Students use Ringgold's books as a springboard for a discussion of race, gender, and civil rights, and then write and illustrate original picture books on these topics.
Faith Ringgold was born on October 8, 1930.
Celebrate Kate DiCamillo's birthday today.
After examining the characters in one of DiCamillo's stories, students write original short stories featuring animals as central characters.
Get ready to go back to school!
Students share details about their lives with one another using the interactive Graphic Map and share their memories in small groups or with the whole class.
Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury was born in 1920.
Students do a Bradbury author study and then create flyers to advertise their favorite story using the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.
Walter Dean Myers, author of the Printz Award-winning novel Monster, was born in 1937.
Students discuss how the form of a film script affects the story, why the author may have selected this writing style, and write a story using a similar format.
Alex Haley, author of Roots, was born in 1921.
Students explore their own roots by interviewing family members and use their family history to write a fictional account of their roots.
Author of Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt, was born in 1932.
Students research the concept of immortality from beliefs around the world and compose a short story, myth, or poem that addresses immortality.
African American journalist Ida B. Wells was born in 1862.
Students brainstorm a list of human rights issues, research their group's issue in depth, examine the way journalists cover a story, and create articles for a classroom newspaper.
Children's author Patricia Polacco was born in 1944.
Students share family stories of their own by writing original poems and reviewing parts of speech using the Diamante Poems tool.
Today is Chris Van Allsburg's birthday.
Students explore varying points of view, one of Van Allsburg's common themes, by rewriting a traditional story.
Celebrate Cynthia Rylant's birthday!
Students work in small groups or as a class to map the plot of a selected Cynthia Rylant story and create original literary works using the plot diagrams.
Author Laura Joffe Numeroff was born in 1953.
Using one of Numeroff's books as a model, students use the circle plot structure as a culminating project for a unit of study completed in the classroom.
The Pied Piper led the children out of Hamelin in 1376.
After listening to The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, students compare Pratchett's version with Browning's version and discuss how perspective changes the story.
In 1969, the first human walked on the moon.
As a class, students discuss Neil Armstrong's famous quote when he landed on the moon and explore the difference that one word can make, as well as the gendered language that Armstrong uses.
Children's publisher John Newbery was born in 1713.
Each student chooses a book that is special and writes a short story about why it deserves special mention. Students can plan the pages of their own stories and then make a Stapleless Book or use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.
Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817.
Students make mental "snapshots" of a natural setting, then capture the details of their setting by writing and then creating a class booklet of the nature walk.
The Scopes Trial began today in 1925.
Students brainstorm a list of objects and processes that have changed over time and use the Timeline tool to sketch out the evolution of the item they have chosen. A giant class timeline can be created to show the evolution of the items students have investigated.
It's Independence Day! Or is it?
Students consider why there are so many different dates associated with the Declaration of Independence and why the nation's birthday is celebrated on July 4.
Annual fence-painting contests take place in Hannibal, Missouri.
A scene from one of Twain's works is chosen and students map the story setting using the Story Map. Setting is then discussed as a class.
National Spelling Bee Finals are held this week.
Students discuss why certain contests get more publicity than others and what counts as "knowledge."