Celebrating Valentine's Day in the Secondary Classroom

Valentine’s Day can be a tricky topic in the middle or high school classroom. Students have moved on from the elementary school days of class-wide Valentine’s card exchanges, but it can feel odd to let the holiday pass without some sort of acknowledgement. Not sure how to approach Valentine’s Day in your classroom this year? Keep reading — no matter which subject(s) you teach, we’ve got you covered with some tips for handling the holiday in the secondary classroom!

Connect to Content

Perhaps the most seamless way to include Valentine’s Day in the secondary classroom is to tie it into your current content. This integration doesn’t have to be flashy — simply adding a holiday theme to an existing activity can be enough! We love using Canva to add some fun design elements to our classroom resources, and we highly recommend snagging a free educator account!

If you’d like a ready-made themed resource, we have some great options in our store! Take a look at our Valentine’s-themed distributive properties code breaker or our (free!!) one-step equations digital activity. If you’d prefer printable activities, we have some awesome color by code resources with fun heart themes! Topics include point of view, common grammatical errors, and cellular respiration.

More direct content connections may involve some creativity, but we promise you that it can be done! Are you working on graphing in math? Hand out boxes of candy hearts and have students graph the frequency of each color or message. Discussing figurative language in your English class? Have students look for metaphors in popular love songs. These holiday tie-ins can add excitement to the day without feeling overly gimmicky.

Learn Holiday History

Like most holidays, Valentine’s Day is rich in history. If you teach English or Social Studies, discussing holiday history is an awesome way to maintain rigor while engaging in some festive fun. Practice critical thinking and research skills by having students separate myths from facts, work on the concept of continuity and change over time by creating timelines of traditions throughout history, or broaden perspectives by exploring celebrations across the globe. The possibilities are truly endless!

For a ready-made resource that combines Valentine’s Day history with reading comprehension skills, check out our History of Valentine’s Day Reading Comprehension and Digital Game! Students will read a passage about the history of the holiday and answer sixteen questions in a self-checking digital activity. Finally, students will use a cryptograph to solve a Valentine’s Day riddle. Looking to make this activity a holiday tradition? Our growing Holiday History bundle could be perfect for you!

Embrace the Brain Break

Hey, we get it. Sometimes, you just need a moment to catch your breath on a holiday…especially one like Valentine’s Day, where the sugar rushes are real real and the highs and lows of teenage romance are on full display. If that’s you, there’s no harm in hosting a Blooket tournament or playing a few rounds of bingo.

Want a perfect Valentine’s Day brain break? We’re here for you! Enjoy this Valentine’s Day trivia freebie. Students will search for answers to holiday trivia and complete a festive color by code worksheet. Simply click here to access this free resource. Consider it our love letter to you!

Skip it…almost.

At the end of the day, you know your students best, and there is just no obligation to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom! It is totally okay to treat it like a completely normal day. You have my full support — especially as someone whose students will be graced with an in-class essay this Valentine’s Day. What can I say? The show must go on, regardless of what cupid is up to.

But I’m not a total Valentine’s Day grinch, so I will be giving the gift of Valentine’s Day assignment passes to my students. It’s a simple way to acknowledge the holiday without throwing off our routine too dramatically.

No matter how you choose to celebrate (or not celebrate), we are wishing you a day full of love and happiness!

Any questions or tips of your own to share? Leave a comment or send us an email at hello@survivinginsecondary.com. We’d love to hear from you!