Our solar year is 365.24219 days. Since our calendar does not deal in partial days, every four years, we add an additional day to February.
Today is Leap Day!
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.
On this day in 1907, Rachel Carson was born.
Students learn about Rachel Carson, explore different environmental websites, and write a Diamante Poem about a particular habitat.
In 1564, William Shakespeare was born on this day.
Based on grade level, students learn about rhyming structure, experiment with the Shakespearean Insult Kit, or study scenes from Othello and watch an adaptation of that scene from the movie O.
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.
Jacob Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm, was born today.
Students compare different versions of the fairy tale Cinderella and then rewrite a lesser-known Grimm story and explain the changes they made.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on this day.
Students compare the film versions of The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's novels. Students then imagine how a scene in a current novel that they are reading would be filmed.
Langston Hughes was born in 1902.
Students examine the poem "Dreams" and identify metaphors in each sentence. Groups of students then compose poems with metaphors for dreams.
Today is the birthday of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland.
After reading one of Carroll's chapters, students plan an unbirthday party and do activities and preparation for the event.
On this day in 1910, animal rights activist Joy Adamson was born.
A KWL chart is used to organize information about lions. Persuasive letters are written lobbying for programs and resources to protect these animals.
Poe's "The Raven" was published in 1845.
As Poe's "The Raven" is read aloud, students note their reactions and discuss the changes or development of their first impressions as the poem continues.
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.
Jane Yolen was born in 1939.
Students read one of Jane Yolen's books, retell the story in the form of a puppet show, research animals in the book, and document their findings with the Animal Study interactive tool.
The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden was dedicated on October 13, 1995.
Students select characters that they believe are the most memorable from Cleary's books and write short persuasive essays to explain their choices.
Barbara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones series, was born on this day.
Students write their own "Junie B." stories, based on the Junie B. Jones series, after brainstorming issues they've experienced during the school year.
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.
Roald Dahl was born on this day in 1916.
Students adapt a Roald Dahl story to picture book format and share their books and add them to the classroom library. Additionally, they compare a book version and film version of one of Dahl's works.
Avi was born in 1937.
After reading Nothing But the Truth, students explore a current event topic and write their own short work of fiction in a similar multigenre format.
David Macaulay was born in 1946.
Students use the Multigenre Mapper interactive to explore Macaulay's use of multiple genres by composing original multigenre texts.
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.