Leap days come only once every four years, and this is your chance to have to make it memorable for your 4th and 5th grade students. I’ve got some engaging Leap Year activities for the classroom to share with you that mix fun with learning during your ELA block. This blog post is all about making the most of this extra special day while covering standards through Leap Day activities, so let’s “leap” right in!
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Leap Day Classroom Set Up
No need for anything extravagant, but setting up the stage to engage can get students excited for the day.
- Bring in “29” number balloons or frog balloons.
- Hang up some green streamers.
- Put up a Happy Leap Year banner on the front door or on the board.
Leap Day Theme Ideas
Kids love a good theme and this day will be the perfect excuse to have one. Have students dress up for the day.
Two Ideas:
- Dress up in green clothing.
- Find 3 other people to dress the same as.
- Wear 4 of something (ex. 4 shirts, 4 bows, etc.)
- Wear a shirt with the number 29 on it or with 29 objects on it
Leap Day Candy Ideas
Kids get really excited about candy, so here are a couple of fun snack ideas. (As always, make sure your students do not have an allergies to these foods.)
Candy & Gum Ideas:
- Haribo Frogs Gummy Candy
- Extra Gum
Leap Year Game Ideas
Indoor Games:
Infusing some leap year themed games is a great idea.
One of these games can be used as a part of your test prep review.
Give students a plastic leaping frog. Place a “pond” near the students. Have students complete a review sheet. For each answer they get correct, they get a turn at trying to make their frog leap into the bucket. Each time they make it, they get a point.
Outdoor Games:
- How far can you leap?
- Hopscotch
- Leap Frog
Read Aloud Picture Books
I don’t know about you, but I will use any excuse to share a read aloud with my upper elementary students. Leap Day is no exception. Although there aren’t many Leap Day picture books available, especially for older kids, here are a few frog themed books that work well with 4th and 5th grade students.
- Tuesday by David Wiesner
- Stick by Steve Breen (simple but great for theme and character development)
- The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale by Yumi Heo (a nice way to include a lesson on folktales)
Student Gift Ideas
- “Leap into a Good Book” bookmarks
- Plastic leaping frogs
ELA Activities
As an upper elementary teacher, we know how important it is to tie the activities to standards, especially with state testing right around the corner. Below are some fun Leap Day Themed ELA Activities that are standard based.
- Have students work with idioms. Choose ones that have a leap or frog theme included. (ex. by leaps and bounds or there’s a frog in my throat)
- Introduce students to the prefix quad- meaning 4. Have them define different works that include the prefix in it.
- Challenge them to make a list of 29 nouns, 29, verbs, 29 adjectives, 29 adverbs and 29 prepositions.
- Challenge your students to find synonyms for the word “leap.”
- Have them write about what they think life will be like when they are 29 years old.
- Have them write what their life will be like in the next Leap Year.
- Set up a timer and have them read for 29 minutes. Students then reflect on what they read and write a quick summary.
- Read a book with a frog theme and have them answer questions about it or write a summary.
Brain Break or Just for Fun Activities
- Have students participate on the “not a frog” or “not a 4” drawing challenge.
- Challenge them to see how many words they can come up with by using the letters in LEAP YEAR. Want to make it more challenging? Give them just 2 minutes.
- Give students leap year themed puzzles to work on. These are great not only as brain break activities but also for fast finishers.
Make planning easy with this Leap Year Activities ELA Pack!
