Last Day Before Winter Break Jeopardy
Snow science, winter animals, celebrations, cold places and winter stories for the last day before break. Free to copy, and students buzz in from devices.
6 categories, 30 clues, Final Jeopardy. Everyone buzzes in from their phone.
Hosting opens the presenter screen with a join code for everyone's phones. Either way the board is a copy of your own. Free, no account needed.
Every clue on this board
This page is public, so anyone can read the answers — copy the board and swap a few clues before game day.
Snow Science
- $200
Most snowflakes have this many sides or points.
What is six?
- $400
Water freezes at this temperature on the Fahrenheit scale.
What is 32 degrees?
- $600
Snow looks white because its ice crystals scatter all the colors of this.
What is light?
- $800
In 1885 Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farmer, became the first person to photograph one of these.
What is a snowflake?
- $1,000
When water vapor turns straight into ice crystals and skips the liquid stage, the change is called this.
What is deposition?
Winter Animals
- $200
Emperor ones of these flightless birds huddle together to survive the Antarctic winter.
What are penguins?
- $400
Groundhogs and many bats spend the winter in this deep, energy-saving sleep.
What is hibernation?
- $600
The arctic fox and the snowshoe hare change their fur to this color for winter.
What is white?
- $800
In North America they're called caribou; in Europe these antlered animals go by this name.
What are reindeer?
- $1,000
Millions of monarch butterflies from eastern North America spend the winter in mountain forests in this country.
What is Mexico?
Winter Holidays
- $200
This Jewish festival of lights lasts eight nights.
What is Hanukkah?
- $400
Kwanzaa, celebrated from December 26 to January 1, is built around this many principles.
What is seven?
- $600
Crowds gather in this New York City square to watch a ball drop at midnight on New Year's Eve.
What is Times Square?
- $800
On December 13 in Sweden, girls in white gowns wear crowns of candles to celebrate this saint's day.
What is St. Lucia Day?
- $1,000
Families in this country celebrate Shab-e Yalda, the longest night of the year, with pomegranates and poetry.
What is Iran?
Winter Words
- $200
A long spike of ice that hangs from the edge of a roof.
What is an icicle?
- $400
A severe snowstorm with strong winds and almost no visibility.
What is a blizzard?
- $600
This dangerous condition happens when a person's body temperature drops too low.
What is hypothermia?
- $800
This Danish word means a cozy, content feeling, like a blanket and cocoa on a snowy day.
What is hygge?
- $1,000
This word for a house in Inuktitut came to mean, in English, a dome built from blocks of snow.
What is an igloo?
Brrr! Cold Places
- $200
This continent around the South Pole is the coldest place on Earth.
What is Antarctica?
- $400
Utqiagvik, where the sun doesn't rise for about two months each winter, is in this US state.
What is Alaska?
- $600
This country's capital, Ulaanbaatar, is often called the coldest national capital in the world.
What is Mongolia?
- $800
Santa's traditional home, this spot sits on floating sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, not on land.
What is the North Pole?
- $1,000
Every winter in Harbin, in this country, artists build a whole city out of giant ice sculptures.
What is China?
Winter Stories
- $200
In this book by Chris Van Allsburg, a boy rides a magical train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
What is The Polar Express?
- $400
In Frozen, Elsa accidentally traps this kingdom in an eternal winter.
What is Arendelle?
- $600
In this 1962 picture book by Ezra Jack Keats, a boy named Peter explores his city after a snowfall.
What is The Snowy Day?
- $800
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the White Witch makes it always winter in this land.
What is Narnia?
- $1,000
Jack London's story "To Build a Fire" follows a man hiking at 75 below zero in this Canadian territory.
What is the Yukon?
Final Jeopardy — Winter Begins
In the Northern Hemisphere, winter officially begins on this day around December 21, the day with the fewest hours of daylight all year.
What is the winter solstice?
How to run this board
The last day before winter break is not the day for new material, and everyone in the room knows it. This board keeps the day useful without pretending it's a normal one: snow science, how animals get through the winter, celebrations from Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to Shab-e Yalda and St. Lucia Day, winter vocabulary, the coldest places on Earth, and winter stories students have read or seen.
It's written for upper elementary and middle school, with the easier clues at the top of each column so every team gets on the board. Split the class into teams and let one device per team buzz in, or put the board on the projector and call on raised hands.
The celebrations column covers several traditions, not just one, so it works in any classroom. Save Final Jeopardy for the last ten minutes before the bell.
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Spotted a clue that's wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll fix the board. Or start from a blank board and write your own.