Brainstorm popular expressions with friends and family, then explore their meanings through game play and writing/drawing/cut-and-paste activities.
Unveiling Idioms: A Game of Concentration
Follow the Word Trail: Organize a Treasure Hunt
Create a treasure hunt out of word-puzzle clues hidden around the home or yard.
Send a Smile: Make a Card for a Special Occasion
Everyone loves getting a greeting card, especially if it's homemade. Make a funny or thoughtful greeting card or invitation with pictures and a poem, joke, or riddle.
Today is the International Day of Peace.
Students brainstorm a list of current conflicts and why people fight. Groups discuss and present possible solutions and create posters that promote their particular solution.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins today.
Students brainstorm all the various aspects of Latinx culture and compile topics to research. Groups then research topics and present their information to the class.
The first English printer, William Caxton, was born on this day in 1422.
Students consider how the printing press affects their world by completing a printing inventory, comparing lists, and developing a "super" list of all printed materials that they interact with.
Ernest Thayer, author of the famous poem "Casey at the Bat," was born in 1863.
In small groups or individually, students make baseball cards for the players in the poem "Casey at the Bat." Students can use a word processor or the Character Trading Cards interactive to create their cards.
Afterschool and Summer Reading with LGBTQ Content
Motivate your middle school reader with books that include LGBTQ characters.
Let's Go On A Poetry Walk!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you're surrounded by brilliant shades of green! Observe and collect sensory images from nature and use the sights, sounds, smells, and textures to create original nature poetry.
Go Wild with Webcams!
Can't make it to a zoo? After reading a book about apes, observe animal habits and habitats using one of the many Webcams broadcasting from zoos and aquariums around the United States and the world.
Bill of Rights Day is observed.
Students identify a students' rights issue and explore the ways in which the Bill of Rights does protect and does not protect students.