Need some fun ideas for your Valentine’s Day lesson plan? I’ve got you! I love using the holidays to teach language, and how fun is this super positive one about love: Valentine’s Day? There’s lots you can do with your students in terms of the various skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing, and with different age groups too. Let me give you some options to choose from!
I think all Valentine’s Day lesson plans should include at least a variety of skills. All of them is ambitious, but I think you could get pretty far. The more skills students practice, the better they learn any language. And a topic like a holiday lends itself really well for this, as students usually are familiar with holidays and celebrations already. So without further ado, let me tell you what’s in my St Valentine’s Day lesson plan.
Don’t wanna wait to find out? Grab this free Valentine’s day lesson plan pdf I made out of this post for your convenience!
Valentine’s Day lesson plan objectives
The goal of this lesson is to teach students about the holiday that is Valentine’s Day through the use of the target language. Start here:
Speaking about Valentine’s Day
Ask students to talk about Valentine’s Day. What do they know already? Ask questions like: What is the goal of this holiday? What are some foods people eat? What are some traditions? Where does the holiday come from? What have you done for Valentine’s Day in the past, or what have you seen other people do? I use this set of discussion cards to get them talking either in small groups (recommended) or as a whole group. Then ask a few of the questions in a plenary setting. Possibly draw a word web on the board to collect ideas.
Reading and Listening
Get students to read an article, depending on their level of English, or to watch a video. This article by History and this one by Britannica are good for older and more proficient students. This article by Britannica Kids is for your younger students and it’s a little easier. So is this one by the British Council, and this one has worksheets included.
One of the articles has tasks included. For the ones that don’t, create your own set of questions. Use the W and H question words to get you started. Or get students to come up with questions for their classmates. Always a fun task too!
Easy videos to use are this 3-minute one with Valentine’s Day facts, and this 2-minute one about the history of this holiday. This one by History is for your older or more proficient students
Vocabulary of Valentine’s Day
Get students to do some vocabulary training on Valentine’s Day vocabulary and check their understanding of the words. A fun way to do that can be through playing a game. I like this dominoes game I made, in which students have to find matches between the words and the pictures. It helps them recognize the words that are important for Valentine’s Day, so they can use them in language production. Which will happen later.
Writing
And now for a production activity in which students show their understanding of the holiday! There are a few things you can do to prompt them into writing a piece of text.
- You can have them answer prompts about the things they love in their life. Who do they love, and why? What objects? What places? What things about school? I use this fun flip book to get students to share their thoughts in an engaging way.
- You can have older students write an essay on why Valentine’s Day is a good holiday to celebrate, or why it is not.
- Or you can have students write a Valentine’s Day card to their loved ones, or even someone in a nursing home.
- Students could write poems about this lovely holiday and all its facets.
- And you can have students write a story that’s set on Valentine’s Day. Decide on some prompts, together or individually. Tell them to choose one or two characters, a setting, an interesting object and a fun plot line.
Valentine’s Day lesson plan for middle school
I think these are fun activities for Valentine’s Day lesson plans for elementary students. However, I teach students between the ages of 11 and 17, and in my experience, older students love these types of activities too. Students love it when you ask about their opinions and experiences. They love sharing, don’t they 🙂 It’s my favorite thing about teaching.
Anyway, I hope I’ve given you some ideas to make the best out of your Valentine’s Day lesson! I hope you and your students have lots of fun! If you’d like to have all of these resources just ready and made for you, then grab my bundle of Valentine’s Day activities by clicking here! In it, there’s everything you need for a great lesson on this holiday.
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