Spring is right around the corner, but we can already feel it in the air! With the birds chirping, some warmer days scattered here and there, and the sun being out longer, we can taste the sweetness of springtime! Spring is a time of new beginnings, so it’s the perfect opportunity to refresh your classroom activities. Spring also signifies the school year winding down, so with spring fever, it’s so important to keep our students engaged and excited about learning. Here are five 5 spring writing activities for the classroom.
1. Take the Joy of Reading and Writing Outside
March is National Reading Month! Get outdoors, smell the fresh air, and enjoy a wonderful read-aloud on the schoolyard lawn. Students can do their independent reading outdoors, or you can host an afternoon read-a-thon outside, complete with playground time at the end. One of the schools I worked at had students bring in a yoga mat as part of their school supply lists. These were utilized often to read and complete work outside. Another idea, with minimum preparation, is to have a storytime picnic lunch. Students bring their lunch outside and eat while you read them a fun picture book.
Do a Storywalk activity, in which you set up books to read outside. This could work for younger or older students. Task students with walking around to each book and reading the first page. At the end of the walk, students can choose the book they’d like to read for independent reading time. (Partner students up if they choose to read the same book.)
Another idea is to give students chalk and have them practice visualization skills by drawing a scene from a book they’ve read.
2. Celebrate Spring Poetry
Spring is the perfect backdrop to inspire students to write poetry! Take students on a sensory spring nature walk, jotting down what they see, smell, hear, and touch. Students can craft beautiful flowers out of construction paper and write a descriptive poem on it about spring based on their nature walk. Display their beautiful poetry and flower creations with a “Poetry in Bloom” bulletin board. (I have found the best flower crafts are the ones in which you give students colorful construction paper, scissors, and glue and tell them to just be creative!)
Looking for the perfect bulletin board to display the student poetry with the “Poetry in Bloom” title?
Like previously described, a Storywalk could also work for a Poetry Walk as well. Tape print-outs of various spring poetry along the sidewalk or outside on your school building. Students walk around and read the poems aloud. Students then write about their favorite poem they read.
Take spring-themed poetry books outside to read as well, such as The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Another great poetry book for this purpose is When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons by Julie Fogliano. It is a delightful collection of seasonal poems,
Another idea is to give students chalk and have them write short poems, such as haikus or cinquains, on the sidewalk or parking lots. Have them illustrate their poems, and then students can travel around reading each other’s wonderful poetry.
3. Spring Escape Room
Make learning exciting, engaging, and fun with a Spring Escape Room. An escape room is a fun way to review and practice new concepts in a heart-pumping, competitive way. Students will forget they’re even learning while engaging in an escape room.
Check out our NEW Resource: Spring Escape Room. Students work on six tasks to escape winter and enjoy spring through activities such as snow melting figurative language, mud puddle grammar, or umbrella poetry writing. Students will review concepts such as reading comprehension, grammar, and figurative language, all while writing poetry and tackling fun spelling scrambles in adorable spring-themed activities.
4. Put on a Spring Carnival
Spring is a great time to tackle a whole-class project, especially one that merges math, writing, art, entrepreneurship, history, marketing, and collaboration. Task students to work together to put on a classroom spring carnival the whole grade level or school can enjoy. Energize students to put on a full carnival utilizing the short documentary, Caine’s Arcade, in which a young boy turns his father’s auto parts store into a homemade arcade created entirely with cardboard. Caine shows students that with some ingenuity and determination, anything is possible.
Task students with creating various activities for the carnival such as food stations, fun houses, face painting and game booths, craft tables, and even a fun parade for a full carnival.
Do you love this idea but have no idea where to begin? We have created a full resource that has everything you need for your students to put on a spring carnival. Create a Carnival Project-Based Learning Unit is an engaging collaborative project that empowers students to work together to plan, design, and execute their very own class carnival.
This resource includes:
- Introductory PowerPoint inspired by Caine’s Arcade
- Comprehensive Lesson Plans
- Detailed Carnival Planning Sheets with Cost Calculations
- Price Boards
- Brainstorming Sheets
- History of Carnivals Article
- Daily Exit Slips
- Daily Progress Journal
- Final Rubric
- And more…
5. Spring Paragraph Writing Prompts
I love for students to practice writing in short doses in the form of paragraphs. Paragraph writing is not as intimidating to students as a full-fledged story. Some quick spring paragraph writing prompts include:
The Best Spring Day Ever – Imagine the perfect spring day. What would you do? Describe the weather, activities, and people you would spend it with.
If I Were a Butterfly – Pretend you are a butterfly exploring the world in spring. What do you see, smell, and feel? Where do you go?
Springtime in My Neighborhood – Describe what happens in your neighborhood when spring arrives. What changes do you see in nature, and how do people enjoy the season?
Do I Like Spring? – Describe whether or not you like spring and why or why not.
Have students publish their paragraph writing with a spring-themed umbrella craft and flower writing paper. Grab the craft, various spring writing paper, and a full bulletin board here:
Conclusion:
Spring is a season of renewal, growth, and endless possibilities, both in nature and in the classroom! By incorporating these fun and engaging spring-themed activities, you can keep students excited about learning while celebrating the beauty of the season. Whether it’s reading outdoors, crafting poetry, tackling an escape room, planning a spring carnival, or sharpening writing skills, these ideas will spark creativity and joy. Embrace the energy of spring, refresh your classroom activities, and make the most of these final months of the school year!
“Craving more springtime inspiration? 🌸 Dive into our other blogs for even more fun and creative writing activities.
