Spring-themed activities just bring a certain joy to the classroom. There’s more sun, the weather starts to improve, we can see the end of the year fast approaching. If your classroom needs to see some bloom, take a look at my round-up of spring activities for secondary ELA.
1. Spring Mad Lib Silly Stories
Practice parts of speech with this fun and engaging activity. These silly stories are just like Mad Libs. Students can flex their skills and celebrate spring. I have a premade resource that includes five stories that you can print as is. Print on pretty paper to create ready-to-go class decor, use for fast finishers, and enhance your class culture.
2. Daily Agenda Slides Spring Design
Daily agenda slides are so important to establish classroom routines. Spice them up with a spring-themed design! You can find mine here. I love utilizing daily agenda slides. If you need ideas or inspiration for incorporating these into your own room, I have a blog post outlining everything you need to know.
3. Roll a Spring Story Creative Writing Activity
This activity requires students to write a story with their imagination and a bit of luck. Students roll for their main story elements before writing. I love this because you really never know what you’re going to get, and students can run through this activity multiple times and never have the same story twice. I have this activity geared to go with four attractive writing pages, directions, and even have this working digitally with a dice script. Find my Roll a Story here.
4. Spring-Themed Word Games Activities
Word puzzles are a crowd pleaser, so why not have a few spring-themed ones ready for fast finishers or to build class culture. Think of working word scrambles, word searches and crosswords into your rotation of options. It’s fun, quick, and easy to put together on your own, but I have word puzzles in my shop that you can purchase just for the spring season or as a bundle.
5. Spring Classroom Banner Activity
I really love activities where you build class culture. They may be more “fun” in nature and not necessarily focused on ELA skills, but this brings a little festive spring energy to your room. Banners can brighten a space, it’s easy and inexpensive decor, and doesn’t take too long to put together. I have a spring banner resource that includes both pre-made and blank templates. Put together a fun activity for sub-plans, or just have a change-of-pace activity ready to go.
6. Baseball Informational Texts
My nonfiction text passages are engaging and perfect to practice close reading skills. In addition to five themed readings, my bundle also includes writing activities. These baseball passages include informational text on Alex Rodriguez, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle.
7. Go Outside!
This requires no resources to purchase and very little prep. My students always beg to go outside, and after being cooped up all winter I really don’t blame them. The hardest part is making sure students continue to stay engaged, so I like to make sure I have activities lined up for them to complete besides just reading. Have students work on procedural writing by having them complete an activity building something using items they gather from outside. Write an analysis with sidewalk chalk.Gather some loose parts and “make writing” with instructions from the brilliant Angela Stockman. Create a flat lay for a novel with items from nature.
8. Celebrate Earth Day
Students may not have celebrated Earth Day since they were in elementary school. I remember volunteers passing out saplings and seed bombs to feed the butterflies. There are so many environmentally-focused articles and resources available. Host a debate with students, work on close reading or persuasion writing with Earth Day related topics.
9. Read Poetry
There are so many nature-inspired poets out there – pick a few to study in-depth and have students read and analyze while outside (see above), or have students find their own inspiration in nature. If you don’t have quick access to grass and the breeze, bring out posters or slides or have students find their favorite nature images to draw inspiration from. April is also National Poetry Month, so if you really want to highlight the genre this is the perfect time to do so. For a creative twist, check out my post about incorporating verse novels.
10. Do a Bit of Everything
If you’re having trouble picking what activities to do or want an easy way to mix and mash some of these, my spring resources can be found here in a ready-to-go list for easy shopping on TPT.
I am so excited for the change of season. You really can’t beat the winter to spring change and the buzz that comes from its excitement. If you have spring-themed favorites, list them below in the comments. I love to add to my toolbox and try new things.
Happy teaching!
