March is such a fun and exciting month in kindergarten! The weather is getting warmer and spring break is just around the corner. With so much excitement in the air, it’s the perfect time to add some themed learning to the daily routine. In this post, I’m sharing my favorite March themes for kindergarten that will keep your students motivated to practice important academic skills all month long!
Benefits of Themed Learning in March
Adding some themed learning to your daily routine is beneficial for several reasons:
- Increased Engagement: As spring fever begins to take hold in your classroom, themed learning can help you keep students engaged and motivated.
- Holiday Fun: Thematic units give you the opportunity to channel your students’ holiday excitement into worthwhile learning activities.
- Hands-On Repetition: We all know that students need multiple exposures to new concepts to make them stick. Thematic units are a great way to make that repetition a little more fun with hands-on activities.
Would you like to take advantage of the benefits of themed learning in your classroom this March? Keep reading to see how you can incorporate two of my favorite themes into your daily routine.
St. Patrick’s Day Theme for March
St. Patrick’s Day is a theme that’s always fun for kindergarten classrooms in the month of March. There are so many ways that you can incorporate a little bit of holiday fun into your daily routine.
St. Patrick’s Day Literacy Activities
First, you can add some St. Patrick’s Day fun to reading and writing practice in your classroom.
Students will love creating their own pot of gold as they review sight words. For this literacy game, they will take turn choosing a gold coin out of a bag. If they can read the sight word on the coin, they can add it to their pot of gold. If not, they put it back in the bag. As they play, they try to avoid the sneaky leprechaun card in the bag that causes them to put all of their coins back.
After reading books about leprechauns together as a class, your students can write about what they’ve learned! This flipbook is a great way for students to practice their informational writing skills.
St. Patrick’s Day Math Activities
A sneaky leprechaun can also provide some hands-on math practice!
Students can use painted beans or other gold manipulatives to model subtraction equations. They will start with the total number of gold pieces, and then use the equation to see how many pieces should go in the sneaky leprechaun’s cup. They will write down the number of gold pieces they have left on a recording sheet.
If you would like to incorporate a treat into math practice, this graphing activity with Skittles is always a hit in kindergarten! Students can practice graphing and interpreting data in a hands-on way.
St. Patrick’s Day Craft
Crafts are always a fun way for students to practice fine motor skills and other concepts.
This leprechaun craft incorporates addition and subtraction equations!
Spring Theme for March
As the days get longer and the temperatures get warmer, it’s a good time to discuss the science of spring! There are many different literacy and science activities that you can use to help students better understand the changing seasons.
Spring Literacy Activities
You can start by helping your students understand more about the season of spring through read-alouds. As you read nonfiction books about spring together as a class, you can document the things you feel, smell, see, and hear during this season.
Students can then create a flipbook by writing and illustrating sentences about spring.
Students can also learn about plant vocabulary as they label the parts of a plant. This lift-the-flap craft is an engaging way for students to visualize the parts of a plant and what they do.
Spring Science Experiment
Since spring marks the beginning of the growing season, you can help your students see this process in action! Your students will love this spring science experiment!
For this experiment, students plant a bean in a bag with water and a paper towel. Then you can tape the bags to the window where they can get plenty of sun. Over the course of several days, students will watch and document what happens to their beans. They’re always so excited to see the beans begin to sprout!
You can give each student a printable booklet to document their predictions and observations each day. This is such a great way for students to see the life cycle of a plant in action. It really helps them understand the new vocabulary they are learning!
Spring Flower Craft
After learning all about plants, students can put it all together into this colorful spring flower craft!
Students will start by writing and illustrating what plants need to grow, the parts of a plant, and other interesting plant facts that they learned.
Then students will create a cute flower for the front cover of their tri-fold. The secret to the great flower texture is to use a cupcake liner! Students are always so excited to take their creations home to share with their families.
Bundle of March Thematic Units
If you want to use these themes in your kindergarten classroom this March, let me save you some time! I have put together entire units full of hands-on and engaging activities for both of the themes that I mentioned above. In fact, I have put these two themes into a bundle to save you both time and money! You’ll find all of the printables, instructions, book suggestions, and tips you need to put together these thematic units for your classroom.
You can find this bundle of March thematic units in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT.
Save These March Themes for Kindergarten
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these March theme ideas when you’re putting together your lesson plans for the month.