Chart the weather for one winter month. Students can look in the hometown newspaper for daily precipitation, sunshine, clouds and even sunrise and sunset times. They can create a line or bar graph and track the weather. At the end of the month, they can compare the amount of sunny, cloudy, rainy, and snowy days. Students can also determine if the days are getting longer or shorter by recording the daily sunrise and sunset times.
Students can learn about local wildlife through a lesson on what type of birds leave in your area during the winter. As part of your lesson, decorate an evergreen tree near your classroom with editable treats for birds. Large pinecones can also make great bird feeders to hang on your trees. To create a pinecone feeder, take a large pinecone and tie yarn around it to make a hanging loop. Cover the pinecone in peanut butter and roll it in bird seed, then hang the pinecone on the tree. String popcorn and dried berries and drape on the tree and watch the birds enjoy the feast.
Students may enjoy celebrating the 100th day of school because they know that the school year is half over. To commemorate the day, students can discuss and share 100 items that they bring from home. These items can be the same--such as 100 red cherries--or different--as in 100 different kinds of pencils. The students can make lists of 100 types of candy, girl's or boy's names, acts of kindness or animals. Outside, they can takes turns walking 100 steps to see which student goes the farthest. The teacher can gather 100 different types of food items for each child to taste and divide them into categories. The students can discuss what they think the world will be like in 100 years or research what happened in history 100 years ago.
Celebrate Dr. Seuss day by having the students dress up in their favorite Dr. Seuss story character. Take a vote to find the student's favorite Dr. Seuss books and read one every hour during the day. Have the students write their own book in the same style of writing to share with the class. Design bookmarks after their favorite characters in the books.
Most students enjoy the Olympics and a lesson on the topic provides students with the chance to study the history of the Olympics, the countries, and the athletes participating in the events. Students can individually choose a country to follow in the Olympics and chart their progress in obtaining medals. The students can study the biographies of the athletes. They can also draw the country flag and display it in the classroom.