Happy Valentine’s Day… (Photo credit: Јerry)

I’ve never liked celebrating Valentine’s Day in the classroom. I’m always happy to see when the day falls on a weekend so I can let it slip by relatively unnoticed. But even on those special years, the kids manage to bring in Valentine’s cards or treats to share.

It’s inevitable, Valentine’s Day will make it to your classroom in one way or another. So, this year, I’ve decided to embrace it (pardon the pun.) But instead of focusing on romantic love, we will show our love and appreciation for great litearture.

We will start off in the morning by creating a “We Love This Book” bulletin board. Each student will have to make a poster about a book that they enjoy.

Next, we will go to the computer lab and each student will create a list of movies that have been based on novels, short stories, or books. When we get back to the classroom, we will compile all of the student lists together. I am sure there will be a lot of content duplicated on their lists, but I am also certain that we will have an impressive number of movies when we are done.

We will then discuss why there have been so many movies made that were originally published as novels. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that the movie producers really love those books and wanted to bring them to life.

I will bring in a variety of movies that were based upon novels, and we will have a vote as to which one we will watch. The students that have brought in treats or Valentine’s cards can exchange them at this time.

I think this might be the best way to observe this day in the classroom.

Do you have any great Valentine’s Day ideas?

Please leave a comment below with things you have done to celebrate this day in your class.

Thanks.