Valentine’s Day in the middle school classroom is a special kind of painful. So many hormones. So many awkard emotions. So much energy!!! When left to their own devices, middle schoolers can turn this romantic holiday ugly real quick. Okay, I know there’s potential for you to witness lots of sweet-first-love moments and kind gestures, but in my twelve years of teaching experience… those gems are far out numbered by encounters everyone involved would rather forget.

I also know that these days in the classroom can feel like a complete and total bust… a loss of instruction time right alongside your sanity. So today I want to help you make a plan for Valentine’s Day that will leave your students smiling and walking away having learned something new and you walking out of the building energized with the confidence of knowing you conquered the holiday, the hormones and your learning objectives (along with a bag full of student-given treats).

Sound like a lovely? Here are 8 activities for a wide variety of grade/maturity levels for your lesoson plans that will embrace the holiday, capture your students’ attention and accomplish some academic objectives.

Speed Date with a Book

Watch this quick video for an explanation of my favorite “big kid” (middle school and up!) reading activity to use on Valentine’s Day!

You can get the printable version of this activity right here.

Candy Heart Stories: A Recipe for Romantic Writing Success

When I do this activity, I provide my students a list of prompts to help them get going. You can adjust these depending on the age and maturity of your students. Again, you know them best!

Valentine’s Day Trivia

Use the above video to facilitate this activity and grab the printable answers sheets here.

Valentine’s Day Writing Prompts

A hippo and giraffe at the local zoo fall in love. Tell a story about their first “date”.
Two people run into each other’s carts while shopping at the grocery store for the same item. What happens next?
A middle schooler is asked to the Valentine’s Day dance by a secret admirer.
You enter a raffle raising money for charity and win the grand prize - a date for Valentine’s Day with your celebrity crush.
Make a list of all the reasons you love… ___________ (chocolate, your dog, football, etc.)

After students write their stories, invite them to share their work aloud in partners, small groups, or for the very brave and bold, with the whole class.

Here are a few more Valentine’s Day activities from Teachers Pay Teachers. I didn’t create them, but they were highly rated and cover a wide variety of grade levels and content areas.

For even more ideas, check out my friend Molly’s similar post on her site. A Fresh Breath of Teaching.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Teaching!

Love,

Your Favorite Word Nerd, Amanda

This post was made beautiful by Canva.

If you liked what you read on my blog today (or are in search of weekly word nerd goodness) and would like to have it delivered to your inbox click the audience that best describes you: Writer. Teacher. Reader. As always, feel free to share this post with others you think might be interested via email, Facebook or Pinterest.