Refreshing classroom lessons for January

Because kids need help beating the blues, too...

As pupils return to your classroom either full of beans after the Christmas break or a little glum from waving goodbye to all the festive excitement, it might feel like an uphill struggling getting them to sit still and listen. With a little hard work and determination, however, January can be the perfect time to remind pupils of what's expected of them at school, putting them into a focused mindset for the rest of the year.

If you're not sure you're up to the task of thinking up lesson plans, these quick and easy ideas might do the trick.

New Year around the globe

Around the globe, people usher in the new year in lots of different ways - with some not even celebrating on December 31! Split the class into groups and get them to focus on the following topics, ready to present back their research to the rest of the class at the end of the day:

- Culture: From red envelopes, fancy parades and balls dropping, ask one group to explore the different ways people celebrate and find creative ways to present them back to the class.

- Time: Who brings in the new year first? Last? Why is that? Get one group to take a look at the science behind new year timings.

- History: Ask your final group to explore the history of the new year. Why we celebrate it, who decided it would fall on January 1 and find out why we sing Auld Lang Syne.

Encourage pupils to take notes in their exercise books.

New year, new me

January is the perfect time to ask pupils what they'd like to achieve by the end of the year. Instead of giving them 12 months to contemplate, however, give them until the end of the academic year and ask them to build and bury a time capsule of their ideas to open in six months time. It will give pupils something to focus on for the months ahead.

Exploring winter

Children really enjoy exploring the seasons and winter is a fascinating time to get started. Take pupils outside and ask them to write down everything they can see that they might not see in the summer. As there will be animals and plants missing from view, add to the list on return to the classroom. Paint, draw or sketch a class mural of winter using school supplies and add to it as the seasons change.

There are plenty of ways to make January just as exciting as December for pupils. It just takes a little hard work and imagination, that's all.

Make sure you don't run out of pens and pencils and order your school stationery for the new year, today.