Do we celebrate Valentine’s Day anymore in upper grades? Will high schoolers even deign to participate in such kinds of activities? I have some thoughts and suggestions!!

Valentine’s Day often becomes more and more complicated as students get older. Between shifting friendships, the onset (or continuation) of dating, and students’ own evolution of self-worth and self-actualization, knowing how to “celebrate” can seem completely out of reach.

It may seem safest to not acknowledge the “holiday” at all.

If you’re not quite ready to let go of another reason to celebrate, I have some simple ideas that won’t have you spending hours in the school copy room.

Make sure to stick around to the end. I have a FREE surprise for you that is WORTH the wait!!

Activity #1: Write A Letter

Students can write a letter to someone or something they love (or at least greatly appreciate). They could write a letter to their beloved grandparent, to a favorite auntie, a cherished pet, or even their favorite gaming equipment. The options are LITERALLY endless – especially if you SELL it that way!

Guide students through a brainstorm of the things in their life that they love, spend a lot of time with, or can’t imagine living without.

What should they write about?

1. Address the letter to the person/thing you are writing to.
2. Be specific. Name and describe WHAT/WHY you love this person/thing.
3. Elaborate. Go into detail about actions, characteristics, or traits that make them/it special.
4. Go above and beyond. Explore how this person/thing inspires or impacts your life.
5. Make it fun. Add a little fun or extra special P.S. to the end of your letter.

This letter can be as serious or as light-hearted as you want to make it. This is what makes the activity perfect for high school. It lends itself to flexibility AND creativity!

Activity #2: Develop a Candy Line

You know those quintessential Valentine’s Day candy hearts…the ones with the little sayings on them. Have students create their own candy line!

If a student wants to throw some dark humor on V-Day, go ahead! If a student is a sucker for Hallmark romances, go wild! Not only will they lend their perspective to the sayings on the candy, they can expand the line by choosing fonts, colors, and possibly even shapes & flavors!

Activity #3: Design a Poster

Again, flexibility is the name of the game here. Students can create a Valentine’s Day poster that illustrates how THEY FEEL about the day.

They’ll start by identifying what MESSAGE they want to send about Valentine’s Day. Then they can move forward by writing slogans, selecting or creating imagery, and incorporating other design elements to really drive their message home.

Bringing it All Together

The flexibility of these activities doesn’t live inside each activity alone.

There are so many different free platforms and programs students can use now: Google Suite, Canva, Microsoft, and likely more that I’m not even aware of. If you’re looking to get students off devices, ALL THREE of these activities can be done with pencil, paper, and on-hand supplies.

Want to add even more choice? Give students the option to do any of the three! Sounds like too many moving parts? I’ve got you covered. I actually compiled all three of these activities into one of my FREE RESOURCES.

The resource includes instructions, completed models of all three activity options, brainstorming graphic organizer, and templates for their finalized work!

You can also have students write a short summary that details what their theme was, why they included certain details, and how their work connects to Valentine’s Day. (This part of the activity is included in the instructions and models as well!)

Honestly, I had a blast creating this resource – especially when I got to work on the models I created :). I can imagine how your high school (or middle schoolers) will take this and run with it.

You can access the resource by clicking on the image above, heading over to my Seasonal Freebies page, or by clicking here.

I hope you’ll share some of their creativity and joy with me! Find me on insta or comment right here on the blog.

Take care, friends.

And the Happiest – or whatever – Valentine’s Day to you 😉