Bring the celebration of reading and literacy into your classroom, library, school, and home all year long.
Read Across America Day: Celebrate a Nation of Diverse Readers
Grades
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Celebrate the National Day on Writing®!
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Literacy-Related Event
Students examine the different ways that they write and think about the role writing plays in life.
Grades
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The "1984" Macintosh commercial aired today during Super Bowl XVIII.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Original advertisements are created after students review advertising techniques they've studied.
Grades
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Today is Benjamin Franklin's birthday.
1 - 6
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
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.
Grades
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March is National Women's History Month.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
A scrapbook highlighting the accomplishments of famous American women is created as a class using the Alphabet Organizer and Bio-Cube.
Grades
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Today is Leap Day!
3 - 7
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
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.
Grades
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On this day in 1907, Rachel Carson was born.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Students learn about Rachel Carson, explore different environmental websites, and write a Diamante Poem about a particular habitat.
Grades
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Ezra Jack Keats was born on this day in 1916.
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
In celebration of Keats' birthday, students write stories that include some characters from Keats' books and practice using collage techniques with the Collage Machine.
Grades
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Valentine's Day is today!
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Students find examples of figurative language and write an original example of each device, illustrate, and share them with the class.
Grades
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The Lunar New Year starts today.
2 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Today is the first day of the New Year on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Grades
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Take part in the African American Read-In!
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Literacy-Related Event
Students come together with family and friends to take part in a read-in of books by African American authors and report their results.
Grades
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The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students interview a parent or another adult about the Challenger and hypothesize about differences. Students can also write about the Columbia disaster in 2003.
Grades
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Today is the birthday of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland.
3 - 6
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
After reading one of Carroll's chapters, students plan an unbirthday party and do activities and preparation for the event.
Grades
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Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the US to earn a MD degree in 1849.
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
"Famous Firsts" are researched by students, followed by small group research and multimedia presentations to report research results.
Grades
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Celebrate National Family Literacy Day!
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Literacy-Related Event
Parents, grandparents, and other family members are invited to the classroom for a family-school reading day.
Grades
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Celebrate Children's Authors and Illustrators Week
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Literacy-Related Event
Students "step into the shoes" of their favorite author by reading several of their books, conducting research, and preparing displays and presentations for the class.
Grades
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Children's publisher John Newbery was born in 1713.
3 - 8
Calendar Activity
| Author & Text
Each student chooses a book that is special and writes a short story about why it deserves special mention. Students can plan the pages of their own stories and then make a Stapleless Book or use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.
Grades
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It's Independence Day! Or is it?
3 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
Students consider why there are so many different dates associated with the Declaration of Independence and why the nation's birthday is celebrated on July 4.
Grades
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Celebrate Juneteenth!
5 - 12
Calendar Activity
| Holiday & School Celebration
Students use the Venn Diagram to compare Juneteenth celebrations to Fourth of July celebrations and hypothesize about the differences.
Grades
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Sally Ride, first American woman in space, was born in 1951.
3 - 8
Calendar Activity
| Historical Figure & Event
After exploring information about Sally Ride on the StarKids Who's Who site, students write a letter using the Letter Generator to Dr. Ride's foundation, Sally Ride Science.