Sort through your junk mail and talk about what you find for a fun literacy activity before recycling it!
Mail Time!
Creating Family Timelines
Children can interview family members and make an illustrated timeline of the most important family events and memories.
Exploring the Library
Plan a visit to a library to discover more about this magical place.
Let's Play a Game
Playing board games or card games can be a fun activity, so why not make your own?
Fairy Tales and You
Children will draw on their knowledge of story structure and fairy tales to write their own.
Reading Signs and Labels
These activities will have children reading signs, logos, brand names, and other words all over their home and community.
Let's Play Bingo!
Work together, create a bingo board that can be played while walking around town, going to the zoo or a museum, or traveling on a vacation.
Let's Go on a Reading Hunt!
In this activity, children go on a hunt for places where they can read and enjoy books: on a family road trip, at the pool, at the doctor's office.
Note Writing at a Message Center
In this activity, children write short everyday notes, to remind, plan, request, or compliment others.
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was integrated in 1957.
After viewing some footage from the actual event, students jot down thoughts and feelings of the Little Rock Nine. Students then write a bio-poem that might have been written by one of these students on this historic day.
Today is the International Day of Peace.
Students brainstorm a list of current conflicts and why people fight. Groups discuss and present possible solutions and create posters that promote their particular solution.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins today.
Students brainstorm all the various aspects of Latinx culture and compile topics to research. Groups then research topics and present their information to the class.
Patriot Day is celebrated today on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Students write about the name "Patriot Day" and how it marks the anniversary of a huge disaster. An alternative assignment could be to ask students to record their reflections about 9/11.
Library Card Sign-up Month begins today.
A school or public library librarian is invited to visit the classroom to talk to the students about the advantages of having a library card. Students then take a library tour to acquaint them with the general features and resources available.
The tropical storm that became Katrina formed over the Bahamas in 2005.
As a class, students explore weather-related and other natural disasters that their geographical area is prone to and review emergency preparedness and procedures.
The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846.
After exploring an exhibit online, students use the information they learned to write "A Day in the Life" narratives that tell about a person, animal, or object they saw in the exhibit.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.
Students explore the "I Have a Dream" Foundation's website and brainstorm ways they can help themselves or others at their school achieve their educational dreams.
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote in 1920.
A representative from the local chapter of the League of Women Voters is invited to talk to students about voting rights and what they can do to be active in politics.
Montgomery Ward published the first mail-order catalog in 1872.
Students explore how and why catalogs have changed over the years and compare their findings about printed catalogs with online catalogs.
In 1870, the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad was completed.
Students access the National Park Service website and look at the webpage "The Last Spikes." Students explore different accounts of what happened as the railroad neared completion and discuss the nature of ceremonies.