The cold, short days of late winter can drain even the most enthusiastic teachers and students. Seasoned educators know that keeping kids — and themselves — engaged and energetic requires some strategic planning. Here are a few tips from classroom veterans to lift your spirits and keep your students eager to learn.
Find the fun. “Winter doldrums are not so much a motivation problem as they are a cognitive load problem — everything is just so much at this point,” says Kristen Fusaro-Pizzo, an ELA teacher at Staten Island Technical HS. “The solution is to bring back joy through intellectual play.” Fusaro-Pizzo gamifies her lessons by running an ongoing version of “Survivor.” Students can volley content questions to one another — correct answers mean points for their team — as well as complete daily tasks for more points. Latenesses lead to point deductions. “The whole classroom culture becomes the game,” says Fusaro-Pizzo. At the end of the unit, the winning team gets token prizes such as small gift cards.
She also develops quick and easy games for other ELA content, like vocabulary. “Instead of saying ‘Here’s the word, here’s the part of speech, here’s the definition,’” Fusaro-Pizzo plays a hot potato game in which students toss a bean bag and quiz one another. “It’s low stakes, but it keeps them on their toes.”
Take advantage of the season. Sylvia Jackson-Vasquez, a Spanish teacher at MS 245 in Manhattan, says that late winter and early spring provide an opportunity to celebrate Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March. “I tie the lessons to the students’ interests and concerns,” she says. For example, her students study the music of Victoria Santa Cruz, an Afro-Peruvian composer and activist, and create their own protest songs based on issues that are important to them. “Make connections to their daily lives,” says
Jackson-Vasquez, “to keep them engaged.”
Get out and get moving. Even when the weather’s cold, Kris McPherson, a 2nd-grade teacher at PS 317 in Queens, gets her kids outside as often as possible, either for playtime or outdoor learning, like nature journaling (see McPherson’s guide to nature journaling at www.uft.org/nature-journal from the New York Teacher's October 2025 issue). McPherson also tries to schedule field trips during late winter “just to make sure we’re bringing joy” and enriching experiences to students who may be feeling cooped up and restless by March, she said.
And don’t forget that regular movement breaks are critical when students might miss recess when the weather’s bad. “We try to keep them moving as much as we can in the classroom,” said McPherson. She also recommends the free swim lessons offered by the New York City Parks Department to elementary students, which “are really helpful just to get their energy out.”
Boost your own learning. Your curiosity and interests set the tone for the whole classroom. Late winter and early spring are great times to explore new topics in professional development, which will give you new ideas for the classroom. The UFT Teacher Center offers year-round workshops and classes designed to keep your skills sharp, so check out www.ufttc.org for the latest offerings. Keep your eye on the Grants, Awards and Freebies section of New York Teacher (page 19) for other professional development opportunities.