As a class, students work in small groups to create a "100th Day" book.
Celebrate the 100th day of school!
César Chávez was born on this day in 1927.
Students work in small groups to research a civil rights leader and do a creative writing piece, followed by a short story, with their group.
Today, the American Library Association announces its annual book award winners.
Students research different awards given by the ALA and do an activity based on one of the awards.
November is National American Indian Heritage Month.
Students explore Native American heritage through the study of pourquoi tales, write their own original pourquoi tales, and use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press to publish them.
Today is Election Day.
Election Day is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Scotland Yard was established this day in 1829.
Students explore the resources on the Scotland Yard website and compare the advice given to London's citizens to the advice available from the local police department.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, was born in 1896.
After reading The Great Gatsby, students work in pairs, select a chapter from the novel, and rewrite it from the point of view of a different character.
Their Eyes Were Watching God was published in 1937.
Students brainstorm the kinds of stories they know and where these stories come from. Students return to these questions as they begin reading Hurston's novel.
Celebrate International Literacy Day!
Celebrate International Literacy Day by starting a literacy movement in your community.
In 1952, Paul Fleischman was born on this day.
Some of Fleishman's memories in his essay "My House of Voices" are shared with the class. Students then write a descriptive essay that gives a tour of the voices in their homes, school, etc.
Writing Fanfiction
Writing stories that imitate a certain genre or type of fiction allows children to explore a book they love by imagining new twists for their favorite characters and plot lines.
Blog About Courage Using Photos
Engage teens in this activity in which they use photographs to examine and write about courage on a blog.
MyTube: Make a Video Public Service Announcement
Invite teens to explore issues that are important to them, and then write a script and film a video public service announcement.
Explore Your Reading Self
In this activity teens are encouraged to explore their reading history as they remember books they liked reading as children and then revisit these old favorites.
Music in Movies: You Pick the Soundtrack
Explore how music can have an emotional impact on a scene in a movie, then help teens write and film a scene of their own.
Create a Career Blog
This activity invites children and teens to explore various careers and then write about what they might want to be when they grow up in a blog.
Make a Magnetic Poetry Set
Let children practice using different types of words in a fill-in-the-blank-story game before making their own word list for a magnetic poetry set.
It's Raining Cats and Dogs! Make a Children's Book about the Weather
Kids learn about weather sayings throughout history while writing and illustrating a book for younger children.
Special Memories & Significant Moments: Making an Electronic Scrapbook
Using a variety of artifacts, mementos, and technologies, teens can create an electronic scrapbook of their most important moments in high school.