Celebrate Groundhog Day on February 2nd
Groundhog Day is a celebration that takes place about halfway through the winter. It has its origins in an old European holiday called Candlemas. On Groundhog Day, a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to predict the seasons. If Phil sees his shadow, it means that we will have six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, it means that spring will arrive early. Groundhog Day is a fun and silly holiday that is rooted in a time when people relied on small changes in the environment to predict the weather and the changing of the seasons.
Summary of Activities
Reading: Literature
The Underappreciated Groundhog—fictional story with comprehension questions
Reading: Informational Text
Marmota Monax—nonfiction passage with a main-idea activity
Writing
Critter Compare and Contrast—activity in which students write a summary comparing and contrasting two animals
BONUS: Measuring Shadows—Have students measure their shadows at different times throughout the day. Ask, “When are they the longest?” and “When are they the shortest?”
Vocabulary: burrow, felidae, hibernate, marmota monax, sciuridae, strewn
Groundhog Day Learning Activities