Summary

Learn 5 creative ways to use Valentine's Day reading comprehension passages in the K-2 classroom!

5 Creative Ways to Use Valentine’s Day Worksheets

Valentine’s Day worksheets are your ticket to engage students in reading during the sweet-filled, friendship-focused (albeit card company-created) holiday. Valentine’s Day is a day of excitement, card giving, and chocolate eating. Everything kids love all smushed together. How can teachers possibly engage students in academic work on this wonderful holiday? Well, it’s not the easiest but it can be done. As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Use the day to your advantage. Instead of teaching around Valentine’s Day embed your academic standards into your Valentine’s Day activities. Now that’s what I call a win-win. Unsure how to teach reading comprehension through this lens? Read on and see just how many ways you can use Valentine’s Day reading comprehension worksheets!

Short on time? Pin this post and grab your Valentine’s Day worksheets here. Just print and see your student’s engagement sore as they read about fun Valentine’s Day topics!

Valentine’s Day Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is a key component of reading. Arguably, it is the point of reading. To learn and remember what is read. It should be a part of daily classroom instruction. Valentine’s Day is no different. Using these emergent readers, you can introduce relevant vocabulary while students practice their short vowel sounds, common sight words, and reading fluency. Use the guiding questions to learn more about Valentine’s Day and engage your students in conversation.

A valentines day reading passage called the card sits next to a set of rainbow heart cookie cutters. Text above reads: get the most out of your valentines day reading passages. — The best Valentine’s Day Reading Comprehension Worksheets for ESL students have similar features including access to audio and predictable text with consistent phonetic patterns.

Using Valentine’s Day Worksheets for ESL Students

The best Valentine’s Day worksheets for ESL students have similar features including access to audio and predictable text with consistent phonetic patterns. To aid in comprehension, Valentine’s Day passages should utilize sentence stems such as “I like to….” or, “We make…”. This supports comprehension as ESL students only have to focus on decoding one or two words in the sentence, rather than the entire sentence. Predictable phonetic patterns, such as utilizing CVC or CCVC words, also support comprehension for ESL students because again, it minimizes the amount of brain power needed to decode (dependent on the level of the reader, of course). These Valentine’s Day readers balance the predictable phonetic patterns with engaging, familiar topics supporting ESL reading and schema.

A valentines day passage for ESL students sits behind text that reads: predictable phonetic patterns are a key feature of effective reading passages for ESL learners — These Valentine’s Day readers balance the predictable phonetic patterns with engaging, familiar topics supporting ESL reading and schema.

Valentine’s Day worksheets Literacy Activities

Do you have a hard time finding Valentine’s Day worksheets? Whenever there was a “special” day in my classroom or the world, I tried to stick to our schedule and routine as much as possible. You might be thinking: “but I want my kids to have fun, enjoy the day!” let me challenge that thinking – why can’t you have a fun, special day within your typical schedule and routine? Valentine’s Day literacy activities are a great way to stick to your schedule while weaving in fun throughout the day. There are many benefits to sticking to the routine on a holiday. The biggest benefit is easing student anxiety and unknown while the day feels different in general, they can rely on the predictability and safety of your classroom environment.

Three different colored papers are shown. One says reading groups, another says math groups, and the last says writing groups. Text on the left reads: learn how to make your small groups run smoothly in the k-2 classroom — Looking for more great tips on how to teach small groups in your K-2 classroom? Grab all the tips and tricks in this FREE guide and start looking forward to teaching your small groups. From classroom management strategies to data collection systems, and even games you can use in your groups this guide is the best way to ensure your small group instruction is effective!

Valentine’s Day Reading Passages

For my small group instruction on Valentine’s Day, I love using reading passages to engage my students! Actually, I use them all week. When reading these passages, my students love talking about their favorite candy, what gift they would get a friend on Valentine’s Day, or why they like flowers. I love that I have enough to have a new story every day, but many of my students will read the same passage several days in a row to improve fluency and dig into comprehension.

A valentines day literacy worksheet titled the card sits on a pink table. Text above reads: reading passages are a great way to engage students during a holiday. — Re-using the same stories for multiple days, and in different ways, helps students build connections within the content area. It also helps improve student reading fluency, as well as confidence when reading.

Valentine’s Day Emergent Readers

Emergent readers can be so challenging to engage – especially on a fun holiday like Valentine’s Day! These students tend to be younger, therefore developmentally, their attention to task tends to be shorter. Using appropriate emergent readers is key to engagement and academic growth. I created these Valentine’s Day worksheets to be printable booklets so my youngest students only have to focus on a few words on the page, relieving anxiety and overwhelm, but also with engaging pictures to help them attend to the story.

Creative Ways to Use Valentine’s Day Worksheets

As a teacher, I follow the “work smarter, not harder” mentality. This helps my own sanity by limiting my prep time but it’s also helpful for students. Re-using the same stories for multiple days, and in different ways, helps students build connections within the content area. It also helps improve student reading fluency, as well as confidence when reading. Here are five creative ways to use Valentine’s Day reading comprehension worksheets!

Text reads: be creative when using your valentine's day reading comprehension worksheets! You can have a word hunt, build a book, or read and match. — Valentine’s Day reading comprehension worksheets are a must-have in the k-2 classroom!

Valentine’s Day Word Hunt

Word hunts are a great way to target a specific phonetic skill. Give each student a reading passage, and a highlighter or marker. Give your students a specific sound such as /a/ and highlight that sound as it appears in the passage. Or give them a target sight word. Word hunts are a great way to grab some data too! You can easily tell which students have mastered a particular word or phonetic concept as you observe them complete the word hunt.

Build a Book

Building a book is a great way to monitor comprehension and understanding! To build a book, simply print out one of the foldable Valentine’s Day reading comprehension worksheets. Cut the book into individual pages, and have the students reassemble using their knowledge of sequencing and storytelling. Just don’t forget to cut off the page numbers at the bottom!

Read and Match Valentine’s Day Passages

Read and match is another great way to improve comprehension when reading! Print out enough doubles of reading passages to ensure each student has one. For example, if you have a class of 16 students you’ll want 2 copies of 8 different Valentine’s Day passages. Give ample time for students to read their passages, then collect the papers. Have students find their partners based on the re-telling of Valentine’s Day reading passages!

Read and Match Valentine’s Day Sentences

Read and match valentine’s day sentences is an easier version of the passages. It can also be completed independently, which can be helpful depending on the time of day or your classroom management strategy. While this activity does require a bit of prep, it is engaging for students and a great way to check reading comprehension. Print out your desired Valentine’s Day reading comprehension worksheet foldable book. Then, cut the sentences out or, cover them with paper and re-copy. Last, provide your students with a book and cut-up sentences. Have them glue each sentence to the page that makes the most sense.

Find the Missing Word

This activity requires a bit more prep but is a great activity for understanding sentence structure. Print out your desired reading passage, then cover one word in each sentence. Make copies and see if your students can find the missing words! To differentiate, write the words on the board, or on the top of the paper before copying.