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Updated June 13, 2024
Father’s Day presents a wonderful opportunity to encourage your students to express their thoughts and appreciation for their fathers as caregivers, mentors, and role models.
The following Father’s Day activities and lessons are all free or low cost, and allow students to practice language, art, and STEM skills while acknowledging Dad or other important men in their lives.
Best Father’s Day Activities and Lessons
Father’s Day Activities that Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning
A selection of activities, divided by grade, that allow students to explore the father-child relationship through brainstorming, writing and art. In addition to the emotional aspects of the relationship, the lessons reinforce skills such as planning, decision-making, and budgeting.
6 Stories From Incarcerated Writers on Father’s Day
From the Prison Journalism Project, a collection of fine essays about how incarcerated fathers try to maintain and restore their relationships despite the barrier of prison walls. Use as the basis for writing lessons or social-emotional learning lessons for high school students.
Father’s Day May Not Be Easy for Some Students
A professional learning PDF that offers concise guidance on dealing with students whose fathers aren’t present in their daily lives. For these students, Father’s Day can be a painful reminder of their absence. By considering such students when preparing Father’s Day lessons, educators can ease the emotional impact on them.
Fathers Day Quiz
This simple yet not-so-easy multiple choice quiz asks questions about terms related to fathers, such as Founding Fathers, the Father of Medicine, Father Christmas, and others. Fun and educational—and no account is required to play.
Father-Son and Father-Daughter Athletes
A fascinating look at professional athlete fathers whose offspring also achieved a high level of accomplishment in sports. Is it genes, environment, or both? Do top athletes tend to raise top athletes? To create a high school lesson from this article, ask students to research the heritability of athletic talent and write about their findings.
The Forgotten History of Father's Day
Why didn’t Father’s Day become a national holiday until 1972? Why weren’t men on board with Father’s Day when it was first proposed? Who were the women behind the first Father’s Day? These and other questions are answered in this intriguing article from Almanac.com, the 21st-century version of the Farmer’s Almanac.
Best Fathers in Shakespeare Canon
Use Father’s Day as an opportunity to delve into the rich trove of father characters in the plays of William Shakespeare. Written by a longtime Shakespearean teacher, scholar, and actor, this article conveys with humor, videos and scholarship the differences among the many dads of Shakespeare. A great starting point for a literature or sociology lesson with high school students.
Father's Day Lesson Plans and Activities
A rich source of varied Father’s Day lessons and activities, from Father’s Day printables to guided reading lessons to a comparison of fictional fathers from the works of William Shakespeare. Sortable by elementary and secondary grades. Free.
Digital Father’s Day Gift
Educator Jennifer Findley’s digital Father’s Day gift includes four themes to choose from, a Spanish-language version, and alternative versions for loving parents and guardians. The digital gift is designed to be used easily with (or without) Google Classroom.
Poems About Fathers
Dozens of poems by such poets as William Carlos Williams, Anne Sexton, Robert Hayden, and others will evoke powerful emotions in readers. Some are lighthearted, too. What do you know, what do you know, of love’s austere and lonely offices?
Inclusive Father’s Day Resources from Teachstarter and Haley O'Connor
Inclusivity is critical in the classroom environment, where kids who feel left out may withdraw, avoid participating, or even skip class. From two experienced K-12 educators come these free and insightful ideas for engaging all your students in Father’s Day learning activities.
Fathers in Fiction
A concise analysis of six fictional fathers, from Atticus Finch to Geppetto. Have your students read this article, then write their own analyses of these fathers, or others from literature.
Send an ehug to a father or father figure
Students can create and send a loving ecard to their fathers or father figures, choosing from among the customizable templates or starting from scratch. They can then use the rich library of characters, backgrounds, emojis, and much more to express exactly what they’re feeling. Print, save, or share via email. Free.
Father’s Day Online Quizzes, Games and Worksheets
Although geared toward English Language Learners, these free online Father’s Day activities are also well suited for any younger student to practice basic literacy skills. Exercises include alphabetical order, matching letter cases, word search, online crossword puzzle, and listening comprehension.
Five Father's Day Lessons
Each free lesson plan comes with objectives, recommended grade levels, and ideas for assessment.
Stories to Reflect on for Father’s Day
The nonprofit StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share the stories of humanity. That’s a tall order, but in the end, it comes down to a simple conversation between two (or more) people, talking honestly about their relationship and history. These genuine exchanges between fathers and their kids serve as an ideal lesson template for older students, who can interview their fathers or other important men in their lives, and record the interview using the StoryCorps app or website.
Father’s Day Remixable Game
Combine Father’s Day notions with a fun coding challenge from the Playlab at code.org. Students run the Father’s Day interactive drama, then hit the “Remix” button to adapt the code for a Father's Day performance of their own.
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