Valentine's Day in Middle School

Valentine's Day in a Middle School is very different than in Elementary. There are less cards, and more goofiness. But, it is still a fun holiday to celebrate.

This morning was a strange day for my Grade 8 class. Blocks 1 and 2 were speech finals for our community (4 classes) Each class put forth 3-4 students to represent their class. Since I teach two classes Humanities, I put forth 7 students. Topics ranged from Nuclear energy, why telling the truth isn't always the best thing, legalizing marijuana, why Superman is the worst superhero ever and animal cruelty. When we were done we handed out "candy-grams" which is run by the leadership team at our school. Students could send messages to students and a candy - a school-wide but fun event.

After recess was grade 9 course selection. Counselors from the local high schools came to walk our kids through how to pick electives and credits for next year.

That brings us to after lunch. After a crazy morning we finally had a regular class.... French. We had a Valentines package yesterday and did vocabulary BINGO today with candy heart markers and hershey kiss prizes. It was a fun way to practice the french vocabulary. (We do this type of game with all our vocabulary units before a test as practice!)

Another activity we did today as a class was part of  our Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs) happening this month. Pink slips of paper say "I am grateful ...." and students each wrote something they are grateful for. The leadership team will link them together in loops like a chain to decorate our foyer. Also, there are hearts where students wrote RAKs they have seen or recieved. Those hearts all go up on the bulletin board in the foyer.

I really like the focus on RAKs instead of Valentine's Day. 

There was no PARTY or cartoon Valentine cards like in my daughter class, but still, in Middle School we had a busy but fun day with some Valentine's celebration and appreciation for others.

Valentine's Day Activities

Here are some Valentine's Day ideas for multiple grades and subjects.... some are simple and require little to no planning or materials, others require a bit more time and supplies....

This link as a great list of ideas!

Math - Estimation

Have a bag or jar of candy, jelly beans or something and have kids estimate the # inside. Have them explain WHY they estimate that number.

Math - Graphing

Have students graph the number of each colour of candy in a pack or jar you bring. Or if you do not have candy, survey the class on their favourite candy or flower (or anything you can tie into Valentine's Day) and graph the results.

FSL

Give students a list of vocabulary words related to the holiday and have them write a story or sentences using the words. Alternatively you can do a memory or BINGO game having students create the cards or game boards to play.

English - Poetry

Share some love poems or sonnets with the class and have them write their own using similar patterns or style. This works especially with short and structured styles like Haiku or Cinquian

Art

Honestly, glue, glitter, scissors and construction paper... the end! ha ha!

What other ideas do you have?