Coming back from winter break can be a struggle for both teachers and students alike. The cozy holiday period filled with family time often makes the return to early wake-ups and academic routines a challenging transition.
However, fear not! A group of dedicated educators has come together to share their tried-and-true strategies for coming back from winter break more manageably and meaningfully.
From goal-setting activities to engaging novel studies and innovative classroom management techniques, these classroom ideas are designed to bring a fresh start to the new year.
Table of Contents
Capture the Winter Magic
An engaging writing activity for elementary students returning from winter break involves capturing their winter memories through expressive writing. This activity integrates writing skills with students' desire to share their adventures.
The lesson begins with a rewriting exercise where students discuss their winter break experiences. They then organize their thoughts on a graphic organizer, creating their initial drafts.
Next, they collaborate with partners for revision and editing. To finalize their work, students color in headers and paper before presenting their winter memories aloud.
The recordings are shared with families through Flipgrid videos as an extra touch.
Goal Setting for a Fresh Start
Can we talk about how hard it is when we return from winter break? This is truly when I get the Sunday blues. I enjoy spending so much time with my family, and going back to waking up early and not playing with my kids is super hard.
What if there were something you could do as soon as they walked in so there would be less chaos? Ronnie from A Teacher's Wonderland has great ideas for the new year!
Start your year by encouraging your students to set goals this year. It sounds like a 1,2,3 task, but really, you are encouraging students to set goals for themselves and what they hope to achieve this year.
By encouraging students to think of their future goals, they will realize they can take steps to achieve them. Ask your students, how can you achieve this goal? What steps can you take to help you achieve your goal(s)?
Focus on Growth Mindset
Returning after winter break can be hard for students. They're out of the school routine, and they've had several weeks of lounging just like us.
Getting back on track can be challenging for everyone, but Carla from Comprehension Connection understands this and has a few ideas to help.
First, she recommends using goal-setting activities to get everyone redirected to a growth mindset and books like Amazing Grace, Wilma Unlimited, and Salt in His Shoes to help kids learn perseverance.
Second, she suggests assessing your kids' with a word study screening to see where they are to plan the next steps. Screenings are easy to give and yet give us lots of information about what kids know, are using but are confusing, and what's unknown.
Finally, kids may need support with working TOGETHER again. Community building is important all year long.
Back from Winter Break Crafts
When winter break is over, it's time to help students (and let's face it, us too) get back into the learning mindset. It's hard to refocus after winter break, but Amber from TGIF has some great suggestions that can help.
A short yet fun project helps kick off the second half of the school year, and some fantastic educational crafts will also ease the work for teachers with minimal prep. Many teachers have used them on sub days because the picture directions included making lesson planning so simple.
A festive New Year's Day craft would give students time to reconnect with their classmates while working on the 3-D craft.
Or, if you are working on fractions, this Fraction Flurries math craft reinforces different ways to represent fractions while creating a great display!
Educational crafts are a great way to review skills and decorate your classroom.
Encourage Classroom Community
After winter break, Marissa from Creative Classroom Core likes to start the year by introducing a new novel study.
After a break from school, students can feel rusty when reading. Beginning a novel study together can reignite their enthusiasm for books and excite them about diving into literature again.
Novel studies are also a great way to build classroom community after students have been away from each other over break. Sharing a novel study experience as a class helps create a sense of community, as students can participate in discussions, share their thoughts, and bond over the story.
This collaborative learning environment can strengthen relationships and improve classroom dynamics.
Read more about incorporating novel studies into your classroom curriculum (and grab a great freebie!) on the Creative Classroom Core blog.
Celebrate with Academic Badges
Winter break is over, and now it's time to return. Along with creating a welcoming and supportive atmosphere, classroom management must be re-established.
One way Tammy from The Owl Teacher likes to ease students back into the routine of things and make the post-winter break transition a positive experience is through academic badges.
Academic badges are a creative alternative to traditional brag tags and serve multiple purposes in the classroom, such as motivating students, having an academic focus, providing choice and differentiation, encouraging a growth mindset and mindfulness, and so much more.
To implement academic badges after winter break, Tammy introduces the concept and provides students with various badge options related to the subjects she's teaching.
Students can work on the badges individually or collaboratively, and students have the opportunity to earn badges throughout the school year. These badges empower students to take ownership of their learning and help build classroom community.
Smooth Winter Class Transition
New year, new classroom management strategy! What behaviors were becoming an issue before the break?
By December, students have settled into their comfort zone. You likely know which students have to use the bathroom ten times a day and which ones always have comments when you ask if anyone has a question.
Does it feel like there's a lot of wasted time happening during your lessons?
Tiffany from The Learning Effect has an easy-to-use classroom management system you will want to try out for yourself!
Classroom Hand Signals can help you easily distinguish between a hand raised for a bathroom break, a student with a question, or a student with a comment. You'll spend less time calling on students to see what they need and more time managing those raised hands visually.
The power of using class hand signals lies in the fact that you can decide who to call based on the sign they're showing.
Skip comments when you're running short on time. Visually let students know if they're good to run to the restroom or get a drink. This management system also does wonders during testing – saving you valuable time!
Wrapping It Up
As we return from winter break to the classroom, these insightful ideas promise to ease the challenges of returning to school.
Whether it's inspiring goal-setting, rekindling a love for literature through novel studies, exploring educational crafts, or implementing creative classroom management strategies, each suggestion offers a unique approach to make the transition smoother and more enjoyable.
