Students interview a parent or another adult about the Challenger and hypothesize about differences. Students can also write about the Columbia disaster in 2003.
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986.
Gold was discovered in California in 1848.
Students read letters from the Gold Rush and follow up by writing an imaginary letter to a family member about their experience using the Letter Generator.
Amelia Earhart completed her solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland in 1935.
Students explore the definition of a hero and use the interactive Venn diagram to identify the most common characteristics of a hero.
Kodak was issued a film patent on October 14, 1884.
Students create a scrapbook of their favorite pieces throughout the year and present it to parents at an end-of-year party.
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.
Celebrate National Family Literacy Day!
Parents, grandparents, and other family members are invited to the classroom for a family-school reading day.
Alex Haley, author of Roots, was born in 1921.
Students explore their own roots by interviewing family members and use their family history to write a fictional account of their roots.
Children's author Patricia Polacco was born in 1944.
Students share family stories of their own by writing original poems and reviewing parts of speech using the Diamante Poems tool.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiered in 1968.
After thinking about TV shows, books, and movies from their childhood, students write about what they remember and revisit how they feel about it at an older age.
James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, was born in 1861.
Students look at Naismith's original 13 rules for basketball and write about the rules and how they have changed in small groups.
Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832.
Students brainstorm important events and people that might serve as the beginning of an interesting piece of writing. They then use the Bio-Cube to plan their writing and write an essay about a memorable person.
Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, was born in 1914.
After learning about Dr. Salk, students interview a family member or someone they know who remembers the polio epidemic.
A Conversation with Laurie Halse Anderson
In this episode, Laurie Halse Anderson talks about her newest book, Wintergirls.
A Conversation with Matt de la Peña
Tune in to hear Matt discuss some of the thinking behind his newest novel, We Were Here.
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.
Celebrate International Literacy Day!
Celebrate International Literacy Day by starting a literacy movement in your community.
In 1952, Paul Fleischman was born on this day.
Some of Fleishman's memories in his essay "My House of Voices" are shared with the class. Students then write a descriptive essay that gives a tour of the voices in their homes, school, etc.
Explore Your Reading Self
In this activity teens are encouraged to explore their reading history as they remember books they liked reading as children and then revisit these old favorites.
All About Me! Use Photos to Write Stories
Help children use favorite photos to write a homemade memory book.
Books Will Take You There!
While enjoying a book that features a journey, children write postcards from the perspective of the main character for each stop along the trip.