Students read and discuss an award-winning book before writing their own story that demonstrates compassion.
The Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children is announced today.
Celebrate Digital Learning Day today.
Students reflect on recent learning and the role digital tools and media have played in supporting or enhancing it.
Author Matt de la Peña was born today.
Students use an essay by de la Peña as a model for writing their own literacy autobiography.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was born today.
Students examine the painting that inspired Sondheim's Pulitzer-prize winning musical and then create a story of their own based on image they choose.
Author Jacqueline Woodson was born today.
Students read the poem "February 12, 1963" and write a poem to commemorate their own birthday.
Celebrate John Venn's Birthday!
Students celebrate the birth of English logician, philosopher, and creator of the Venn Diagram by building community within the classroom by comparing and contrasting likes, dislikes, and characteristics about one another.
Today is World Read Aloud Day.
Students celebrate the power of words by reading aloud to their classmates and spreading the word of global literacy to their friends and family.
Author E.B. White was born on this day in 1899.
Author E.B. White, most well-known for his famous children's book, Charlotte's Web, received high acclaim and awards for many of his works of fiction.
Playwright August Wilson was born in 1945.
Students use the Timeline Tool and Drama Map to create a decade-by-decade record and play of their community's history.
Gwendolyn Brooks published Bronzeville Boys and Girls in 1956.
After students have read and discussed several poems from Brooks' collection, they create a poetry anthology for their own family, neighborhood, or classroom.
Oprah Winfrey launched her book club this week in 1996.
Book clubs are created within the classroom or with a grade level or different classes.
The "1984" Macintosh commercial aired today during Super Bowl XVIII.
Original advertisements are created after students review advertising techniques they've studied.
Get ready for National Bullying Prevention Month!
Students create a poster to enter into a poster contest that educates others about issues surrounding bullying.
Today is Benjamin Franklin's birthday.
Students discuss Benjamin Franklin's contributions to postal history, investigate the roles of the Postmaster General, and write letters to their classmates using the Letter Generator.
Jonathan Swift was born on this day in 1667.
Students explore satire and parody in television and film, advertising, and journalism and create a display that highlights their findings.
Today is Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko's birthday.
Students revive elements of the oral tradition by writing about something funny that happened to them recently, sharing with classmates, and discussing the changes that occur during the retelling of the stories.
Author Gabriel García Márquez was born on this day.
Students take place in a collaborative creative writing activity to begin to understand the hallmarks of the literary style known as magical realism.
The Barbie doll was unveiled in 1959.
Students explore body image and advertising through an activity where they bring in pictures from magazines that they read and discuss gender representations in the media.
In 1902, John Steinbeck was born.
Students brainstorm a list of the ills of society, research a topic of their choosing, and then prepare an annotated bibliography of texts that address the topic.
Ezra Jack Keats was born on this day in 1916.
In celebration of Keats' birthday, students write stories that include some characters from Keats' books and practice using collage techniques with the Collage Machine.