Winter can be a gray, dreary time of year. Having fun winter classroom activities prepped for your students can make all of the difference! In this post, I share winter classroom activities that will get your students excited about learning during the cold winter months!
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Math Winter Activities for Upper Elementary
With a mix of math winter classroom activities that inspire movement and hands-on learning, the math activities on this list are sure to help your students stay engaged while reviewing math skills. Check out the list of fun math activities below.
1. Snowball Equation Toss
This activity is a great way to get your students out of their seats. To start, print out an equation sheet with multiple questions for your students to solve. Your students will solve the first question, crumple their paper up into a snowball, and then toss different “snowballs” around the room until the music stops.
Once the music stops, students will pick up the closest paper and answer the next question.
Play will continue until all equations have been solved. After the snowball toss activity, have students return to their seats and review the equations as a class.
2. Snowball Race
Nothing sparks excitement like a race! To prepare for the snowball race, set up four bins at the front of your classroom. Label them A-B-C-D to represent the multiple-choice options.
Then, split your students into 2-3 teams and line them up. Display math problems on the board with multiple-choice answers. Once the timer starts, your students will quickly solve the problem and toss a snowball into the correct bin. The first team to toss their snowball into the correct bin earns a point.
3. Multiplication Boom Cards
These Find the Missing Factor Boom Cards are an interactive way to make learning fun. To play, your students will solve for the missing factor. Once they’ve determined what the missing factor is, they will drag one of three numbers into the equation. The Boom Cards are self-checking so students will instantly know if their answer is correct. These are perfect to use with the Snowball Race game mentioned above!
Multiplication Boom Cards
4. Snowflake Scavenger Hunt
This activity allows students to move around the room as they search for different equation snowflakes. To begin, hide snowflakes featuring different equations around the classroom. Have your students work in teams or pairs to find the snowflakes and then solve all of the equations as quickly as possible.
5. Winter Connect Four
This Connect Four game focuses on reviewing place value and writing numbers in different formats. Students will determine which number matches each task card featuring base-ten blocks, numbers in word form, expanded form, place value riddles, ordering numbers, and more. They’ll pick a card and place a colored counter on the space. The first team to reach four counters in a row is the winner. This review game is perfect for math centers, test-prep, indoor recess and more!
Place Value Connect Four Games
6. Snowflake Counters
These adorable snowflake counters are perfect for a math center! Use them as a tool for helping your students solve multiplication problems.
7. Snow Trays
Make learning hands-on by making snow trays! To begin, create a math center consisting of trays filled with flour. Encourage your students to solve their math problems by using their fingers to write on the tray. This might get a little messy, so I would recommend placing a tablecloth under it.
Literacy Winter Activities
With common nouns, character traits, and so many other grade-level standards to help students master, making learning fun is important. The list of literacy winter classroom activities below does just that.
1. Common and Proper Noun Matching Freebie
Give your students practice with common and proper nouns by allowing them to play this matching game. To play, your students will work on matching up common and proper noun snowflakes to make pairs. This activity is perfect for students to play independently or in pairs. Grab it for FREE here.
Common & Proper Noun Matching Game
A winter noun review activity your students will love! With this common & proper nouns activity, students will match each common noun to its proper noun. Perfect for literacy centers or group activities.
2. Winter Morning Review Freebie
Having winter morning work pages ready to go is a good way to make your morning flow easier during these cold months. These free ELA worksheets feature one review activity per day to get your students’ minds flowing as the school day begins. Download them for FREE here.
3. Snowman Charades
It’s time to put those acting skills to use! Your students will love reviewing character traits by acting out different character traits as if they were a snowman. Ex: Greedy, ambitious, organized, etc. This activity is a great way to see which character traits your students may need a little more practice with.
4. Snowman Diary Entry
This diary entry activity gives your students practice with author’s point of view and character traits as they write a diary entry from a snowman’s perspective. This is also a great way to allow your students to practice writing in a different format than usual.
5. Snow Filled Possessive Noun Bin
If you’ve never done a sensory bin – it’s time! To bring this fun possessive noun sensory bin to life, create a sensory bin center filled with fake snow. Then, hide noun cards containing objects and people in the snow. Next, have your students pick two cards and create a possessive noun sentence using both of the words on the card.
Grab the noun winter centers here.
6. Winter Print-and-Go Packs
These January worksheets for 2nd Grade are perfect to use as extra practice for the important math, literacy, and grammar standards you are already teaching as part of your curriculum. These printable winter worksheets are perfect for early finishers, morning work, center activities, and more! Grab them here.
Winter Print-and-Go Packs
These January winter-themed worksheets include activities targeting 2nd grade literacy, grammar, and math standards. They require zero prep for teachers and are fun and engaging for students.
Science & STEM Winter Activities
Winter is a fun time to incorporate science and STEM activities into your instruction! Your students will love working together to build and experiment with their classmates using the fun winter classroom activities below.
1. Melting Snowman Activity
Allow your students to create and then melt their own snowman! This activity is a fun experiment for students as they make hypotheses about what will happen and then see what happened once the experiment took place.
2. STEM Snowman Challenge
Who can build the biggest snowman out of just paper and glue? This activity allows your students to take part in the challenge in order to see! I love watching students work together as they bring their snowmen to life.
3. Snow Fort
It’s time to let your students’ creativity shine as they use toothpicks and marshmallows to build their own snow fort. Allow students to work independently or as a team to make their own unique creations.
Looking for other exciting winter activities? Check out this post where I share 10 Free Winter Activities for Grades K-5.
What fun winter classroom activities do you like to do in the month of January? Comment below to share!
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