As the weather warms and the days grow more beautiful, students get spring fever. Attention spans start to shrink, energy levels rise dramatically, and students just want more recess. Who can blame them? Children thrive when allowed to move around, be outside, and complete engaging activities. Rather than us teachers fighting spring fever and growing in frustration, embrace the chaos with engaging language arts activities that will help students to thrive. Here are 6 ways to channel that spring energy into meaningful learning experiences.
#1 Storywalk Writing- No Prep Activity
If your students are getting antsy, get them out of their seats to move around the classroom with a Storywalk. This activity also becomes quite comical, breaking up the monotony of the day. Students write 1-2 sentences to the beginning of a story on a sheet of paper. Then, they move to the next desk and briefly read what was written before and add to the story with more sentences. Give students around 2-3 minutes to write and then ring a bell or announce a key word like, “Move!”
As the stories become longer, you’ll need to give them more time to write. The activity is finished when students arrive back at their original desks. They read what their stories have become. Warning: A lot of laughter will ensue! Encourage students to read aloud the especially entertaining writing pieces. This makes writing so much fun and also has a good lesson in it: that when rushed, a writing piece might not be as great as if we just took our time on it. Also, another lesson is that writing can be exciting and fun!
This activity can be completed outside with clipboards or large chart paper taped to the walls of the school building. You could also complete this with sidewalk chalk.
I’ve never had a class that did not enjoy this activity!
#2 Carnival Project
One of the best ways to harness that spring energy is for students to complete an educational yet fun project with a culminating product and event that the whole class can look forward to. Using a Genius Hour or a Math, Language Arts, or STEM class, students can create a fantastic and authentic classroom or school carnival. If you’ve been around here for some time, you’ll know we have a deep love for project-based learning and its many benefits, and this particular project has so many cross-curricular opportunities. Check out our Create a Carnival Project inspired by Caine’s Arcade.
Description:
This engaging collaborative project empowers students to work together to plan, design, and execute their very own class carnival. From food booths and fun houses to face painting and games, from parades to craft booths, students will merge math, writing, art, entrepreneurship, marketing, and teamwork through step-by-step guidance.
Ideal for project-based learning, this resource includes an introductory PowerPoint inspired by Caine’s Arcade, comprehensive lesson plans, detailed carnival planning sheets with cost calculations, price boards, brainstorming sheets, menus, and more. Complete with daily exit slips, a daily progress journal, a history of carnivals article, and a final rubric, this project is not only educational but can also serve as a fun event for your entire school.
#3 The Magic of Chalk & Relay Races
At the last school I taught, we had a large parking lot and a wonderful administration who bought buckets of chalk in the spring for the students to enjoy during recess and any other time. Our administration encouraged outdoor education, and in the process, I learned so much about how to teach outside daily. One of the ways I put that into practice was to incorporate chalk. Students wrote poems in the parking lot with chalk and practiced spelling and vocabulary words. Students also drew chalk-art imagery based on various short stories we read.
Other chalk ideas include sight word hopscotch for younger students. Black-out poetry for middle schoolers can also be accomplished with chalk. Take clipboards outside and print out various texts. Let students use black chalk to “blackout” words, leaving behind a poetic message.
Another opportunity to use chalk involves relay races. The teacher stands at the opposite end of the students, who are divided into two rows, and calls out a definition to a vocabulary word. Students race to the teacher to write the correct vocabulary word in chalk on the sidewalk or pavement.
A teacher could also call out a noun, verb, or adjective, and students race to write down the correct part of speech. Another idea for older students includes calling out a type of figurative language and having students race to write the correct type in chalk.
#4 Writing Crafts
When spring fever hits my classroom, but I still need students to gain writing practice, I incorporate a writing craft, or “craftivity.” By adding art into the mix, students can be creative, color, use scissors and glue, and have some chatting time in the process. “Craftivities” are a secret of mine to make writing more fun and engaging.
This particular craft is perfect for spring and the beginning of summertime. Incorporate positivity, classroom values, and social-emotional practice with this “Let Your Light Shine” Writing Mason Jar Craft Flip Book. Students write about how they will let their light shine through how they act and treat others and what they say. Then, students color and cut out the mason jar and adorable fireflies and assemble them.
Grab it here:
Want to display students’ whimsical mason jars? Grab the matching bulletin board. It’s perfect to display as spring turns to summer.
Grab it here:
Want another idea for an April Showers Bring May Flowers writing craftivity? Grab this adorable one here! This resource has a writing prompts list, beautiful spring writing paper, and a cute umbrella craft!
#5 Spring Escape Room
An escape room is a wonderful activity for students to review a variety of skills engagingly and excitingly. Students will not even realize they’re learning as they participate in this activity, and they’ll be able to get out of their seats, move around the classroom, and complete fast-paced tasks. I have used educational escape rooms for years, and it’s a great way to liven up review and practice.
Students complete six engaging tasks that help them “escape winter” and welcome spring in this Spring Escape Room, all while cracking a code and completing a craft, too. Along the way, they’ll tackle challenges like:
- Snow Melting Figurative Language – Identify and use figurative language to make winter melt away!
- Mud Puddle Grammar – Dive into grammar skills in a fun, hands-on way.
- Umbrella Poetry Writing – Get creative with spring-themed poetry.
- Spring Spelling Scramble – Unscramble words and boost spelling skills.
- Reading Comprehension Tasks – Strengthen understanding with engaging texts.
- Spring-Themed Brain Teasers – Solve puzzles to move to the next challenge!
Grab yours here:
#6 Outdoor Scavenger Hunts
Taking students outside for a lesson is one of the best ways to harness that spring energy for their schoolwork. Give students a spring scavenger hunt and task them with finding various spring items as a prewriting activity for a descriptive or narrative piece on spring. When students find the items, they take a moment to observe them and write down a description and various adjectives. Then, students use their scavenger hunt information to help them write an authentic descriptive piece on spring.
Another way to use an outdoor scavenger hunt is to give students a list of various spring items/words they can find outside. Students check off the words as they locate them outside and then sort them into the correct parts-of-speech categories on the scavenger hunt list. Finally, they turn those spring words into a story.
Grab this freebie here!
A scavenger hunt idea for older students is to give them a list of various figurative language. Students then search outside for inspiration to write similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, personification, and more based on the list. For instance, a “fluffy cloud” is listed on the scavenger hunt and could inspire a simile such as, “The cloud is as fluffy as cotton candy.” Another example is that a bright sun may inspire a student to write, “The sun is smiling down on me,” for personification.
Conclusion
By incorporating movement, creativity, engaging activities, and the great outdoors, teachers can channel students’ spring energy into meaningful learning experiences. Whether through interactive writing, project-based learning, or outdoor adventures, these ideas help keep students motivated and engaged while making the most of the beautiful spring season. So, instead of fighting the excitement that comes with warmer weather, lean into it and watch your students thrive!
