Puppy Bowl 2025 is a fantastic opportunity to engage elementary students in a fun, hands-on learning experience that blends creativity, teamwork, and academics. Here’s how you can plan the paw-fect day in your classroom, complete with activities that encourage math, science, and language skills while fostering excitement for the big event.🐾🏈

Kickoff Activity: Predict the Winner

Start your Puppy Bowl celebration by introducing your students to the competing teams: Team Ruff and Team Fluff. Show photos or clips of the puppies and share some fun facts about them. You can find lots of Puppy Bowl information on the Discovery Channel website here: https://www.discovery.com/shows/puppy-bowl.  Then, have each student predict which team they think will win the Puppy Bowl.

• Materials Needed:
  • Photos or drawings of Team Ruff and Team Fluff puppies.
  • Prediction slips or a digital survey tool.

Instruction: Ask students to vote for the team they think will take home the championship. Collect their predictions to use for the next activity.

Math in Action: Create a Prediction Bar Graph

Once all predictions are in, use the data to create a bar graph together as a class. This activity incorporates math skills like counting, organizing data, and interpreting graphs.

• Materials Needed:
  • Chart paper, markers, or a digital graphing tool.
  • Prediction slips.
• Instruction:
  • Count how many students predicted Team Ruff and how many predicted Team Fluff.
  • Draw or plot a bar graph showing the number of votes for each team.
• Discussion Questions:
  • Which team has the most predictions?
  • How many more students predicted Team Ruff than Team Fluff (or vice versa)?
  • What does this graph tell us about our class’s Puppy Bowl excitement?

You can find Puppy Bowl graphing and writing activities done for you in my Puppy Bowl 2025 activity pack on TpT by clicking the image below.

Interpreting the Data

Take the activity further by encouraging students to analyze the data and make predictions about the outcome.

• Prompts for Discussion or Writing:
  • “Why do you think Team Ruff received more predictions?”
  • “Do you think the class’s predictions will match the actual winner? Why or why not?”
  • “What do the bar graph results tell us about our class’s favorite team?”

Puppy Player Profiles (Language Arts)

• Activity: Have students create “player profiles” for their Puppy Bowl team. Each student can name their puppy, write a short bio, and describe their strengths as a player (e.g., fast runner, good fetcher).

Skills: Creative writing, adjectives, and descriptive language.

Creative Fun: Make Your Own Puppy

After the math activity, it’s time for a creative break! Have students design their own Puppy Bowl player by crafting paper puppies or drawing their own creations.  I like to use these puppies from The Glyph Girls.

• Instruction:
  1. Provide a basic puppy template or let students draw their own puppies from scratch.
  2. Ask them to name their puppy, assign it a team (Ruff or Fluff), and write a short bio describing their puppy’s special skills (e.g., fastest fetcher, best at tug-of-war).
  3. Display the puppies around the classroom or create a Puppy Bowl mural with all their artwork.

Wrap-Up: Reflect and Celebrate

End the day by watching highlights from the official Puppy Bowl (if available) or discussing the results of your class’s activities.

• Discussion Questions:
  • “What was your favorite part of the Puppy Bowl celebration?”
  • “Did our class predictions match the winning team?”

Extension Idea: Have students write a short reflection about what they learned or enjoyed most about the Puppy Bowl celebration.

Why Celebrate the Puppy Bowl?

This fun-filled day isn’t just about puppies and play; it’s a creative way to reinforce key skills like data analysis, graphing, and creative writing. Plus, it builds a sense of community and excitement in your classroom. With these activities, your students are sure to have a paw-some time!

Let the tail-wagging fun begin! 🐾

-Lisa