Valentines Day

&
Valentines Day
Fresh & Fun: Valentine's Day Joan Novelli, Scholastic Teaching Resources
BY JOAN NOVELLI
N E W Y O R K T O R O N T O L O N D O N A U C K L A N D S Y D N E Y
M E X I C O C I T Y N E W D E L H I H O N G K O N G
For Dylan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to the many gifted teachers who shared ideas for this book:
Peg Arcadi, Ann Flagg, Kelley Foster, Lynne Kepler, Bob Krech, Monica Lubic,
Jennifer Prior, and Chris Wertman. Thanks also to Evan Oppenheimer for providing
the translations and pronunciations for the multilingual mini-book on page 30,
and to Dylan Novelli for helping with the samples pictured throughout this book.
Scholastic grants teachers permission to photocopy the reproducible pages from this book for classroom use. No other
part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For
information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Professional Books, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999.
Edited by Joan Novelli
Front cover and interior design by Kathy Massaro
Cover art by Laura Rader
Interior art by Maxie Chambliss
Interior photos by Sal Principato
ISBN 0-439-05011-1
Copyright 1999 by Joan Novelli.
All rights reserved.
Contents
About This Book ............................................................ 4

Science
Language Arts Invisible Valentines .................................................... 20

For the Birds .................................................................. 21
Valentine Guess-Who! .................................................. 5 Weve Got the Beat! .................................................... 22
Be Mine Word Wall .................................................. 5 Book Break: The Heart .............................................. 22
Sound Sort ........................................................................ 6 What Is Red? ................................................................ 23
BOOK BREAK: Valentine Cats ...................................... 6 BOOK BREAK: Naming Colors ................................ 23
Ladder of Love ................................................................ 6 BOOK BREAK: Dr. Desoto .......................................... 24
Match Makers .................................................................. 7 We Our Teeth! ........................................................ 24
Card Company ................................................................ 7 Crystal Creations ........................................................ 25
Hidden Words ................................................................ 7 BOOK BREAK: Snowflakes, Sugar, and Salt ........ 25
Valentine Bookworms .................................................. 8 Reproducible Activity Sheet .................................... 26
BOOK BREAK: A Valentine Library .......................... 8
Compound Pals .............................................................. 9 Social Studies
Valentine Tag .................................................................... 9
Reproducible Activity Sheets .......................... 1012 Kindness and Caring Campaign .......................... 27
BOOK BREAK: Loving .................................................. 27
Signs and Symbols ...................................................... 27
Math
BOOK BREAK: I Read Symbols ................................ 27
Heart to Heart Matchup .......................................... 13 Compliment Cards .................................................... 28
Candy Shop .................................................................. 13 I Love You Mini-Book .......................................... 28
Row by Row .................................................................. 13 BOOK BREAK: What Is Your Language? .............. 29
Making Time ................................................................ 14 An Old-Fashioned Valentine .................................. 29
BOOK BREAK: Telling Time With Reproducible Activity Sheet .................................... 30
Big Mama Cat .......................................................... 14
Hearts Add Up ............................................................ 14 Arts and Crafts
Peekaboo Valentine Calendar ................................ 15
Pattern Makers .............................................................. 16 BOOK BREAK: The Best Valentine in the World .. 31
Two by Two .................................................................... 16 Creative Valentines to Make and Give .............. 31
Cards in Code .............................................................. 17 Paper Plate Pals .............................................................. 31
The Ultimate Valentine Challenge ...................... 17 Put it in a Pocket .......................................................... 32
Reproducible Activity Sheets .......................... 1819 BOOK BREAK: My Very Own Valentines Day .... 32
Its in the Mail .............................................................. 32

About This Book
AS s a teacher, you know that the most successful learning happens when children are
engaged by the topic. That makes Valentines Day a natural teaching tool.
Valentines Day is one of those times of the year that children look forward to with
great anticipation. Long before the day arrives, they begin asking questions: Will we have a
party? Can we make cards? What will we put them in? Their enthusiasm builds until at last
the special day arrives, and they gleefully exchange their cards.
This book is full of activities to help you plan lessons that take advantage of childrens
enthusiasm for Valentines Day. Many of them were contributed by teachers. All of them
will support your curriculum while infusing your classroom with warmth and joy. For
example, Be Mine Word Wall builds vocabulary with Februarys favorite words. (See page
5.) Peekaboo Valentine Calendar teaches number concepts while letting children
collaborate on a fun-filled, interactive class calendar. (See page 15.) Weve Got the Beat!
invites children to learn more about the largest muscle in their bodiesthe heart. (See
page 22.) Valentine Tag gets children movingand strengthens listening skills at the same
time. (See page 9.) Theres lots more to love in the pages that follow. Youll find:
, An easy pattern for a literacy- , Movement activities

building valentine banner
, Computer connections
, Reproducible games
and activity pages , Learning center suggestions
, Graphic organizers
, A mini-book to make
, Arts and crafts projects
, Pocket chart poetry
, and many more Valentine treats!
, Literature-based activities
, Interactive bulletin boards
, Hands-on math and science activities
, Valentine cards to make and share
To make it easy for you to plan lessons that support your curriculum, the activities are
organized by content areas. However, youll find that most naturally integrate several
curriculum areas. Activities have also been selected to support the many ways your children
learn best. Theyll read, write, speak, draw, paint, play, create, think, research, share, and
sing as they celebrate Valentines Day with their friends.
You can use the activities in this book in any number of ways. To create a
multidisciplinary unit, pull together activities from each content area. If youd rather, select
a project here and there to add a splash of Valentine fun to your February curriculum.
Either way, let your students lead the way. Their enthusiasm for this tradition will let you
know that its a topic worth teaching. ,
4
Language A rts
Valentine Guess-Who!
Each child makes a panel for this write-and-read valentine banner. Make a
class set of the banner template on page 10. Give each child a secret
valentine. Have children write the name of their secret valentine at the top
of the banner pattern. Have them fill in a clue about themselves as
indicated. Guide children in following these directions.
{ Cut the secret flap door on the dotted lines and fold it back.
{ Glue a piece of light-colored construction paper on the back of the
heart so that it covers the opening of the
door.
{ Draw a picture of yourself and write your
name on the construction paper.
{ Close the door and decorate it with bits

of paper, ribbon, doilies, foil, and other
craft materials.
{ Cut out the heart. Glue it to a sheet of
construction paper and decorate.
Have children put their completed panels together to make a banner by taping
them side to side. Display on a wall or in the hallway. Let children find their
names on the banner, then use the clues to guess their secret valentines!
Adapted from 30 Instant Collaborative Classroom Banners by Deborah Schecter (Scholastic Professional
Books, 1999).
Be Mine Word Wall

How can you teach phonics, spelling, and
conventions of language in one activity?
Make a word wall! Word walls offer readily
available support to readers and writers, {
Tp
and let you teach skills in a meaningful
context. Februarys favorite words are just
right for a word wall.
To learn more about
Start by letting children suggest words they teaching with word
associate with Valentines Day, or words they want to walls, see Teaching
include in Valentine messages. Record these on a chart. Look to the list as a Reading and Writing
source of mini-lessons. For example, starting with Valentines Day, you can With Word Walls by
teach conventions (using capital letters and apostrophes). You may find other Janiel M. Wagstaff
words on the list that lend themselves to phonics lessons. For example, if (Scholastic
someone suggests the word rose, you might teach the phonogram -ose (those, Professional Books,
hose, nose, chose, close, and so on). As the list grows from one day to the next, be 1998).
on the lookout for other opportunities to teach with the word wall.
5
Language A rts
Teacher Share
Sound Sort
Y ou can make and play this Valentine sorting game to

reinforce just about any phonics skill you like. Use the
templates on page 11 to copy and cut out several dozen hearts.
Lets say youre teaching the short-a phonograms -at, -ack, and
-ap. Write words that belong in each group on the cards, one word
per card. Mix up the cards and let children sort them by word
families, saying the words as they sort. If children work at this in
pairs, they can help each other with unfamiliar words.

Peg Arcadi
Homeschool Teacher
Trumansburg, New York
Book Break
Valentine Cats
by Jean Marzollo (Scholastic, 1996)
Writer cats get ready, writer cats start a card, writer cats need a message,
writer cats think hard Children will enjoy this storys rhyming verse.
They may have even more fun reading the cats cards, which spill across
several of the pages.
For a pocket chart activity, copy each line of this short story on a sentence
strip. Snip off the rhyming words at the end of every other line. Let children
take turns choosing the correct words to complete the sentences as you read
it aloud again. Place the pocket chart at a center so that children can repeat
the activity on their own or with partners.
Ladder of Love
Help children build relationships between letters and words with this word-
building activity. Start by writing the word LOVE at the top of a piece of chart
paper. Change one letter to make a new word. Write this word on the line
below. Continue, letting students change any one letter each time to form a new
word. Play until you reach the bottom of the page. Children can play this on
their own, too. How many different word combinations can they come up with?
6
Language A rts
Match Makers
This easy-to-make game combines reading and memory skills. To set up the
game, make several copies of the heart shapes on page 11. Cut out the hearts
and write one conversation heart message on each. Write each message on
two hearts to make pairs. To play, mix up the hearts and place them face down.
Have children take turns turning over two cards at a time. If the cards match,
the player sets them to the side. If the cards do not match, the player turns
them face down again. The game continues until players match all of the cards.
Let children write their own messages on blank hearts to make new games.
Card Company
Turn your class into Valentine Cats for this activity. After sharing the story
Valentine Cats (see page 6), your students will be geared up to write and
decorate their own cards. And there is probably a group of seniors or children
in a hospital who would love to be on the receiving end! Divide your class
into groups to produce cards to give away. Like the cats in the book, they can
be writer cats, artist cats, and postal cats. You may want to add a fourth
group, cutting cats. Children in this group can cut out heart-shaped cards
for the writer and artist cats to use. Have children work together like an
assembly line. The cutter cats can get cards ready, the writer cats can add
messages, the artist cats can decorate, and the postal cats can put the cards in
envelopes and add special stamps. Pack up the valentines and send them off!
Teacher Share
Hidden Words
P rint the word valentine on a sentence strip, one for each

child. Cut apart the letters and place them in an envelope.
Give each child an envelope of letters. Let children form as many
words as they can, including the big word. Have children list the
words they make on their envelopes. This exercise encourages
children to make connections between letters and words,
strengthening many literacy skills in the process.
Chris Wertman
Skoiyase Elementary School
Waterloo, New York
7
Language A rts
Valentine Bookworms
In the weeks leading up to Valentines Day, gather an assortment of reading
material with a Valentine theme. (See Book Break.) Explain to children that
each time they read a poem or story from the Valentines Day collection,
theyre going to write the title, author, and something about the selection on
a heart, and then pin it to a display to make a bookworm.
Make copies of the bookworm record sheets on page 12, and place them
in a folder near the display space. Read aloud a book from your valentine
collection, then record the title, author, and something about the book on a
record sheet. Cut out the heart and pin it on the board. Add a heart-shaped
bug face, then let children continue on their own. Have them complete and
cut out record sheets as they read books, and add them to the bookworm.
Book Break
In addition to the titles featured in Book Breaks throughout this book, here
are some suggestions for Valentine reading.
Hearty Har Har: Valentine Riddles Youll Love by Katy Hall and Lisa
Eisenberg (HarperCollins, 1997). This lift-the-flap book will bring lots of
laughter to your classroom.
One Zillion Valentines by Frank Modell (Greenwillow, 1981). Marvin and
Milton make valentines for everyonewith more than a few to spare.
Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane De Groat (William Morrow,
1996). This is a good book to share before children write their valentines.
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli (Simon & Schuster, 1992).
Reclusive Mr. Hatch changes his ways when he gets an unexpected valentine.
Super-Fine Valentine by Bill Cosby (Scholastic, 1998). Little Bill is in love
with Mia! Little Bill shares the scary feelings of a first crush and learns
the value of friendships.
The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting (Clarion, 1984). Mrs. Bear and Mr.
Bear celebrate their first Valentines Day together.
A Valentine for You by Wendy Watson (Clarion, 1991). This collection of
poems is just right for young children.
8
Language A rts
Teacher Share {
Tp
Compound Pals You can also set up a
compound matching
game at a bulletin
U se a Valentine theme for a compound-word building game.

Cut out a dozen or so hearts from red paper. Do the same with
pink paper. (See templates, page 11.) Write the first part of a
board, using push pins
to tack up the hearts.
Or, make multiple sets
compound word (for example, dog) on a red heart. Write the second of the game, each with
part (for example, house) on a pink heart. Give each child one heart. a different group of
Tape the hearts to childrens shirts or punch a hole in each and string compound words, and
with yarn to wear like a necklace. Let children move around the room, use them as portable
learning centers. Store
trying to find matches for their words. After

everyone has a match, let children read aloud the hearts for each
their words. As a followup, place the hearts in game in a large
envelope. Children can
a box or envelope and let children revisit the
take the envelopes
words, trying to build compound words on back to their seats to
their own. Provide blank pink and red hearts play or borrow them to
so that children can add new words. play with their families.
Variations: You can use the same setup for a contractions matching
game. Write contractions on the red hearts. Write the two words that
form the contractions on the pink hearts. Let children take turns
matching red and pink hearts.
Chris Wertman
Waterloo, New York
Valentine Tag
I sent my love a valentine
Teach children a simple rhyme and then use it to play
a game of valentine tag. Start by copying the rhyme to And on the way I dropped it.
the right on chart paper. One of you picked it up
Now, gather children in a circle and select a And put it in your pocket.
volunteer to start the game. Give this child a valentine It wasnt you. . . It wasnt you. . . It wasnt you. . .
(or a large cutout heart). Have him or her recite the
rhyme while walking around the outside of the circle.
Have the child repeat the phrase It wasnt you until he or she drops it
behind one of the children and taps this player on the back. This player
then jumps up and tries to tag the first child before he or she sits down in
the empty space. If the valentine-dropper is tagged, he or she repeats the
rhyme and selects a new player. If the valentine-dropper is not tagged, the
other child takes the valentine and the game starts again.
Adapted from Peanut Butter magazine (February 1983, Scholastic Inc.).
9
Activit y Page
10

To __________________________
Whos your secret valentine?
Read this clue:
_____________________________
_____________________________
Now open this door . . .
Guess who!
Activit y Page
11
Activit y Page

Bookworm
Roses are red,

Violets are blue,
I read a great book
and so can you!
Title ________________________________________________
Author___________________________________________
I like this book because _____________________
_______________________________________
_________________________________
Name __________________
12
Math
Heart to Heart Matchup

{
This game strengthens number sense by helping
children discover the many ways there are to arrive
at the same sum. Start by making several copies of the
Tp
Try the following
heart templates on page 11. Cut out the hearts. Write an variations to make
addition sentence on each heartfor example, 5 + 3. Do not include more Heart to Heart
answers. For each number sentence, make a matcha number sentence that Matchup games.
has the same sum but different addends (5 + 3, 4 + 4). Make 30 to 40 cards,
for a total of 15 to 20 matches. To play, have children follow these steps. { Make subtraction
matching cards
{ Mix up the cards and turn them face down. for example, 10 3
{ Take turns turning over two cards. If the cards have number sentences and 9 2 would
that have the same sums, keep the cards. If the cards do not match, turn make a match.
them over. { Make cards for

matching number
{ Play until all of the cards have a match. sentences and
answers, such as
12 + 3 and 15.
Candy Shop
{ Make cards to
match objects and
Fill a jar with candy hearts and watch your students flock to these activities. numbers, such as a
{ Place slips of paper and a box next to the jar. Let children estimate the picture of seven
number of hearts in the jar, write the number on a slip of paper, and flowers and the
place it in the box. On Valentines Day, let children help count the number 7.
candy. They might count groups of ten into small paper cups, then
count by tens to get a total.
{ Sort candy conversation hearts by color or by messages. Graph results.
{ If students were to divide the candy hearts equally among themselves,
about how many do they think they would each get? Have children
estimate first, then find out.
Row by Row
Bring in a cupcake pan and ask students to imagine that it is full of muffins.
(You might even place cupcake holders in each space.) Ask: How many
muffins are in the pan? Now display a plate piled with cupcake holders. Ask:
How many muffins are on the plate? Follow up by asking children if it was
easier to count muffins in the pan or on the plate. (Orderly rows are easier to
count than a pile on a plate.) Use the demonstration to introduce arrays.
Make a copy of the hearts on page 11 for each child. Have children color
them and cut them out. Ask: How could you arrange your hearts in rows? Let
children arrange their hearts in arrays and then count them. They may at
first count items one by one, but soon realize that its easier to skip-count
items in an array. Wrap up the lesson by having children glue their arrays in
place on paper and write number sentences to go with them.
13
Math
Teacher Share
Making Time
Y our children become the numbers on a clock with this time-

telling activity. Cut out twelve large hearts (you can use the
template on page 11) and write the numbers 1 through 12 on them.
Gather twelve children in a circle. Have the other children sit
nearby. Use a yardstick and ruler as the minute and hour hands.
Model how to position them to show what time it is. Let children
outside the circle take turns moving the hands to change the time.
What time is it? Let the children holding the hearts that the hands
point to decide. The rest of the class can help out if need be. After
everyone in the circle has had a chance to tell the time, switch
groups so that each child has a turn being a number on the clock
and moving the hands to change the time.
Chris Wertman
Waterloo, New York
Book Break
Telling Time With Big Mama Cat

by Dan Harper (Harcourt Brace, 1998)
Big Mama Cat has a busy day. It starts off with a stretch followed by
breakfast. Then Big Mama Cat watches Isabelle get on the bus and cleans up
the spills from the babys bottle. By 10 oclock, its time for a nap in a sunny
spot. The day continues, right up until midnight, when Big Mama Cat says
good-night. Let children move the hands of the clock on the books cover to
show what time different things happen at Big Mama Cats house. Theyll
have fun showing when things happen in their own homes, too. Warm
illustrations by Barry Moser and Cara Moser add to this books appeal.
Hearts Add Up
Strengthen computation skills with the reproducible board game on page 18.
Start by making a copy of the game board. Let children color in the game
board and the heart-shaped markers on page 19. Cut on the dashed lines to
separate each marker. On a set of heart-shaped cards (see page 11), write the
following number sentences, one per card: 4-4, 4-2, 7-3, 5-1, 5-3, 10-7, 9-2,
10-4, 11-7, 12-6, 10-3, 8-3, 7-2, 12-11, 6-5, 10-2, 9-1, 12-2, 10-0, 12-3.
14
Math
Follow these steps to play.

{ Divide the markers equally among
{
players.
{ Place the number sentence cards face
Tp
Make individual copies
down in a stack.
of the game for
{ Have the first player take a card and children to take home
read the number sentence. This player and play with their
then uses a marker to cover the space families. To make new
on the game board that has the answer. versions of the game,
use liquid eraser to
{ The next player takes a turn, again cover the numbers on
covering the number on the game the board. Make a new
board that goes with the cards number set of number
sentence. sentence cards and
write in answers on the

{ The game continues until all of the game board spaces are covered. board spaces.
Peekaboo Valentine Calendar

Calendars are packed with learning potential. There are days of the week to
learn, days to count, patterns to discover, and more. Heres a calendar your
students can make together. Each new day has a surprise hidden under a flap.
{ Follow the
illustration (right) to
make the front of a
lift-the-flap calendar
for the month of
February. Use large
heavyweight paper
for this piece. Cut {
around three sides of
each square as shown
to make flaps.
Tp
You might set up this
calendar activity at a
{ Carefully spread paste on the back of the calendar, being careful to place table that children can
it along the outer edges and in between the rows. visit over a period of a
week or so. Provide
{ Place the calendar glue-side down on a sheet of posterboard. Let dry.
removable wall
{ Fill in the calendar by writing the month and days of the week across adhesive to keep flaps
the top. Number each square. closed when children
are finished. Remind
{ Have children take turns writing or drawing secret valentine surprises children not to peek
under the flaps for each day. under any of the flaps
{ Display your completed calendar in time for February 1st. Let a that are closed.
different child lift a flap each day to reveal a valentine surprise.
15
Math
{ Teacher Share
Tp
Enrich your patterning Pattern Makers
activities with this social
studies connection.
Share pictures of
Adinkra cloth, made by
the Asante of Ghana.
I nvestigating patterns helps children discover relationships and
develop a way of thinking that will help them understand the
way mathematics works. Put a Valentines Day twist on pattern
explorations with heart-shaped sponges. Cut sponges into hearts
Invite your students to of varying sizes. Stock a table with sponges, water, paints, and
identify some of the
paper (some long strips will be fun). Let children visit a few at a
symbols they see, such
as a heart or moon. time to create patterns. For more fun, provide a new pattern
starter each day. Let children try to uncover your pattern rule,
Explain that the symbols

have different meanings. then continue the pattern on their own paper. Talk about math
Hearts symbolize love, during the experiencefor example, ask: How many repetitions of
paddles=strength, the pattern will fit on the page?
drums=rhythm, and
moons=patience. Give Peg Arcadi
children sheets of Homeschooler
butcher paper (or parts Trumansburg, New York
of old sheets) to make
their own patterns in
the Adinkra tradition.
Let children use hearts
and other shapes to
stamp their patterns.
Two by Two
This easy-to-make display challenges
children to look at attributes to find
matching hearts. Your students can
help set up the display.
{ Provide assorted paper and craft
supplies, such as glitter, doilies,
yarn, and ribbon.
{ Have each child make two hearts. Tell children that the hearts must
look the same (same color, same size, same decorations).
{ Collect childrens hearts and display them randomly on a bulletin board.
Assign each heart a number. Write the numbers on small slips of paper and
tack them up next to each heart. Add a sign that explains what to do: Find
a match for each heart. Write the matching numbers on a sheet of paper.
16
Math
Teacher Share {
Cards in Code
Tp
The reproducible code
key has room for up to
A nice twist on exchanging Valentines Day cards is to have

children sign their cards in code. This makes the process of
opening and reading the cards much more fun, not to mention
10 letters. If you have
students whose names
have more than 10
letters, make new code
more of a learning experience. Introduce the idea by sharing a
simple message in code. Write the message on the board, along keys with more notches.
with the code. (For example, the number 1 might equal the letter
A, 2 = B, 3 = C, and so on.) Let students use a code to sign their
valentine cards. Heres one based on Popsticklers, from Codes
For Kids by Burton Albert, Jr. (Whitman, 1976).

{ Make copies of the code key templates on page 19, one key
per child.
{ Have children glue their code keys to cardboard, trim, and
then use scissors to cut out the notches marked. Now each child
has a Secret Code Key for writing and decoding messages.
{ When students make their cards, have them follow this
procedure to sign the cards in code: Place the key on the card.
Draw a line on the card at the left end of the stick, then print
a letter of your name on the card in each notched space. To
indicate the last letter in the name (or message), draw a
slanted line through it. Remove the stick and fill in spaces
between the letters with more letters. (These are decoy letters.)
Now only people with a key can read the name!
{ When students exchange their cards, have them use their keys
to decode the senders names.
Bob Krech
Dutch Neck School
Princeton Junction, New Jersey
The Ultimate Valentine Challenge

Heres the ultimate valentine math challenge for your students. If each student
in your class is making a valentine for every member of the class, how many
valentines will there be all together? Have children estimate first, then work
with partners to find an answer. Encourage children to use whatever methods
will help them to find the answer. Some might turn to a calculator, some
might draw groups of valentines on paper, some might add a string of
numbers. Invite teams to share answers and the way they arrived at them.
17
6
8
10
0
8
3
7
2
4
4
9
Activit y Page
5
5
Hearts Add Up Game
4
7
10
1
2
18
Cards in Code
Activit y Page
19
Hearts Add Up
Game Markers
Fresh & Fun: Valentine's Day Joan Novelli, Scholastic

Science
Invisible Valentines
Comput er Explore chemical changes by having students make secret valentine cards.
Each student will need the following materials.
Connection
{ lemon or grapefruit juice, or milk (a small cup)
I Spy Software { cotton swabs
I Spy: Brain { paper
Building Games
for Kids { other materials for decorating the cards
(Scholastic, 1998)
puts all the fun of 1. Have children choose secret valentines. (Students can pick names out of
the I Spy books a box. See Compliment Cards, page 28, for more information.)
(and more!) on
CD-ROM. 2. Have students dip a cotton swab in the juice or milk and use it to write
Designed for a message on paper. Students can use the same technique to make a
grades K6, the design on the paper.
software has many 3. As papers dry, let students add decorations to their valentines. Have
layers to challenge
them notice what happens to their messages. (As the ink dries, the
children of all
ages and abilities. messages become invisible.)
There are riddles 4. Devise a method for having students deliver their valentines without
to solve, secret revealing their identities. For example, if you have them lightly write
codes to break, the name of the person in pencil on the back of the paper, you can
and missing pieces place valentines on students desks. This way, the sender will remain a
to find for the mystery until the messages are revealed.
Balloon Popper, a
contraption with 5. Have students take turns placing their papers over a light bulb, being
three levels of careful not to touch the bulb. Have them move the paper back and
difficulty. Players forth and watch the message appear.
can even make
their own I Spy 6. Invite students to tell what they think happened. (See Tip, right.)
picture riddles, Students may like to make more secret valentines for family members.
filling in blanks in Caution them not to use any heat source to make messages reappear
riddle samplers to without an adults supervision.
get started.
Tp
What causes the black. This is the same
chemical reaction on the reaction that causes
cards to take place? marshmallows (sugar) to
Heat breaks down the turn brown (or black)
carbon compounds in when roasted, or bread
the lemon juice, causing to darken when toasted.
it to turn brown or
20
Science
Teacher Share
For the Birds
O ne story of the origin of Valentines Day dates to medieval

England, where it was said that birds mated on St.
Valentines Day. Celebrate students love for nature on Valentines
Day by making heart-shaped bird feeders.
{ Give each child a slice of bread.
{ Have children take turns using a large heart-shaped cookie
cutter to make a bird-feeder base out of the bread. Help
children poke a hole in the bread near the center top of the
bread. Save the bread scraps for the birds, too.
{ Let the bread dry overnight. Have children spread peanut
butter on the bread, then sprinkle it with birdseed. Thread an
8 to 10 inch piece of yarn or ribbon through the hole in each
heart and knot it.
{ Hang from a tree to feed your feathered friends!
Monica Lubic
Charlotte Elementary School
Charlotte, Vermont
21
Science
Teacher Share
Weve Got the Beat!
H earts and Valentines Day go together. Invite your students

to learn more about their own hearts by taking their pulses.
{ Guide students in finding their pulses by placing two fingers
to one side of their necks. Ask students if they know what
makes the pulse they feel. (Their hearts are pushing blood
through blood vessels. This pushing is what they feel when
they take their pulses.) Ask: How many times do you think
your heart beats in one minute? Have children record

estimates on the record sheet. (See page 26.)
{ Time children for 30 seconds as they take their pulses. Have
them double this number and record it on their record sheets.
{ Ask: If you play tag or jump rope or exercise in another way,
what do you think will happen to your heart rate? Have
children record an estimate. Time them for one minute as they
do jumping jacks or run in place. Then time them for 30
seconds as they take their pulses again. Have them double the
number and record it. Compare heart rates before and after
exercise. Invite children to explain the results. (Exercising
forces the heart to pump more blood to the muscles that are
moving. This results in a faster pulse.)
{ Compare students heart rates to different animals. A mouses
heart, for example, beats 500 times a minute. An elephant has
a pulse rate of 25 times per minute. A rabbits heart beats
about 200 times a minute.
Lynne Kepler
Clarion Limestone Elementary
Strattanville, Pennsylvania
Book Break
The Heart: Our Circulatory System

by Seymour Simon (Scholastic, 1996)
Ask students if they know how big their hearts are. Have them make a fist.
Explain that their hearts are about as big as their fists. Share The Heart to
learn more.
22
Science
Teache r Share {
Tp
What Is Red? Light from the sun is
made up of all the
colors of the rainbow,
I n honor of Valentines Day, have students plan a feast of red foods

that will double as the start of a science investigation on colors.
Safety Tip: Check for food allergies before doing this activity.
also called the
spectrum. When this
light hits strawberries,
for example, the
{ Begin by brainstorming foods that are red, such as apples, pigments in the fruit
cherries, raspberries, strawberries, radishes, watermelon, reflect the red color in
sweet red peppers, beets, and so on. the light. The other
colors are absorbed.

{ Invite families to sign up to send in one red food for the We see different
celebration (or red napkins or plates). (You may want to explain shades of red because
some of the science connections in the note home.) small amounts of other
{ On Valentines Day (or whenever you decide to share the snacks), colors may also be
have students arrange foods on plates, one type of food per plate. reflected.
{ Before students dig in, have them take a close look at the colors.
How are they alike? How are they different? For example, some
foods may be deep red, others more of a red-orange. Develop
vocabulary by discussing names for some of these shades of red
(crimson, burgundy, magenta, vermillion, ruby, scarlet, and so
on). Have students assign a color to each food.
{ Ask students why they think we see different shades of red in the
foods. Use their ideas to launch an investigation into light and
color. (See Tip, right.)
Ann Flagg
Edu-Prize School
Gilbert, Arizona
Book Break
Naming Colors
by Adrienne Dewey (HarperCollins, 1995)
What do worms have to do with the color crimson? Find the answer, plus
other intriguing information about how colors got their names and where
different pigments come from in Naming Colors.
23
Science
Book Break
Dr. DeSoto
by William Steig (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1982)
In Books Kids Will Sit Still For (Bowker, 1990), Judy Freeman calls this
Caldecott Honor book perfect in every way. Its the story of a fox with a
toothache, and a plan to eat up the kindly mouse dentist who offers to help
him out. Share this book to introduce the following activity, We Our
Teeth!
Comput er Teacher Share

Connection
For more
We Our Teeth!
information about
keeping teeth
healthy, see the
American Dental
F ebruary is National
Dental Health Month
and with all the candy
Associations web that appears around
site at Valentines Day, its a
www.ada.org/ good time to reinforce
consumer/ healthy habits. Start by
teachers/index/ asking children what they
html. This site know about keeping their
includes materials teeth healthy. (Or back up
for teachers,
and ask, Why do we want
parents, and
children, including to keep our teeth healthy?) Discuss the things children do to keep
a flossing calendar. their teeth healthyfor example, brushing, flossing, rinsing, visiting
the dentist for checkups, avoiding too much sugar, and so on.
Research other ways to help keep teeth healthy. (See Computer
Connection, left.) Then give each child a large heart shape. Have
children complete and illustrate the sentence I love my teeth
because ______. Put their pages together to make a book.
Chris Wertman
Waterloo, New York
24
Science
Crystal Creations
Students can make sparkly decorations while they learn about the science of
crystals. Prepare for this investigation by gathering the following materials:
{ stove or hot plate { pipe cleaners

{ saucepan with handle { thin string or thread
{ 3 cups water { craft sticks
{ 4 cups Epsom salts { large, clear plastic cups
{ wooden spoon (one per child)
{ several wide-mouth glass jars { paper towels
(clear) { hand lenses
1. Heat the water until hot but not boiling. Stir in the Epsom salts, one
spoonful at a time. Let students take turns looking in the pot, while
you continue to hold it. Have children guess what is happening to the
salts. (They dissolve.)
2. Pour the solution into the jars and let cool.
3. Give each child a pipe cleaner. Have children
bend them to make hearts or other valentine {
Tp
shapes. Help children tie one end of a piece of
string (about 8 inches long) to the shape, and
the other end to the center of a craft stick.
Children may like to
string their crystal
4. Pour the cooled Epsom salts mixture into the plastic cups. pieces on yarn or
Have students lower their shapes into the solution, then lay ribbon to make
the craft sticks across the top. Ask students to record what necklaces or hang
they see. Set the cups aside overnight. them in a window. If
you have trouble
5. The next morning, have students pull their crystal creations out of the growing crystals, try
cups and set them on paper towels to dry. While theyre admiring their using distilled water.
work, have students use hand lenses to take a closer look. Ask students Tap water may contain
to record changes they observe. minerals that interfere
with the process.
Adapted from ScienceArt by Deborah Schecter (Scholastic Professional Books, 1997).
Book Break
Snowflakes, Sugar, and Salt:

Crystals Up Close
by Chu Maki (Lerner, 1992)
Clear photos and simple text make this a favorite book for young scientists.
25
Activit y Page
Name ____________________________ Date ___________________
Weve Got the Beat!

My Heart My My
Rate Estimate Results
Before Exercise
After Exercise
{ Write a number sentence to show the difference between

your heart rate after exercise and before exercise.
- =
{ Tell why you think exercising changes your heart rate.

26
Social Studies
Kindness and Caring Campaign

Start a classroom Kindness and Caring Campaign for the month of February.
Start by asking children what kindness and caring mean to them. Ask: What
are some ways friends, family members, teachers, and others are kind and caring?
What are some ways you can be a kind and caring person? Introduce the
Kindness and Caring Campaign by displaying a boxful of paper hearts. (Cut
out hearts big enough for childrens sentences. Make enough to go around the
walls of your classroom.) Then share a kind or caring act that you witnessed.
Write the act and the kind or caring childs name on a heart and tape it to the
wall. Ask children to do the same when they witness kind and caring acts.
Have them tape up new hearts side by side, with the goal being to make the
hearts stretch all the way around the room!
Book Break
Loving
by Ann Morris (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1990)
Striking photos and simple text show how people around the world show
they care. Invite children to tell about the ways they care.
Signs and Symbols

Use hearts as a starting point for an investigation of symbols. Start by sending
students on a hunt to find as many things as they can with this symbol.
Around the time of Valentines Day, theyll find heart-shaped candy boxes,
candy hearts, heart-shaped tags on stuffed animals, hearts on cards and signs,
hearts in advertisements, and more. (You might have students look for hearts
at home and in places they go with their families, then bring in lists to
school.) Compile and discuss results. Invite children to tell why they think
hearts became a symbol of love. For a related activity, see Tip, page 16.
Book Break
I Read Symbols
by Tana Hoban (Greenwillow, 1983)
Bright, close-up photos invite children to read the universal language of

twenty-seven signs. Follow up by letting children collaborate on their own
book of symbols. Take a walk around the school neighborhood, if possible, to
photograph (or sketch) signs. Talk about what they mean. Put them together
Hoban-style to make a book.
27
Social Studies
{ Teacher Share
Tp
See An Old-Fashioned
Valentine, page 29, for
Compliment Cards
more on the history of
valentine cards and
how-tos for making
them. For design ideas,
V alentines Day has its origins in the 1400s. On the eve of a
holiday celebrated by Romans, young women put their names
in a container. Young men took turns drawing names from the jar
check some of the to learn who their partners for the festivities would be. Put a twist on
Dover Publications this tradition with an activity that also reinforces themes of
books. Youll find kindness and caring.
copyright-free, ready-
to-use art in many
{ Have children write their names on slips of paper and place them
Dover books, including all in a box or bag. Let each child randomly select a name.
Fun With Valentine
Stencils by Paul E. { Have children make cards for their secret valentines, including
Kennedy (Dover, 1991). a compliment in the message.
{ Have students trade cards on Valentines Day. These affirming
messages go a long way in creating a caring classroom!
Jennifer Prior
Edu-Prize School
Gilbert, Arizona
Comput er
Connection
To learn how to I Love You Mini-Book
say I love you in
more languages, Exploring how people communicate is one
try this Web site. way to help children see how people
www.america.net from different cultures are alike and
/seasonal/valenti different. With this mini-book activity,
ne/language.html your students discover the many ways
people express a common sentiment:
Teacher guidance I love you. To make the books, give each
is suggested in child a copy of page 30. Have children
order to ensure cut out the hearts, punch holes, and tie
appropriate Web
them together with yarn. Invite children to
site content.
decorate their books, then read them, using the
pronunciation keys as a guide. Give children blank
mini-book pages to add covers and more languages if desired.
See Native Tongues by Charles Berlitz (Grosset & Dunlap) for more ways
to say I love you.
28
Social Studies
Book Break
What Is Your Language?

by Debra Leventhal (Dutton, 1994)
What is your language? Please tell me now. My language is English. This is

the way it sounds Learn more about ten languages with this book. These
sentences repeat for German, French, Russian, Inuktitut, Japanese, and
other languages, followed by the word for yes in each language. A
pronunciation guide is included. The repetitive text will invite beginning
readers to chime in as you read aloud.
Teacher Share
An Old-Fashioned Valentine
T he history of valentine cards is filled with

surprising facts. The first greeting cards were
large, plain sheets of paper, with no decoration
other than the ink used to write the messages. In
the middle of the 18th century, cards became
more elaborate. Pin-prick designs with messages
written as acrostic poems and rebuses were
sealed with red wax. Commercial cards soon took
the concept further, adding lace papers, mirrors,
feathers, beads, shells, and more. Some cards
were shaped like fans. Others had moving parts or windows. The
tradition of sending valentine cards died out with the paper
shortage in WWI. But school children kept the tradition alive,
trading cards with classmates.
After sharing some of this history with children, stock work tables
with unusual supplies for making old-fashioned valentines. Check
craft stores for feathers, sequins, small beads and shells, and lacy
papers. Supply foil for mirrors. Be sure to allow time for displaying
these special valentines in class before letting children take them
home to delight the recipients.
Kelley Foster
Cicero Elementary School
Cicero, New York
29
30
French
Je taime
(suh tem)
Korean
Say the s like the s
German
in vision.
(sah-RONG hi yo)
(eekh lee-buh deekh)

Ich liebe dich
English
Language
Mini-Book
American Sign
I Love You
I love you
Activit y Page
(ya chay KO-hom)
Russian
Spanish
Ja cie kocham
(tay AH-mo)
Te amo
Polish
(ya tib-YA lyoo-BLOO)

A rts and C rafts
Book Break
The Best Valentine in the World

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Holiday House, 1982)
After sharing this story of the valentine Ferdinand Fox makes for Florette,
your students will be eager to make their own valentines for special people.
See Creative Valentines to Make and Give, below, for some ideas.
Creative Valentines to Make and Give

Brainstorm ideas with children for making their own best valentines.
Stock a table with supplies, then let them go to work!
{ Provide assorted colored and textured papers. Have children snip them
into little bits to make mosaic valentines.
{ Provide bookmark-size strips of paper to make bookmark valentines.
Show students how to punch a hole at the bottom or top and string
with a ribbon for a festive effect.
{ Make a confetti valentine. Provide a heart hole
punch. Have children punch out lots of hearts
from different colored paper. They can put
these inside cards they make for a surprise. (Be
sure to provide envelopes for these.)
{ Make valentines-on-a-stick to adorn flower pots
at home. Provide copies of the hearts on page 11
and craft sticks. Have children cut out and color
two hearts and glue them back sides together to
the top of the stick.
Paper Plate Pals

Heres a variation on the familiar paper-plate Valentine holder. For each
child, provide one whole paper plate and one half paper plate. Have
children put their plates together, bottoms facing out. Punch holes around
the outer edges of the bottom halves, as shown. Give children lengths of
yarn (about 36 inches each), and have them stitch the plates together.
Before having children decorate the plates, share the story Valentine Cats.
(See page 6.) Let children use assorted paper and other supplies to turn their
paper plates into cats. They might use pipe cleaners or strips of black paper
for whiskers, felt for ears, and so on. Let children wear their valentine pals
like necklaces as they distribute cards to one another.
31
A rts and C rafts
Put it in a Pocket
The anticipation leading up to Valentines Day is just as much fun for children
as the day itself. Theyre busy making and addressing cards, and wondering
what surprises the day will bring. In preparation for all that Valentine mail,
have students make these paper heart-shaped pockets. Each child will need two
pieces of 12-by-18-inch construction paper and a 36-inch length of yarn.
{ Cut out two large same-size hearts from the constuction paper. You may
provide a template for this or precut the hearts.
{ Place one heart on top of the other and punch holes
along the sides.
{ Use the yarn to lace the hearts together, then tie a bow at
the ends of the yarn.

{ Decorate the heart pocket. Write your name on one side.
Adapted from Easy Holiday and Seasonal Art Projects With Paper by Jo Lynn Alcorn (Scholastic
Professional Books, 1999).
Book Break
My Very Own Valentines Day

by Robin West (Carolrhoda, 1993)
This collection of cooking, crafts, and games is perfect for children of all ages.
{ Its in the Mail

Tp
Many teachers plan
You may want to use Valentines Day as an opportunity to get a classroom
post office going, complete with a milk-carton mail box for each child.
activities around When the big day arrives, your students can alphabetically sort and deliver
Valentines Day. If your the long-awaited mail, matching names on cards to those on mail boxes.
students plan to Long after the valentines have been delivered, these mail boxes will inspire
exchange valentines, students to continue writing and delivering notes to one another! Heres a
send home a class list simple way to make and stack a class set of mail boxes.
in advance, requesting
that if children want to
give out valentines, 1. Gather clean half-gallon milk cartons (one per child). Cut off the tops.
they do so for each 2. Glue cartons together in stacks of four to five each. Glue the stacks
child in the class. This together at the sides.
ensures that every 3. Have children write their names on labels and stick them to the inside
child enjoys the day. bottom of the milk carton.
4. Use craft paper to cover the entire block of cartons. Let children
decorate their mail boxes.
32

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About This Book ............................................................ 4

Language Arts Invisible Valentines .................................................... 20

, An easy pattern for a literacy- , Movement activities

{ Close the door and decorate it with bits

Be Mine Word Wall

Y ou can make and play this Valentine sorting game to

pairs, they can help each other with unfamiliar words.

P rint the word valentine on a sentence strip, one for each

U se a Valentine theme for a compound-word building game.

trying to find matches for their words. After

Roses are red,

I like this book because _____________________

Heart to Heart Matchup

them over. { Make cards for

Y our children become the numbers on a clock with this time-

Telling Time With Big Mama Cat

Follow these steps to play.

write in answers on the

Peekaboo Valentine Calendar

Explain that the symbols

A nice twist on exchanging Valentines Day cards is to have

For Kids by Burton Albert, Jr. (Whitman, 1976).

The Ultimate Valentine Challenge

Fresh & Fun: Valentine's Day Joan Novelli, Scholastic

For the Birds

O ne story of the origin of Valentines Day dates to medieval

H earts and Valentines Day go together. Invite your students

your heart beats in one minute? Have children record

The Heart: Our Circulatory System

I n honor of Valentines Day, have students plan a feast of red foods

colors are absorbed.

Comput er Teacher Share

{ stove or hot plate { pipe cleaners

Snowflakes, Sugar, and Salt:

Name ____________________________ Date ___________________

Weve Got the Beat!

{ Write a number sentence to show the difference between

Kindness and Caring Campaign

Signs and Symbols

Bright, close-up photos invite children to read the universal language of

What Is Your Language?

What is your language? Please tell me now. My language is English. This is

T he history of valentine cards is filled with

Say the s like the s

(eekh lee-buh deekh)

(ya chay KO-hom)

(ya tib-YA lyoo-BLOO)

The Best Valentine in the World

Creative Valentines to Make and Give

Paper Plate Pals

the ends of the yarn.

My Very Own Valentines Day

{ Its in the Mail

You might also like

Name __________ Date _