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.
Jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday was born in 1915.
April is National Poetry Month!
Students are assigned to be "poets of the day" and are provided several models to create, illustrate, and present their different poems to the class.
The RMS Titanic sank on this day in 1912.
Students use the Internet Workshop model to explore web links about the Titanic disaster.
A Christmas Carol was the first book transmitted over radio!
Students write a script for A Christmas Carol on a level that primary students can read and perform. Older students record the performance and create a website to showcase photographs.
The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773.
Students create a political cartoon for the Boston Tea Party and use the interactive Comic Creator to publish them.
Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first human heart transplant.
Students talk about the causes of heart disease and the role that diet and exercise play. Then, students find healthy dessert recipes and vote on one dessert to make in class.
Today is World Hello Day!
Students study a letter written by a famous author to determine purpose, and words and phrases that make the letter meaningful. They can use the Letter Generator to write their own letter promoting peace.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805.
Students look at Kenneth Holder's paintings of the Lewis and Clark trail and transform their notes into a descriptive paragraph as if they were a member of the expedition.
Artist Pablo Picasso was born on this day in 1881.
Students view a Picasso piece, write their impressions, and share. Students can create their own Picasso-style art using the interactive Picassohead.
Dictionary author Noah Webster was born in 1758.
Students play a variation of the game Balderdash to practice vocabulary.
Books Worth Owning
In this episode, you'll hear about those qualities along with a wide range of great new titles including adventure books, historical fiction, coming of age books, and story collections.
Teen Literature and Technology
In this episode, you'll hear about books that "break the rules of writing" by telling stories in the form of emails, blog entries, and instant messages.
An Introduction to Graphic Novels
Tune in to hear some background about graphic novels as well as specific recommendations of fantasy epics, memoirs, biographies, and adventure thriller stories, all presented in the form of a graphic novel.
Celebrate National Library Week!
Students learn more about libraries as part of National Library Week.
Today is D.E.A.R. Day!
April 12 is known as D.E.A.R Day! D.E.A.R. stands for "Drop Everything and Read," a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives.
Music in Our Schools Month is in March.
Students explore the effects of music on a story by reading a story, novel, or play, viewing the musical version, and comparing the two. Students can then select a text read in class and create a musical adaptation.
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.
Snowflake Bentley illustrator Mary Azarian was born in 1940.
Students catch snowflakes outdoors and sketch some of the structures, or grow their own snow crystals and examine them using magnifying glasses or microscopes.
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.
William Carlos Williams was born in 1883.
Students write imitation poems, review grammatical structures, and use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press or Stapleless Book to publish their finished work.