14th February, VALENTINE'S DAY

Google Doodle for VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day is one of the most famous celebrations in the world and it is the traditional day for lovers to express their love to each other. Besides the traditional sources such as wikipedia, there are so many others referring to this topic that it is hard to choose from.
Although you already know what my favourites are because I keep using them, here they are:

History Channel has a fabulous video on the history of Valentine's Day. Please have a look:


Besides other videos, written infos and a photo gallery, the site is also featuring stories of couples whose legendary romances changed the course of history - worth reading!

Also worth reading is TIME - it has a VERY comprehensive list of romantic movies, romantic books, songs for lovers or Loners,... you will find there everything you need to know about Valentine's Day and Dating.
BBC published today some good resources which include a video on how to say the world famous "I love you" (and includes incredible images from London!!!), heart idioms,...
If teaching secondary levels / more advanced and not really elementary, there is always cnn. Here you will always find updated news and transcript with discussion questions - today it obviously includes questions but on Valentine's spendings in America that we can then use for comparison to fuel discussion about our own country.
For vocab exercises, have a look, for example, at lanternfish where you'll certainly find something for your students from crosswords to rhymes. At kaboose you will also find good resources which include recipes, coloring pages or games.
Songs and films, poems or paintings are also great to introduce or discuss this topic - as with everything, our great obstacle is... time.
To finish this blogpost, allow me to leave you with one of the greatest poets and poems of all time:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
   So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 18, 1609, William Shakespeare

What about you? What are your plans for today?

Wherever you are, whatever you do, have a great St Valentine's Day!