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January Teaching Ideas for Your Classroom

The holiday season is ending, and it is time for your students to return to school. The first week after the holiday season is challenging for teachers and students. However, incorporating some fun activities in your January lesson plan can make the transition back from the winter break easy for your students.

If you are looking for ways to welcome your students with some engaging learning activities to help them adjust back into their routine, you have come to the right place. January is filled with exciting events that would make excellent additions to your lesson plans.

This article has covered some January teaching ideas for your classroom that will help you achieve learning outcomes while having a great time with your class! Try them out, and we guarantee that your classroom will return to sailing smoothly in no time!

Here are some fun and engaging January teaching ideas for your classroom:

1. Celebrate New Year's with Some Artwork

What better way to say welcome back than with some fireworks? Engage your class in some arts n crafts and ask them to create fireworks on pictures to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Print some pictures of the city and hand them out to your students and have some paint fireworks on the city scenes!

2. Global Family Day Activities

Global Family Day is celebrated on the 1st of January, a day dedicated to peace and sharing. The idea is to unify the whole world as one global family. It is also known as world peace day as it promotes the concept of harmony. Global Family Day also encourages the idea of the world as a global village and everyone being a part of one family, regardless of race or citizenship. Students need to be taught the significance of unity.

You can celebrate global village day in your classroom, which is a term that expresses the fact that people worldwide are connected through the use of media. Divide the students into groups and assign a different culture to each. Have each group represent the culture creatively, such as by wearing costumes, designing posters, and even bringing a local dish to school from that culture.

3. Holiday Writing Prompts

Holiday writing prompts are a great way to let your students ease into the practice of writing. Winter break is the most exciting time of the year for most students, so they will have a great time writing about it. Give them some time to discuss their winter break and write about it. This will help them share their favorite memories and get them back in the swing.

To help students get started with this activity, you can give them a template titled "Top Favorite Memories from the Winter Break" to reflect on and identify memories they want to write about. You can brainstorm some ideas from the winter break to help get them started on their list. The list will give your students a great head starts for their essays and the structure of their work.

4. Read Books about New Year

Reading books is a great way to help your students transition back into school. Set up a reading corner in your class, decorate it, and set up some shelves with books! You can start by reading books about New Year. Here are some of our top picks:

- The New Year's Eve Sleepover From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler
- Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport
- P. Bear's New Year Party: A Counting Book by Paul Owen Lewis
- Happy New Year Around the World by Sylvia Walker
- Squirrel's New Year Resolution by Pat Miller

5. Work on Community Building Activities

January is a great time to incorporate some community-building activities into your lesson plans to give your students a chance to reconnect with friends they have not seen in weeks. You can set aside about 15 to 20 minutes to give them a chance to address the class on the first day back, sharing and talking about how they spent their winter break.

Another way to do this is to let students sit in small groups and plan what they want to talk about. Keep a timer with you and give each group 2 to 3 minutes to talk about their winter break. You can let them decide how they wish to present to the class, for example, using pictures, posters, or even a small act.

You can incorporate these activities throughout the first week back. Discussion prompts and questions are a great way to get your students to re-establish and strengthen bonds with one another.

6. Universal Letter Writing Week

Universal Letter Writing Week is celebrated from the 8th to the 14th of January. This week encourages everyone to pick up their pens and write a letter to anyone they wish to communicate with.

Even though text messages and emails are the fastest means of communicating, nothing beats the thrill of receiving a hand-written letter. You can ask them to write to their favorite sports personalities, distant relatives, teachers, friends, or even veterans to uplift their spirits.

7. Incorporate Chinese New Year Festivities

Chinese New year is one of the most significant holidays celebrated in China. It is an excellent opportunity to incorporate some fun cultural activities into your lesson plans. If your school does not have a uniform, you can celebrate a red day, as red is the actual color in Chinese culture. The Chinese associate this color with joy, happiness, and good luck.

Another way to celebrate Chinese New Year is by decorating the class with Chinese signs, dragons, and red streamers. You can also watch children's documentaries and movies on Chinese culture. Since cultural celebrations seem incomplete without food, arrange food from the Chinese culture. Dumplings are a popular food item in Chinese culture. Serving dumplings would provide an excellent chance for the class to taste some delicious Chinese dumplings!

Wrapping Up

January classroom activities are all about welcoming your students back to school after the holidays allowing them to ease into school life routine. Incorporating fun events and learning activities in your lesson plans allow your students to focus and engage during class.