenging to keep track of all the holidays celebrated by our students, but it is crucial to do so. These holidays are significant to our students, and even the lesser-known ones like Groundhog Day can bring immense joy. By incorporating these "smaller" holidays into our plans, we can create more opportunities for fun and engagement while still achieving our learning goals. If you’re looking for an easy low-prep resource, try my Groundhog Day Activities & Writing Craft

Here's how to implement the Groundhog's Day Activities:

Introduce students to each activity attached to this resource:
Lesson Vocab
Fact and Fiction Activity
The History of Groundhog Day
Writing Craft Activity
Wordsearch

The Origins of Groundhog Day

From Candlemas Day to a National Tradition Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2nd, started in Pennsylvania during the 19th century and has since expanded to other parts of the United States and Canada. The holiday is rooted in Candlemas Day, a centuries-old Christian observance in which people would bring their candles to church to have them blessed by the clergy.

Groundhog Science Activity

Exploring Shadows: A Hands-On Activity

In this engaging science experiment from Into Science, students will delve into the world of shadows, exploring how they change throughout the day. The activity covers the topic of sky patterns and requires a few basic supplies, such as a pencil or dowel, modeling clay, poster board, a metric ruler, and a marker.

How to Get Started:

Let your class brainstorm the most important questions to investigate regarding shadows
Divide students into smaller groups and have them determine the materials needed to answer their chosen questions.
Once they have gathered all their supplies, each team will conduct their investigation.

Materials

Pencil or dowel
Molding clay
Posterboard
Metric ruler
Marker

Looking for Groundhog Day Read Aloud Books?

Here are a few you can implement into your lesson:

Groundhog's Day Off by Robb Pearlman
Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub
Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow
Groundhog Day by Anne Marie Pace
Groundhog Gets A Say by Pamela Swallow Curtis

Have fun embracing the Groundhog Day holiday with your students this year. I’d love to hear how you chose to celebrate. Leave me a comment below and don’t forget to follow me on social media.

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Until Next time,