Melt away your winter blues with these 10 winter lesson plans for the ELA classroom! You’ll find a variety of lessons here: a fun podcast, winter-themed writing, short stories, puzzles, and more. Whether you’re looking to pad your planner with quick ideas to use in between longer units, want seasonal activities for fast-finishers, or are just looking for creative curriculum for winter, this list can get your creative juices going. Read on for ideas, suggestions, and links to resources.
Hygge
If you’re looking for a fresh and engaging winter ELA activity that combines reading comprehension, writing, and digital media, check out this Hygge Reading and Writing Project to give your students the gift of cozy contentment. Hygge, in essence, is the Danish art of being cozy. Don’t we all need a little more of that this winter?
In this done-for-you lesson, students learn about the concept of hygge with an original reading comprehension passage and questions. Then they choose a project on hygge from a choice board of six options. This is a great standalone lesson on hygge, but can also be used as an introduction to independent reading or a social-emotional learning activity. It makes a great substitute plan, too!
Winter Short Story
Choose a short story or collection of short stories to read with your class, or have them select a favorite to read in groups. This short story resource can be used for reading comprehension for any short story, so you don’t have to create multiple projects for different winter-themed stories.
A good choice with a short story is Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. It is the story of a man and a dog who face treacherous, frozen conditions in the Yukon. While an older man has warned him of the dangers of extreme cold, the man’s pride prompts him to disregard the warning.
Winter Podcast
If you haven’t utilized podcasts, I highly recommend you do so. There are some great ones out there, like this one covering The Abominable Snowman by Mythical Monsters podcast. It’s a perfect resource for your secondary students, and it’s low-prep. That means you can squeeze it in before holiday break, use it for a sub plan, or work it into a larger activity by incorporating a close-reading activity like this one on real monsters. You can also use podcast notes during the podcast for accountability. Don’t forget to set up a fireplace on your smart board to really set the mood!
Holidays Around the World Close Reading
Immerse your students in the rich traditions and diverse celebrations of the December holidays this winter. You can celebrate diversity by introducing students to the beauty and variety of traditions everywhere in order to foster empathy and global awareness. You can use this close reading activity that is designed to captivate learners while promoting critical reading and writing skills.
Hockey Close Reading
If you’ve got any sports fans in your ELA classroom, try reading about hockey heroes like Wayne Gretzky, Alexander Overchkin, Sidney Crosby, Goride Howe, and Mario Lemieux. You can take some time to learn about the sport if it isn’t familiar to your students. Combine with a close reading activity like this bundle – it’s flexible and includes an original reading passage with four comprehension activities.
Winter Reading Challenge
Create a fun reading challenge for your students with a winter theme. Your students can do this as an independent reading assignment during the winter, or you can incorporate it as part of lit circles or free read in class. Give students a list of ideas such as selecting a book with a snowy setting, or takes place in the winter. Perhaps the title needs to contain winter-themed words like snow, frost, ice, chill, or frozen. Make a bingo card where students have the whole winter season to complete it – this can be done as part of their reading points, or as an extra credit option. It’s also a great fallback option for early finishers.
Word Puzzles
Combine seasonal charm with educational value using winter word puzzles. Puzzles are great to have on hand because you can use them for fast finishers, morning work, or to simply build classroom community. It’s easy to utilize in sub plans, or just as a handy grab-and-go activity. You can nab this activity pack that includes a mix of winter crossword, winter word search, and word scramble activities that also strengthen their vocabulary and problem-solving skills.
Mad Libs
Reinforce grammar skills with mad libs. These are really great for those chilly months of January and February – when the joy of holiday break has ended and you’re still in the snowy, cold season. Not only does this make winter grammar practice enjoyable, but it also strengthens their understanding of sentence structure and parts of speech in a low-pressure setting. This resource includes five unique worksheets that come as a full-sheet and half-sheet, making it versatile for various classroom needs. Use these as a quick review, a bell ringer, grammar practice, or a seasonal activity for those fast finishers.
Roll a Winter Story
Roll-a-story activities are creative and engaging ways to involve students in writing. The format introduces an element of surprise, keeping the writing process fresh and exciting. With the roll of a die, students determine their main story elements – characters, settings, and plot twists. Once the stories are complete, you can use them as displays for your winter bulletin board. Students can even add creative borders or illustrations to their work. There’s a great option here that works beautifully in both print and digital formats.
Banner
Add seasonal charm to your classroom with a winter banner. Whether you’re searching for winter bulletin board ideas, winter decorations, or a fun and interactive activity to kick off the new year, banners have you covered. Celebrate the season with a creative project that transforms your classroom into a winter wonderland – with art that doubles as a collaborative class project. I love refreshing my space with festive decor, and banners like this one make it so easy and builds class community as well.
Those long winter months can be great, but also dreary, long, and cold. I hope this list of winter lesson plans and activities can bring a spark to your ELA classrooms. What are your favorite ideas from this list? Have you tried any before? What would you add? If you like the options you see here, you can follow my shop here to see everything I offer for all the seasons.
Happy teaching!
