Feb. 2 equates to a national holiday in some classrooms, as eager kids and creative teachers alike wait for a predictive mammal to exit his or her burrow and notice (or not notice) a shadow, signifying either more winter or an early spring. That’s right, we’re talking about Groundhog Day.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is a seasoned educator based on the East Coast, looks at some fun classroom activities that will help your kids celebrate the great mammal’s finest day.
Janelle’s ideas include:
- Making Groundhog Predictions
- Shadow Play Classroom Activities
- Hibernation Station
- And More!
Janelle sums up her article like this, in a paragraph about The Groundhog Legend classroom activity: “The legend of the groundhog has been around since the 1880s, and is celebrated in the United States and Canada. While it’s celebrated all across the country, the largest celebration is help in Punxsutawney, Pa. According to this folklore, every year on Feb. 2, the groundhog’s behavior will predict the weather for the next six weeks. If he pops his head out of the hole and sees his shadow, then that means six more weeks of winter weather, but if comes up from his burrow and doesn’t see his shadow then it means will Spring will be earlier. Print out the full legend of the groundhog and have students read it. Then, challenge students to create their own legend. They can either add to or change the legend of the groundhog or they come up with a completely new legend of their own.”
How do you celebrate Groundhog Day in your classroom? Do you have any classroom activities that you would like to share with us? Please leave your ideas in the comment section of the actual article on TeachHUB.com, we would love to hear your ideas.
