Students study Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and work in groups to create a mural that depicts Dr. King's vision of peace.
In 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this day.
Judy Blume was born in 1938.
Students work with a partner or individually to create cartoons of their favorite scenes from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
The Statute of Anne, an influential copyright law, went into effect in 1710.
Student groups do web research, compile their information, and make a booklet on copyright rules for the class to use as a reference.
Author Amy Tan was born today in 1952
Students watch an excerpt of an interview with Tan and apply some of her principles to writing a story of their own.
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.
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.
Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, was born in 1939.
After students have read one of Brian Jacques' Redwall stories, a class newspaper is created based on the story.
Write letters that make things happen!
In a small group or as individuals, students write letters related to a unit of study or particular topic they have studied.
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.
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.
June 14 is Flag Day in the U.S.
Students consider how America, Americans, and the flag are represented in different patriotic songs and hypothesize about the reasons for their differences.
Sally Ride, first American woman in space, was born in 1951.
After exploring information about Sally Ride on the StarKids Who's Who site, students write a letter using the Letter Generator to Dr. Ride's foundation, Sally Ride Science.
National Public Radio began broadcasting in 1971.
Students make predictions about the content of some of NPR's programs, then listen to the programs and report on the contents and discuss with the class.
Commercial ice cream is first sold in the U.S. in 1786.
After finding advertisements from the past, students evaluate them and discuss how ads have changed over the years. Students then create an advertisement for a new flavor of ice cream.
Celebrate blues legend Robert Johnson's birthday.
Students learn about blues music and brainstorm subjects that might give them "the blues." Finally, they write their own blues lyrics and have the option to perform.
Teacher Appreciation Week honors our teachers.
In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, students read a book about a teacher and follow up with an activity related to the book using the Venn Diagram, Letter Generator, Story Map, or Essay Map.
Jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday was born in 1915.
Students listen to Holiday's song "Strange Fruit" and identify powerful and descriptive images for a mini-lesson on tone and about the lynchings in the South during this time.
Author Lois Duncan was born on this date in 1934.
Mysteries are shared with students for them to solve and brainstorm the attributes of a good mystery. Small groups then compose short mysteries using the Mystery Cube.
In 1928, Maya Angelou was born.
After hearing Maya Angelou's poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," students infer information about the speaker and her feelings about America and reflect on how one's life and experiences can influence one's writing.