Create a pop-up groundhog puppet for reinforcing the background, history and habits centered on the February holiday. Instruct each student to paint the outside of a foam drinking cup with washable green paint. On one end of a tongue depressor or wooden craft stick, the children should paste a drawn or a colored, cutout template of a groundhog with bucked teeth, two ears and facial features. Poke the bare end of the wooden stick through the bottom of the foam cup and allow the children to pull the groundhog in and out of his habitat.
Using a flashlight or an overhead projector often used in school classrooms, shine the beam of light onto an oversized piece of black construction paper taped to the wall or chalkboard. Trace one child's silhouette onto the paper with white chalk and allow him to cut it out and glue it to a piece of white construction paper to represent the groundhog's shadow on Groundhog Day. The children can decorate the silhouette with colored chalk or keep it intact as a true shadow.
Create a puppet to celebrate Groundhog Day by printing a free template from the Internet and photocopying one for each child. Instruct them to color the two groundhog pieces and cut out each along the lines. The upper head portion of the groundhog sheet should be pasted to the bottom of a brown paper lunch bag, and the lower half of the head and body piece should be pasted just underneath the folded bag's bottom. The child should insert her hand into the bag to make the groundhog "speak."
Internet sites such as Apples 4 the Teacher, DLTK and Scholastic offer free printable Groundhog's Day coloring sheets, word finds, puzzles and art project templates. Integrate these individual activities during transition times between core subject areas as one method to celebrate the holiday or incorporate the free printables into your lesson plans. Print poems and songs centered on Groundhog Day to incorporate a rhyming or musical element to the study.