Every student, and possibly teacher, dreams of a snow day... until it’s time to make those days up later. Because Wixie works online, students can use it on computers or tablets connected to the Internet. If they have access at home, there is no need to stop learning on a snow day!
The Wixie Curriculum and Template libraries include thousands of templates and activities you can assign to students. If you know a snow day is coming, search the library to find and assign standards-based activities. The activities you assign to students will show in your student's Project View when they log in to Wixie at home.
Search "snowday" at the Wixie home page tab to see activities connected to wintry weather or visit the appropriate Curriculum > Month-by-Month folders for themed activities to engage your learners.
You can also use these fun ideas for using Wixie to keep the learning going on a snow day.
1. Describe the weather
Take a photo outside your window and write a caption to describe the weather.
Describe the Weather Outside Activity
K-ESS2-1 Earth's Systems
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
2. Write a snowy day story
Share Ezra Jack Keat's Snowy Day with your students. Then, ask them to use the weather outside or the activities they are doing inside as inspiration for a snow day story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.8
With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
3. Write winter poetry
Any poetry form will do, but a haiku poem, (5-7-5 syllables) is even supposed to contain a kigo or season word making it perfect for wintry weather!
Add a picture, record narration or video, and share the URL with classmates stuck at home.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.5
Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
4. Write a journal entry
Think of one of the characters in a book you are reading. Then write a journal entry to share how you think they would feel about a snow day.
Students can use one of the many book templates to get started.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3
Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
5. Paint 6-sided snowflakes
Did you know the crystal structure of a snowflake is always six-sided?
Wixie makes it easy to paint your own winter wonderland with symmetry! Paint your own snowflakes in Wixie using the Symmetry options on the Paint panel.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.G.A.3
Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
6. Create a snowman glyph
Glyphs are visual ways to share data. Talk with your students about things they think they will do on their snow day. Work together to group these ideas into categories.
Ask students to create their own snowman glyph to share data about their day. When you return to class, share the glyphs to analyze how classmates spent their time.
Get started with a snowman glyph activity from Cynthia Fordham, a Wixie-using teacher, in North Carolina.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.C.4
Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many are in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.
7. Record the temperature and weather conditions
Have students record the temperature over the course of a snow day (or snow days!) and show it on a thermometer, image, or graph. They can also watch or read the news to learn and show what the weather is like in other parts of the country.
3-ESS2-1 Earth's Systems
Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
Snow days don't require students to stop learning, they simply keep students from learning in the same physical space. Even if you don't require work at home on a snow day, consider assigning a few Wixie templates to inspire your students to keep creating at home.
No matter what you choose to do, stay safe and enjoy the day.
8. Design a snow globe
Have students add images to the snow globe to show how they spent their time on their snow day.
Snow days don't require students to stop learning, they simply keep students from learning in the same physical space. Even if you don't require work at home on a snow day, consider assigning a few Wixie templates to inspire your students to keep creating at home.
No matter what you choose to do, stay safe and enjoy the day.
