This activity can help teens create picture books that a teen caregiver can then share with children.
Children's Book Project
Soundtrack for My Life
In this project, teens create autobiographies, adding music selections to their life stories.
Personal Playlists: Ten Favorite Songs
Work with a teen to create a wiki with everything people should know about the teen's top ten favorite songs—and your favorite songs as well! Then invite friends to add their favorite songs too.
Finding Poetry in Pleasure Reading
After reading a book or magazine, children and teens can choose a section and transform it into what's known as a "found poem."
Have You Seen the Movie Yet?
Before seeing a film based on a book, classic or contemporary, children can learn about filmmaking and create their own scenes based on their favorite moments from the book.
Creating Comics and Cartoons!
Using published comics and cartoons as examples, children can create their own while playing with images and language.
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was published in 1974.
Students are introduced to a Silverstein verse and asked for their impressions. They then draw that they imagine when they read one of his lines and then write a line or two to continue the passage.
Mickey Mouse appeared in his first animated feature.
Students create a short, humorous story with at least one action character, and then use online tools to make a flipbook.
On the Road author Jack Kerouac embarked on his first cross-country road trip in 1947.
Students read a section from On the Road that deals with cross-country travel and reflects Kerouac's unique writing style. Students then attempt to write a narrative using Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness style.
Caldecott Medal-winner Virginia Lee Burton was born on this day in 1909.
Students discuss similarities in Burton's illustrations and writing style in her many books, in addition to her use of personification.
Today is Cinco de Mayo.
Students choose to research a piece of art, music, dance, literature, or food that suitably represents Mexico and create a presentation for the class.
Gary Soto, poet and children's writer, was born on this date in 1952.
Using one of Soto's stories, students take part in share stories about their families, describe their street/neighborhood, or compose an acrostic poem using the Acrostic Poems interactive tool.
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.