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Winter carries a special spark that awakens curiosity and wonder in students. Use this seasonal energy to design lessons that are fun and meaningful, celebrating holidays, the magic of snow, and influential figures like Martin Luther King Jr., while seamlessly connecting to your curriculum.

Bring winter into the classroom with indoor activities 

With the snow comes the cold, but frigid temperatures don’t have to hinder your winter lessons. Bring the season indoors with creative, CCSS-aligned activities — think icy STEM challenges or winter writing that heats up engagement despite the dropping temperatures. 

• Build Snowflake Structures: Challenge students to construct the strongest snowflake using marshmallows and toothpicks.
• Match Up the Mittens: Place equivalent fractions (or equations) on mittens for students to match.
• Perform Snowy Theater: Have students write, produce, and act out one-act plays with winter-themed plots.
• Plan a Winter Carnival: Let students design an indoor carnival, including the layout, booths, and prizes.
• Design Frozen Artwork: Create winter art with glue and watercolors, then hold a gallery walk.
• Decode Winter Primary Sources: Analyze photos and journal entries from famous winter events to determine what happened and who documented it.

Winter Ice STEM Challenge | Properties Of Matter Science Activities | Grade 4 5
By Kimberly Scott Science
Grades: 4th-6th
Standards: CCSSW.5.3c; CCRA.W.1, W.4.3c

Explore one of winter’s defining elements through a hands-on project. Students explore how water freezes and melts, how salt affects freezing points, and use the scientific method to guide observations.

Winter Vocabulary Photo Presentation – Adult ESL Seasonal Vocabulary
By Rike Neville
Grades: 10th-12th

Help your students better understand the terminology surrounding winter with this digital presentation of 30 essential winter vocabulary words. 

Winter Math
By Lanfaloe
Grades: PreK-1st

Give your math lessons a winter twist! Preschool through 1st-grade students can count snowmen, add and subtract using winter objects, and practice skip counting with snowballs.

Winter ELA Packet ESL ELLs Poetry Acrostic Cinquain Shape Haiku Poem Template
By Promoting Success
Grades: 4th-6th

Get your students excited for winter fun by having them write poetry about all the winter sports they can do. They will explore and become champions at writing seven kinds of poems through this resource: acrostic, haiku, cinquain, shape, diamante, I wish, and limerick.

Connect winter learning across subjects

Mix history, math, ELA, and science for your curriculum to shine as bright as the fallen snow. 

• Investigate Arctic Tribes: Research Indigenous tribes that live in the Arctic and the adaptations they use to survive.
• Write a Winter News Report: Step into the shoes of a reporter to cover historical winter events, like the Blizzard of 1888.
• Write Snow Stories of Strength: Create short stories about Black History Month figures who persevered in winter, such as Harriet Tubman’s journeys on the Underground Railroad.
• Calculate Snow Savings: Determine a family budget to manage higher winter expenses.
• Create Snowflake Circuits: Design snowflake circuits using paper snowflakes, LED lights, and copper wire.
• Draft Winter Weather: Use descriptive language to create imaginary winter storms, including scientific terms.
• Create a Winter Adventure Map: Write a short story and design an imaginary map with cardinal directions, distance, and terrain.
• Develop a Winter Mystery Box: In groups, fill a box with winter items. Students hypothesize its contents and write a short story about it.

Hibernation Winter Animals Mini Book {Hibernate, Animals, Winter}
By Planning Garden
Grades: PreK-2nd
Standards: CCSSL.K.1a, K.1b, K.2d

Add this fun winter activity to your science lesson about animals’ winter behavior. Students can use it as a digital matching-and-coloring activity or a physical mini-booklet to learn the scientific concepts of hibernation, adaptation, and migration.

Winter Speech Therapy WH Questions Expanding Sentences Speech Therapy Activities 
By Language Speech and Literacy
Grades: PreK-2nd

This no-print, digital speech therapy activity helps students practice expanding sentences. With 21 winter-themed scenes, it teaches pronouns, verbs, “wh” questions, basic concepts, and simple sentences. Great for non-readers, teletherapy, mixed groups, and students using augmentative or alternative communication.

Vamos a escribir en invierno – Winter Writing Center – Spanish & English
By Hilda Escamilla
Grades: K-5th

Have your elementary students celebrate winter by drawing and writing a story in Spanish or English. With a variety of character and background templates to color and choose from, students will have plenty of inspiration to get started.

2nd Grade Common Core: Winter Themed Math & ELA Pack 100% Aligned
By 247 Teacher
Grades: 1st-3rd
Standards: CCSS2.MD.B.5, 2.MD.C.7, 2.MD.C.8

Build your elementary students’ math and language skills with this comprehensive winter-themed packet. Packed with fun yet rigorous activities aligned to CCSS, it can be assigned all at once or spread across the winter months.

Winter Evaluating Expressions with One Variable and Exponents Math Color by Code
By Misty Miller
Grades: 5th-7th
Standards: CCSS6.EE.A.1, 6.EE.A.2, 6.EE.A.2c

Add some color to your algebra assignments with this fun winter math activity. Students solve problems with one variable and exponents, then use their answers to color a snowboarder.

Solving Systems of Equations
By Tammie Akins Dickens
Grades: 8th-10th
Standards: CCSS8.EE.C.8; HSA-REI.C.6

Math may feel like a riddle, and in this activity, it really is! Students solve algebraic equations, match answers to letters, and fill in the characters to reveal the answer to “How do you scare a snowman?”

Explore winter outdoor activities

Winter activities for kids wouldn’t be complete without snow — and maybe a groundhog. Take students outside to build a snowman in January or explore Groundhog Day activities in February. Add some math and science to the mix with fun winter outdoor experiments.

• Observe and Experiment with Snow: Compare melting rates in the sun and the shade, then graph the results.
• Track Animal Footprints: Photograph and sketch tracks to research which animals made them.
• Enjoy a Winter Scavenger Hunt: Find wildlife around the school and categorize by shape, texture, and color.
• Paint in the Snow: Use watercolors to create pictures on snow.
• Explore Wind Patterns: Build simple wind vanes from cups and straws, test direction, and graph data to connect to weather trends.
• Create a Winter Freewrite: Sit in the snow and free write about nature using your senses.
• Build a Scientific Snowman: Use geometric principles to construct a proportionate snowman.
• Design an Ice Sculpture: Use snow and ice to create a sculpture.

Light up learning with global winter holidays

Winter holidays are more than just Christmas and New Year’s. Random Act of Kindness Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day also top the list. Create MLK Day activities on fairness and friendship or heart-filled Valentine’s cards with snowy science tie-ins. These activities keep students’ brains toasty in the cold. 

• Explore Winter Celebrations: Assign groups to regions to research winter holidays around the globe, like how to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Students can then present what they’ve learned. 
• Create an “I Have a Dream” Quilt: Keep your classroom warm by having each student create a quilt square illustrating how they would make a kinder world. 
• Write Love Letters to the Planet: Use those Valentine’s Day printables to connect with science by having students write their love letters to the planet, thanking it for all it provides. 
• Slide into Zodiac Storytelling: Students research their zodiac animal and write a fun short story including its traits. 
• Have a Secret Snowflake Exchange: Students draw names on little snowflakes and perform anonymous acts of kindness. 
• Lighten up Winter With Liberty: Celebrate National Freedom Day by creating a liberty wall on what freedom means to students. 
• Make a Snowglobe: Liven up your Pi Day activities by having students measure the circular base and use the circumference to determine the dimensions of their globe. 
• Design a Warm Winter Tales Picnic: Create a picnic on the floor of the classroom and have students read winter tales to each other to celebrate National Read Aloud Day. 
• March into Frozen Firsts: Research Women’s History Month people who made winter discoveries, and create an infographic highlighting their impact. 

Celebrate the season with simple, classic winter activities for kids

From sledding to exploring snowy science, these ideas keep students engaged and learning while celebrating the magic of winter year after year.

• Paper snowflakes
• Winter escape rooms
• Cottonball snowman art
• Snowflake symmetry art
• Winter Bingo
• Hot cocoa cooking
• Winter mitten designs
• Winter postcard designs
• Winter-themed math puzzles
• Winter storytelling circles
• Winter writing prompts
• Snow-themed sensory bins
• Winter-themed puzzles

Slide into winter activities for kids with TPT

Bring the magic of winter into your classroom with TPT’s winter resources! Whether it’s building snowflake structures, exploring holiday-themed math, or crafting icy masterpieces, these ready-made activities make teaching festive and stress-free. Discover winter resources for the classroom that give you everything you need to make winter learning fun and festive with minimal prep.