As an educator, you are probably all too familiar with the inconsistencies in learning that can occur around the holidays. Especially in elementary schools where the school week is not only shorter but learning may be interrupted by holiday assemblies and classroom parties.
In addition to these events, it can be difficult to get students engaged in learning during these times because of their excitement for the upcoming holiday. Moreover, it can be challenging for a teacher to plan effectively. These struggles were the inspiration for our thematic units for kids!
Thematic Units for Kids
The first time we recognized the need for an easy, effective, and engaging unit that could be taught in one day was at the end of a school year. Specifically, the last two weeks of school.
As a fellow teacher, you know exactly what we are talking about! Those last two weeks of elementary school are filled with fun assemblies, classroom parties, and field day. All things that are exciting and important for kids to participate in. However, these fun activities can quickly take the focus away from learning.
As teachers, we wanted all of our students to enjoy the fun that comes with these activities, but as educators we wanted them to continue to learn – up until the last bell! Therefore, we knew we had to find a way to balance the fun while also helping students continue to learn. Moreover, we wanted kids to WANT to continue learning.
The result of this need was our Countdown to Summer Survival Kit. Once we tested this out in our classrooms we knew we were on to something. So, we shared it with The Core Coaches community. Several years later, it continues to be one of our most popular teaching resources ever!
With so much success in the classroom from this one resource we began to think about all of the other times during the school year when learning was interrupted by forces outside of our control. The week leading up to Thanksgiving break, the week leading up to Winter Break, and the week leading up to Spring Break. Not to mention, those short weeks in the middle of testing.
What we realized was that there were A LOT of times during the school year when a thematic unit that covers ALL core subject areas in one day could be beneficial. The result? Our thematic units for kids!
Thematic Lesson Plans for Elementary
These thematic units are designed using a Project Based Learning approach. This means that they are designed to engage students in hands on learning that is related to real world situations. In addition, every activity in the unit can be completed in small groups which further enhances the Project Based Learning approach to collaborative learning.
Let’s take a look at one of these thematic units so you can see how we did this. Since we already shared with you a little bit about our beloved Summer Survival Kit unit, let’s begin there.
Our Countdown to Summer Survival Kit is designed to cover 10 days of learning. Each day is centered around one real-world theme related to summer. For example, Summer Safety Day and Summer Holidays.
For each themed day, there is an activity for each core subject area!
- a reading activity
- a writing activity
- a math activity with differentiated pages for each grade (first, second)
- a science or STEM activity
- a variety of other fun, themed educational activities
What's Included in these thematic Units?
Each of these activities comes with detailed lesson plans to guide you as the teacher with instruction and implementation. Moreover, you can choose if you want to use these activities in a digital or printable format.
As you can see from the brief overview of activities above, your kids will learn A LOT in one day! Now think about how many different things they will learn during 10 days with 10 different themes!
To give you a quick peek, here are all of the themes students learn about through this one resource:
- Survival Kit 1- Summer Safety Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 2 -Weather Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 3- Germ Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 4- National Parks Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 5- Aeronautics Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 6- Game Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 7- Nature Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 8- Summer Holidays Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 9- Water Day Digital/Printable Activities
- Survival Kit 10- Reflection Day Digital/Printable Activities
Even though we love our summer survival kit (and we think you will too!), you don’t have to wait until the end of the school year to use our thematic units for elementary school. As we mentioned earlier, there are plenty of times during the school year when these short units will help you engage your students during short school weeks.
Holiday Thematic Plans for Elementary School
Even though the holidays can become a distraction from learning, they can also be one of the most fun things about working in an elementary school. This is why we took the fun parts of the holidays and built engaging and educational activities around them.
Our 5 Day Winter Themed Units for first and second grades is one of these resources. This activity pack follows the same Project Based Learning design as our Summer Countdown and is perfect for keeping kids learning during those last five days of school before winter break.
Below is a quick peek at the winter themes covered during these 5 days. Like the Summer Countdown resource, each of these themed days includes a reading, writing, math, and STEM activity. You will also find additional fun and creative activities included.
- Gingerbread Digital Activities
- Kindness Digital Activities
- Penguin Digital Activities
- Reindeer Digital Activities
- Snow Digital Activities
Holiday Units For Christmas
These activities are all focused around winter themes that are non-secular which makes them perfect for any classroom. However, if you want to extend your students’ learning around the holidays and include traditional Christmas themes, we have another thematic holiday unit: 12 Days of Christmas Countdown.
This 12 Days of Christmas Countdown packet follows the concept of the traditional holiday song, the 12 Days of Christmas, and includes Christmas themes such as Christmas Carol Day and Christmas Tree Day.
Like the 5-day unit, each day covers the core subject areas and can be completed in one day. Here is a look at all of the Christmas-themed days within this ready-to-teach activity pack.
- Candy Cane Day
- Christmas Carol Day
- Christmas Tree Day
- Christmas Cookie Day
- Elf Day
- Gingerbread Day
- Kindness Day
- Polar Express Day
- Reindeer Day
- Santa Claus Day
- Snow Day
- Stocking Day
While the winter holiday season and the end of the school year are two major times when we need lesson plans for short days and short school weeks, there may be other times when you could use a one-day mini-unit. Therefore, we created several units that can be taught at any time of the year!
These units follow the same proven design that we (and hundreds of other teachers) have used with our holiday themed units above. However, rather than focusing on the holidays we selected engaging topics that young learners would be excited to learn about, like space!
Life on Mars Thematic Lesson Plan
One of of the Project Based Learning units that young kids love is our Life on Mars unit! This one day unit includes all of the things teachers love about our holiday themed units, while inviting students into the exciting world of space exploration.
Designed to be explored over one day, this is the perfect lesson plan to use during a week when your regular schedule is interrupted by picture day, an assembly, or testing. In addition, it can easily be paired with a longer science unit that you are finishing up or will be starting.
Are you ready to explore Mars? Read more about this exciting PBL unit on our blog or head on over to our store to peek at the preview.
One Day Lesson Plan
Want more of these engaging and effective one day lesson plans for elementary students? Take a look at these exciting topics below. Whether you choose to explore space, the holidays, or any of these exciting topics, we are excited to help you engage your students’ learning – even during short school weeks!
