If you’re looking for fun Leap Year activities to do with your students this February 29, then look no further! We’ve got a variety of fun activities that you can do to make this leap year in the classroom extra special, while still teaching your core content and standards!
Read on to learn about math, reading, writing, and science Leap Day activities!
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Leap Day Math Activities
- Math Relay: Together as a class or in small groups, have students figure out past leap years by repeatedly subtracting four from 2024. For an extra challenge, have them note all of the leap years since they have been born. If you want to share your birth year, students can figure out how many leap years you have been around for!
- Practice Skip Counting: Skip counting is a fun skill to practice on leap day because it involves leaping from one number to the next! These puzzles are a fun way to practice skip counting with photographs! You can also play hopscotch on a sidewalk with chalking and put a skip counting pattern in each block for students to hop (or LEAP) to!
- Create a class line plot: Have your students leap as far as they can and then measure each leap. Measure to the nearest inch or half inch for second graders and nearest quarter of an inch for third grade and up. Then, have students make data tables and plot the data on a line plot. For older students, you can ask them line plot questions based on the data.
- Multiplication Number Lines: In the resource pictured below, students can practice their multiplication facts by using number lines. This helps students learn their multiples and can be another fun way to “leap” on February 29th!
- No-Prep Math Worksheets: These worksheets have a fun Leap Day theme and can be a great way to practice math skills with students on February 29th! These worksheets are extra fun for students because they include fun facts about animals that leap!
Reading and Writing About Leap Day
- Check out this fun read aloud about a boy who has a Leap Day birthday!
- Write stories: Have students imagine they have a leap day birthday. They can write their own stories about when they would celebrate their birthday and what it would be like to only see their real birthday on the calendar every four years.
- If you teach speech therapy, check out this boom card resource.
- Reading passage and comprehension questions: This free reading passage will teach students the history of leap year and why it is necessary. There are comprehension questions and fun fact cards for students to figure out.
READ MORE >>> Spring Read Aloud Lists for Lower Grades and Upper Grades
Science Activities for Leap Day
- Study the life cycle of a frog with a spinning wheel that you can get here!
- Research other animals that leap and compare how far each animal can jump. Have students write informational paragraphs about the importance of the animal’s ability to jump. Does it help them escape predators? Do they use it to travel? Do they use their jumping ability to get food?
- Have students work with a partner to model the orbit of the Earth around the sun. Then, have them write a paragraph about why we need leap years.
Watch Videos to Learn Why We Have a Leap Year
Looking for more? Check out our Leap Year No-Prep Math Worksheets!
Check out these posts if you’re looking for spring read alouds for your classroom!
