Lesson Plans For After Winter Break

Use these lesson plans for after winter break to help your students get back into their school routines.

The first day back from any holiday break is challenging, but the first day after winter break is exceptionally challenging for students and teachers. Everyone is out of their routines, and reviewing expectations for your students is important. After this is done – it should take less than ten minutes for middle and high school students – how will you fill the rest of your class period? Here is a great blog post about re-introducing routines and expectations after the break.

Check out these lesson plans for after winter break.

Lesson Plans For After Winter Break (Your First Day Planned)

Brainstorm with students what a New Year’s resolution is.
Watch the video in this article. Have students write down the advice from the psychologist. (Be specific and track your goals)
Watch this video. Have students write down what the SMART acronym represents. (Specific, Measure, Attainment, Realistic, Track). The video can also be Googled. Top five New Year’s resolutions for 2018 Dec. 29, 2017 – 3:59 Psychiatrist Dr. Domenick Sportelli provides insight on ‘Fox & Friends First.’
Have students provide examples of resolutions they have heard people make in real life or on social media (get healthy, study more etc).
Then read the article “Most people give up New Year’s Resolutions by January 12, study claims” aloud as a class.
Use the Google Extension Print Friendly and PDF to edit the article before printing it. Instructions are found here.
Follow this interactive lesson plan for helping students set goals for the new year found in this FREE resource.

Lesson Plans For After Winter Break – Ideas

After students have time to goal set I like them to get back into school work – but I don’t start anything too rigorous the first week back as many students take this week as additional vacation or are still in break “mode.” I like reinforcing previously taught writing and thinking skills with creative writing or media literacy lessons.

Below is a list of academic yet fun lesson plans for after Winter Break.

Creative Writing

Winter Creative Writing – Students will select one of the provided character roles: winter coat, ice skates, coffee shop owner, local sledding hill, lost mitten and create a written or visual product based on the character’s specific writing prompt. Find the Winter Creative Writing Prompts on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Creative Writing Prompts – Get your students excited about writing with these no-prep creative writing prompts. Students will select their topic from 20 different writing prompts. Find the Creative Writing Prompts on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.

Media Literacy Lesson Plans For After Winter Break

Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness: Clothing Waste – Help your students understand what happens to clothes when consumers no longer want them. This lesson also shows students the different paths that discarded clothing can take: donations, landfill, resale, shipping to developing nations, and being burned. Find the Clothing Waste Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness Lesson on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness: Gender Price Differences – Your students will develop a deeper understanding of media literacy and consumer awareness with this engaging lesson on how prices on consumer products differ for men and women. This lesson also shows students the different techniques marketers use to get consumers to purchase products. Find the Gender Price Differences Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness Lesson on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness: Outlet vs Retail – This lesson also shows students the different techniques outlet stores use to get consumers to purchase products. Find the Outlet vs Retail Media Literacy & Consumer Awareness Lesson on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.

What About A Digital Escape Room?

Digital Escape Rooms are the best addition to your lesson plans for after winter break. At the end of the week, have your students work together on this FREE winter-themed digital escape room. Students must work together to help get themselves out of the Art Room supply closet they accidentally got locked into. This digital escape room requires no paper setup for the teacher. It is hosted in Google Forms. Get this FREE digital escape room here.

You can also try this Snow-Themed Digital Escape Room, where students solve ten snow-themed challenges to escape the basement supply closet they accidentally got locked in. This Snow-Themed Digital Escape Room can be found on Teachers Pay Teachers USD or Shopify CAD.