I’m not sure if you heard, but many states in the South (including mine)
experienced historic snowfall on January 21. Here in way-down-south Louisiana,
we received over 7 inches of snow! While I know some of you regularly deal with
snow in the winter (and may have a love/hate relationship with it), here in the
South, this is a rarity to be seized upon! We had actual SNOW DAYS, and that is
a BIG deal.
In addition to the snowfall, we had overnight freezing temperatures for
four days. What started as a one-day long weekend turned into one "snow
day" and three days of e-learning. This unique situation got me thinking:
how can we make these unexpected days meaningful instead of just "filling
the time"?
Luckily, this time around, I was in as perfect a place in my unit as one can be for this occurrence. We had just started The Odyssey in class, and for the first time, I decided to pair Gareth Hind’s graphic novel adaptation with excerpts from our My Perspectives textbook. Before the snow days, we had completed a mini-lesson on effectively reading graphic novels and had read and annotated Book 1. This preparation made it easy to assign some reading of the graphic novel plus the first couple of episodes in our My Perspectives textbook along with a few activities (see my current Odyssey resources) to ensure we didn’t lose momentum while enjoying our rare snow days.
But, here’s the thing—most
snow days don’t occur at the ideal point in our
curriculum. So, I took some time to reflect on strategies I’ve used before
(and a few ideas I had waiting in the wings) for those unexpected absences. And
you know what? They’re absolutely perfect for snow days! These moments can be a
unique opportunity to encourage meaningful, independent learning. With a bit of
planning and creativity, you can transform these unexpected breaks into
productive extensions of your classroom.
With a little preparation and creativity, you can turn these days into
productive extensions of your classroom. Here are 10 activity ideas to help you
make the most of e-learning days:
2. Thematic Collage: Using Canva or another digital design tool, have students create a visual collage representing a major theme in the novel or text they’re studying. They can include quotes, symbols, and imagery that connect to the theme.
3. Debate in Writing: Pose a provocative question related to the text or unit you’re covering. For example: "Was the protagonist justified in their actions?" Have students write a brief argumentative response with evidence from the text to support their stance.
4. Literary Soundtrack: Ask students to create a playlist of 5-7 songs that represent the mood, themes, or characters in their current reading. They should write a short explanation for each song choice.
5. Mini Research Project: Assign students a brief research task related to the text, such as exploring the historical context, author background, or real-life parallels to the story’s themes. Have them present their findings in a short paragraph or infographic (Canva is a great tool for this).
6. Literary Meme Creation: Have students create memes based on the book they are reading. Encourage humor while staying true to the text. Canva also has a meme generator, or you can have students use this one. You can specify that they focus on the story’s themes, plot, characters, etc. or have them design more than one.
7. Alternate Ending Challenge: Have students rewrite the ending of a story or chapter they recently read. They should include a rationale for how their new ending impacts the themes or characters.
8. Grammar Story Challenge: Ask students to create a short story that includes specific grammar elements you’ve been teaching. These can be anything – participles, gerunds, subordinate clauses, parallel structure, or vivid verbs, etc. Provide a checklist for students to ensure they include the required elements.
9. Grammar Scavenger Hunt: Provide students with a list of grammar elements to find in their current reading. For example, ask them to locate examples of similes, complex sentences, or active voice.
10. Grammar Comics: Ask students to create a short comic strip that incorporates grammar rules, such as proper punctuation or avoiding run-on sentences. You could even make this do double time and have them create a 6-panel comic related to their current reading that incorporates specific grammar rules.
Want a few more ideas? Below, I’ve included links to both free and paid resources that can help you quickly plan meaningful activities or provide ready-to-go lesson plans. These tools are designed to save you time while keeping your students engaged and learning.
1. Bringing in TED Talks or Current Events (these are both free in my store!) that relate to your current content is a go-to for me with every unit, and a snow day is a perfect time to work in this content. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again, these are great to use in a pinch and can be used over and over again.
2. Pictures in the Classroom – this is an early resource I posted on TpT (and is in the queue for an update in 2025), but it has great ideas for using pictures to meet Common Core Standards. So many of these activities can be adapted to your current content. Plus, you don’t have to go searching for images - 125 pictures are included!
3. Literary Elements Graphic Organizers – You can assign however many pages of these that are appropriate to your current content. There is a graphic organizer for these 6 core literary elements: plot, theme, point of view, conflict, characterization and setting, plus 2 response to literature organizers. The best part? They can be used over and over again for any text!
4. Ditch that Textbook Free Templates: I have no affiliation with this site or its creator, but these free templates are amazing and great to plug and play for snow days – or anytime really!
I hope some of these ideas can help you in a pinch – whether
it’s a snow day or any unexpected absence. These virtual days can be just as impactful
as in-person days and with a little creativity and preparation,
they can go a long way in keeping students engaged, even from a distance. And
let’s be honest, sometimes these unexpected days are just what we need to shake
up the routine and try something new.
If you have any go-to activities or tips for virtual learning days, I’d love
to hear about them! Feel free to share your ideas in the comments or reach out
– we’re all in this together.
Stay warm and happy teaching!!
* * * * *
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