Depending on where you live, winter can be a very long season. In northern Canada, where we teach, winter can start as early as October. It continues up to the end of March. That means we are always on the lookout for winter classroom activities to use in class. More importantly, we use them during those dreaded indoor recesses when it is just too cold to go outside.
All those months indoors can cause anyone to go a little stir-crazy. You might enjoy our post, Chill Out With These Sanity Saving Indoor Recess Activities. You might also want to check out these posts: You’ll Love These Exciting Winter Classroom Activities and How to Have Snow Much Fun With These Winter Activities.
We fill our classroom with winter books. Check out Cozy Up With Great Winter Books.
The activities listed in this post are either listings from our Teachers Pay Teachers Store ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD). We offer some free resources in our Resource Library; when you click on the link, you will be taken to a sign-up page. You only need to sign up for one resource from the Resource Library to get access to them all. Once you confirm your email, you’ll receive an email with the library password. It is an automated service. So, be sure to check your email address, spam folders and junk folders for that first email. We recommend a personal email over a school email to avoid getting stuck in filters.
Winter Classroom Activities for Language Arts
All of our writing prompts come with three choices each day. Giving students choices lets students pick something that resonates with them, making writing more interesting for most students. We’ve also added a digital version so students can write on paper or use the digital version. Learn more about how we encourage students to write by reading Challenge Your Students with Writing Activities Every Day or How to Include Different Types of Writing in Your Classroom.
Our Daily Writing Prompts Monthly Sample gives you a chance to see how all of our writing prompts work. There are three choices for writing and students can write on paper or use any digital method. The prompts come in a paper and Google Slides version. It can be found in our Resource Library or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
Weekly Readers Sets
Our weekly readers’ sets (even the free ones) feature a nonfiction reading passage that is loosely connected to science and social studies topics. Along with the passage are twelve reading comprehension activities that vary depending on the set. Concepts such as making connections, syllables, word parts, roots, prefixes, suffixes, vocabulary, analyzing, conventions and so much more are included in the different sets. There are also extension opportunities in every set to research or learn more about the topic.
The sets come with complete lesson plans and include both a paper and digital version (using Google Slides). Answer keys and suggested answers are part of each set. We call them weekly reader sets because each set takes about a week to complete. You can learn more in our post, Add Great Content to Your Literacy Lessons.
Permafrost is an approximate Grade Five reading level. This is a connection to a weather unit. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN).
Spirit Bears is all about the Kermode Bears found in British Columbia. It is an approximate Grade Four level. It can be found in our Resource Library or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
Winter Classroom Activities for Math
This Number Sense Pennant Activity can be used for virtually any number as it provides flexible options so you can differentiate. Students select a number and then represent it in a variety of ways. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
We don’t use worksheets to teach concepts, but they definitely serve a purpose to help practice and review. Math Worksheet Games Your Students Will Love is a blog post full of ways to use a worksheet without making your students do a worksheet.
These worksheet sample sets feature a variety of different concepts They are just a small sample of our worksheet sets. The grade levels are suggestions based on BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan outcomes.
Grade 3 Math Sample Worksheets with Numbers Up to 1 000. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
Targeted for Grade 3/4 Math Sample Worksheets with Numbers Up to 10 000. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
Grade 5 Math Sample Worksheets with Numbers Up to 1 000 000. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
Winter Classroom Activities for Science
How Machines Help is a simple, Simple Machines Experiment that you can do any time of year. It takes a little planning to find materials before starting, so it’s not a last-minute project, but it does make for a great experiment on a dreary afternoon. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
This post, 10 Engaging Weather Lessons All in One Place, includes several weather-related experiments. Many of them can be done in winter or use winter-related concepts.
Winter Classroom Activities for Art
Our Snowmen Project is a very simple and easily adaptable project. It’s part of our Winter Art Lessons set (which is a paid set on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD)). The snowman lesson can be found in our Resource Library, or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
Our City Landmarks Lesson is a simple art project that uses water-based markers, tin foil, a spray bottle with water, and black permanent markers. We drew city landscapes, but this can easily be adapted to show winter scenes or winter in the city. It is part of our Landscapes and Geography Art Lessons set (which is a paid set on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAN)).
Turkey Directed Painting isn’t really a winter theme, but it is Thanksgiving, which happens during winter, depending on where you live. This is part of our Thanksgiving post about Being Thankful in the Classroom. There are several other free Thanksgiving ideas in the post. The painting project can be found in our Resource Library or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
This poppy watercolour painting is a lesson that ties into plants and Remembrance Day. We have two posts that you might find helpful: Simple and Stunning Remembrance Day Art Projects and How to Create Memorable Remembrance Day Art Projects. Find the poppy watercolour painting on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
If you’re looking for Christmas art projects, this one might be helpful to get you started: 12 Simple Christmas Tree Projects We Love. It contains links to all our other Christmas art projects.
Winter Classroom Activities for French Class
Our French bell ringers are designed for French learning as a new language. Bell ringers are quick activities to get your lesson started and ours are designed to be digital and easy to use. They feature facts for learning French that are interesting but don’t require French fluency. You can learn more about bell ringers in our post, Saved by the Bell Ringers in Upper Elementary.
We have a free set of French Class Bell Ringers in our Resource Library or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
There is also a bonus free set of French Class Bell Ringers that can be found on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
Winter Classroom Activities for Fun
We made a collection of Winter and Christmas Puzzles and then put a few together in a sample of the bigger sets. It makes great busy work activities. Find it on TpT ($USD) or our BN Shop ($CAD).
This Bone Game is based on a counting game from First Nations in Alberta. It can be found in our Resource Library or we can send it directly to your inbox when you sign up for our email list.
What other activities do you like to do with your students during winter? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
