Groundhog day is an exciting day and a great opportunity to teach students all about the Pennsylvanian Dutch traditional superstition that states that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, it will immediately return and six more weeks of winter will follow.
We have gathered a bunch of activities with links to resources for elementary teachers to make celebrating Groundhog Day in class with your students easy and exciting.
Groundhog Day Artworks and Crafts
1. A cute 3D Groundhog Day Book Craft
This lovely 3D book from @aspoonfuloflearning on Instagram is a fantastic activity for younger students. This cute book is just one of the activities in a pack and is a superb way for students to showcase what they have learned about Groundhog Day.
Learn More: A Spoonful of Learning
2. Groundhog Paper Bag Puppet
This simple activity makes for a wonderful recycling project if you’re looking to get rid of any unused grocery bags. Invite your children to cut and paste green, white, and black construction paper onto paper bags before having them glue on a pair of googly eyes to bring their adorable groundhog puppets to life.
Learn More: Kids Activities
3. Pop Up Groundhog Craft
Once students have had fun decorating this cute pop-up groundhog craft, they can take it outside to see if their groundhog is casting a shadow. This is perfect to demonstrate the story of Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his burrow to check for his shadow.
Learn More: Kids Soup
4. Hand and Feet Painting
Perfect for younger students, this delightfully messy activity will be a fantastic keepsake for parents to hold onto for years. Students dip their feet into grown paint to make the groundhog, then use their hands in green paint for the grassy ground. A cute poem completes this sweet Groundhog Day artwork.
Learn More: Play with Me
5. 3D Shadow Artwork
This super-simple piece of artwork from @curriculumcastle on Instagram is fantastic for even the youngest of learners. All you will need to create this striking artwork is a pre-printed template for students to color in and cut out, some black paper, and chalk.
Learn More: Curriculum Castle
Groundhog Day Science and Technology Activities
6. Shadow Tracing
Fun shadow activities are always a favorite on Groundhog Day to symbolize the groundhog’s search for his shadow to predict how many weeks of winter remain. This shadow activity is great for teaching students how the size and shape of shadows change depending on the position of the sun.
Learn More: Danielle’s Place
7. Design a Burrow
This fantastic STEM activity pack includes a close reading passage in addition to an exciting challenge to build a burrow fit for a groundhog. The pack includes lots of planning and design worksheets to support students every step of the way.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
8. Groundhogs Rising from a Chemical Reaction
In this STEAM activity, students can have a go at a classic experiment with a Groundhog Day twist. They can decorate balloons to look like groundhogs, then set up their baking soda and vinegar experiment. As the chemicals react, the ‘groundhogs’ will rise, and students can see if their groundhog casts a shadow or not.
Learn More: STEAM Powered Family
9. Lego Burrow Building Challenge
This design challenge is perfect for younger students. They will be challenged to create a burrow that can hold a groundhog. There are cutouts included that can be given to each student so that they can check their burrow is the right size. A worksheet for planning and reflection is also included.
Learn More: Smitten with First
10. Match the Shadows
This simple activity for younger students will see them try to match the shadows to the groundhog that cast them. To increase the difficulty, you could adapt this idea by taking pictures of shadows cast by 3D objects and getting students to find out which object made which shadow.
Learn More: In My World
Groundhog Day Reading and Writing Activities
11. Acrostic Poem & Secret Code Activity
Get your students working hard with this free activity pack on Teachers Pay Teachers. The pack includes an acrostic poem template for ‘Pennsylvania’ and an activity to decode a secret message. This pack is perfect to go alongside any lesson around the origins of Groundhog day in Pennsylvania and even Punxsutawney Phil.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
12. Read Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather by Bruce Koscielniak
Geoffry the Groundhog has become a celebrity as he successfully predicts how long winter will last. On February 2nd he leaves his burrow and looks for his shadow, but as his fame has grown, many people are waiting this year. With all the commotion, Geoffry can’t see the ground to tell if he can see his shadow so is struggling to make his prediction.
Learn More: Amazon
13. Cut and Paste Comprehension
This cut-and-paste comprehension story activity is perfect for younger learners or learners who are reluctant writers. Students can either read or listen to the story and then will answer who, what, when, where, and why questions using the cut and paste method. This fantastic activity is free to download from the link above.
Learn More: Peachie Speechie
14. Roll a Story
This fantastic groundhog writing activity is great for getting reluctant writers excited about story writing. All that is required is some dice for students to build their own story about Mr. Groundhog. A reflection worksheet is also included, encouraging students to check their work.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
15. Groundhog Scrambled Sentences
These scrambled sentence worksheets are ideal for younger students who are starting to put sentences together. The cut-and-stick element of the writing activity helps students try out different combinations of words and check their work before writing out the sentence once finalized.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
Groundhog Day Baking Activities
16. Groundhog Push Pops
These cake pops are a perfect baking task that is easy for students to take home once finished. Younger students will enjoy the mess of putting everything together and older students will enjoy the more intricate task of creating their groundhog.
Learn More: Somewhat Simple
17. Groundhog Day Pancakes
Groundhog pancakes are an easy activity that students will love. Not only are these pancakes fun to make they will also be super tasty. Use different toppings and encourage students to create their groundhogs in different ways.
Learn More: Simple and Seasonal
18. Groundhog Molasses Cookies
Making cookies is a great activity to follow up with an instructional writing lesson. Bake these tasty cookies then, while they cool, get your students to write out the recipe and procedure they used to make them. Once the writing is done, you can all enjoy the cookies!
Learn More: Wishes and Dishes
19. Groundhog Toast
Liven up morning breakfast clubs in school by getting students to create groundhog toast slices! They can use different toppings to create their groundhogs and this can be a great opportunity to discuss healthy eating choices.
Learn More: The Teacher Mommy 2017
20. Groundhog Cupcakes
These cupcakes are a cute treat for students to make and enjoy on Groundhog Day. Bake from scratch with older students or buy pre-made and just assemble with younger students. Students of all ages will enjoy making (and eating) these delicious creations.
Learn More: Bakerella
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