Valentine's Day
Learn about the history of the holiday and engage in some Valentine's activities
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General
Students will learn about the history of Valentine’s Day and play a variety of fun games. The lesson is filled with engaging activities including creating your own Valentine’s Day card, an I Spy activity, a board game, and more!
Learning Objective
Students will be able to explain the history of Valentine’s Day and participate in a number of activities involving word making, addition/subtraction, and multiplication factors.
Standards
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.2
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.B
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.C
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.5
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.6
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.OA.B.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2c
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2d
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.2d
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2d
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.2b
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.2b
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.2c
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K-8
Introduction
The lesson begins with a table of contents that links to different activities. First, students learn about the holiday and explore its origins starting in 280 AD. They will compare the celebration of Valentine’s Day in the past to the way it’s celebrated today in the U.S. Finally, they will learn about Esther A. Howland, the creator of the first Valentine’s Day greeting card, before creating their own Valentine’s Day card using the printable template provided.
Activities
Students participate in a number of activities, including a fun and challenging “I spy…” activity. Have your students count how many of each picture they find and write the number down. They will look for items like cupcakes, bugs, hearts, and cute, Valentine’s Day monsters! Next, students will make words using the letters in the words, “Valentine’s Day.” After that, students will get to play a fun counting game with little monsters as game pieces. Students will also participate in a decomposition activity with numbers 5-25. Then, help the monsters complete their hearts by finding the missing factor in a multiplication problem.
Teaching tips
The “I Spy” activity helps to build a variety of skills for younger students, including counting and visual recognition. To help students keep track as they count, use the pencil or highlighter tool to cross off or circle each picture as they are counted to avoid counting the same pictures multiple times.
The word-making activity is great for spelling and letter sounds. Reinforce these skills by using the text tool to make the vowels a different color. If students are having a hard time thinking of longer words, guide them by providing a word like “eaten” and have them try to spell it correctly.
More information for the Valentine’s Day counting game can be found by clicking the ‘Information’ button in the top right corner. Encourage students to predict how many cupcakes they will have and check if they were correct after adding or subtracting.
Instruction materials
The lesson includes printable worksheets for students to design their own Valentine’s Day cards and for the “I Spy” activity.
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Gynzy is an online teaching platform for interactive whiteboards and displays in schools.
With a focus on elementary education, Gynzy’s Whiteboard, digital tools, and activities make it easy for teachers to save time building lessons, increase student engagement, and make classroom management more efficient.