In this game, students try to guess Valentine words. Randomly select one student to stand in front of the class with her back to the board. Write a Valentine-related word on the board above her head: heart, Cupid, chocolate, hug or kiss, for example. Classmates raise their hands and as the student standing in front of the class calls on them, they provide a clue to the word printed on the board. Once the student guesses the Valentine word, the person who supplied the last clue takes her place and another round of the game begins with a new word.
The goal of this game is to get someone to smile. Have students stand in a circle and ask one person to volunteer to start the game. The volunteer goes around the circle from person to person, begging and pleading for them to say they love him. The student doing the begging and pleading should use silly faces, voices and actions to try to get his classmates to smile. Students must try to say to the person in the middle, "I love you, but I'm not going to smile," without smiling. If a student smiles, he takes the place of the person who is "it" for the next round of the game.
Have your students write Valentine's letters of appreciation to one another. On pieces of paper, write each students' name, then crumple the papers up and place them in a bowl. Each student takes a piece of paper and must write a letter to the person they have selected. Depending on the dynamics of your classroom, you may need to provide examples. At the end of the party, have students exchange letters. The end result is a class full of students who feel good about themselves, and have something affirming to bring home.
On Valentine's Day, bake heart-shaped cookies with your third grade students. Bring in all of the ingredients to make sugar cookies and enlist the help of your students to create the dough. Roll out the dough, provide students with heart-shaped cookie cutters and have them cut cookies. After baking the cookies, provide students with pink icing and red and white sprinkles for decorating. Pre-made cookies can be substituted if baking facilities are not available. Allow students to eat their cookies at the end of the day.