Planning Groundhog’s Day activities for your students? This post has 8 fun activities to make Groundhog’s Day a fun day full of learning for your students.
Groundhog’s Day always sneaks up on me! I think because it’s at the beginning of the month I don’t think about it until February 1 and then BAM; it’s the next day! I don’t want that to happen to you, so let’s start planning fun Groundhog’s Day activities for your students!
Let’s start with the basics of Groundhog’s Day first…
What is Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2nd. It’s a celebration of the groundhog, who is said to predict how long winter will last by seeing its shadow or not seeing its shadow.
- If you see your shadow on Groundhog Day, that means six more weeks of winter!
- If you don’t see your shadow on Groundhog Day (because it was cloudy), then spring is coming early this year!
Activities for Groundhog’s Day
Groundhog Day is one of those holidays that has fallen into obscurity, but it’s still fun to celebrate. Here is a list of activities for you and your kids to do on Groundhog’s Day!
Read a Book About Groundhogs
Holiday books are my favorite! Here are a few fiction and non-fiction books to read with your Groundhog’s Day activities.
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Draw Shadows
Shadows are often fascinating to children! Take students outside to observe their shadows or even bring
Create Groundhog Day Art.
Directed drawings are a wonderful art project for kids. A groundhog is an easy animal for students to draw with some direction.
Make a Groundhog’s Day Graph
Will the groundhog see his shadow? Before looking at the groundhog’s report have students make predictions. Students will vote yes or no and then the class can graph the data together.
Groundhog Research
Pebble Go is a great resource for students to use for research. Students can use section on Pebble Go about woodchucks (or groundhogs) to complete these comprehension questions. They are great for students to practice using text features and look for specific information.
I used these groundhog comprehension questions with first grade students. You can print Groundhog Comprehension Question worksheet for free in my TPT store.
Groundhog Puppet
Lunch bag puppets are so much fun! It’s simple to make and kids of all ages can enjoy creating it! It’s one of the many printables included inside, February Activities for Toddlers.
Thes groundhog puppet could be used by younger students for dramatic play or by older students to create a video about groundhogs or go with a writing activity.
You can learn more about February activities for little ones in this post, February Activities for Toddlers.
Groundhog Math Activities
Having themed activities keeps student engagement high! These Groundhog’s Day Math Centers were created with first-grade students in mind. They focus specifically on math skills first grade students are learning around this time of the year including:
- Base ten
- Addition
- Subtraction
- One more, one less, ten more, ten less
- Identifying number patterns
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Create a Weather Report
Phil is the official groundhog of Groundhog Day. He has been making weather predictions since 1887, when he was elected by the people of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania.
If he sees his shadow as he emerges from his burrow on this day each year then there will be six more weeks of winter weather; however if no shadow appears then spring will come early! Students can use this information to create a weather report.
I hope his post gave you some groundhog’s day activities to enjoy with your students!