Activities for Winter and the Rest of December
December 13 to 31 on ReadWriteThink

winterThe onset of winter weather varies from year to year and from place to place, but December 22, the winter solstice, is considered the first official day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere for 2011. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year. The days get longer as winter progresses. In the Northern Hemisphere, it also marks the day when the sun is furthest to the south.

Even though the days are shorter, we still have plenty of classroom resources for you plus ideas for fun activities that families can try during the winter break. Just check out the ReadWriteThink calendar entries, new lesson plans, and classroom materials below.

New Resources

From the Calendar

  • December 15: Bill of Rights Day is observed. Students identify a students’ rights issue and explore the ways in which the Bill of Rights does protect and does not protect students. (For grades 5–12)

  • December 16: The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. Students create a political cartoon for the Boston Tea Party and use the interactive Comic Creator to publish them. (For grades 7–12)

  • December 17: The Wright brothers made their phenomenal flight! Students celebrate the Wright brothers' flight in 1903 by having a classroom celebration that includes a multimedia timeline and comparisons of the Wright Flyer to the planes we have today. (For grades 3–6)

  • December 19: Author Eve Bunting was born in Ireland in 1928. Students listen to a news article about the LA race riots and then read Smoky Night to discuss how a younger observer might be affected by these events and their perceptions. (For grades 3–10)

  • December 22: It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Students brainstorm words or images that they associate with winter, select and read a picture book about winter, and compare the two using the interactive Venn Diagram. (For grades K–6)

  • December 23: 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. (For grades 5–12)

  • December 25: A Christmas Carol was the first book transmitted over radio! Students write a script for A Christmas Carol on a level that primary students can read and perform. Older students record the performance and create a website to showcase photographs. (For grades 7–12)

  • December 28: Poor Richard's Almanack was first published in 1733. Students explore some of the proverbs taken from Poor Richard's Almanack, give their impressions or someone who would write these statements, and choose one saying to paraphrase. (For grades 3–8)

  • Next month, find lesson plans and activities on the Jacob Grimm, Martin Luther King, Pat Mora, book awards, and more!

Discuss These Topics with Other Teachers

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—Traci Gardner

 

[Photo: winter by dmitrybarsky, on Flickr]

 

What are your thoughts on educational gaming?

USA Today’s recent Top 10 video games for kids this year notes some educational games and others with literary or pop culture connections. The Independent Florida Alligator (U of Fla) reports that More colleges using video games as educational tools. Even the military is using games as part of their training, and they may soon be completing that training on their cell phones.

It’s not surprising, then, that we see stories like these about teachers using gaming in the classroom:

So what’s going on in your classroom? Do you use games in the classroom? How do you respond when families ask for recommendations for educational games? Have any great resources to share?

 

 

This post is the introduction from “July 11 to 16 on ReadWriteThink.” Read the rest of the post on Facebook.