Focus on Cultural and Historical Exploration, May 8 to 14 on ReadWriteThink
May 7, 2011
In her Community Story, Jacquelynn Pleis describes how she uses ReadWriteThink’s Exploring and Sharing Family Stories lesson plan as part of a year-end celebration of students’ cultural backgrounds. If you don’t have time for the kind of cultural fair that Pleis describes, try one of the cultural or historical events from this week’s calendar.
You can look at music and the blues, civil rights in the U.S., and the Puerto Rican Independence movement. For a wider focus, ask students to talk about their personal heroes, whether cultural, historical, or both, as part of a celebration of Star Wars creator George Lucas’s birthday. Finally, May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, so it’s a wonderful time to honor the heritage of Asian and Pacific Americans and their contributions to the United States.
Find lesson plans and classroom activities to kick off your cultural and historical exploration plus what’s new on the ReadWriteThink site detailed below. Have a great week!
New Resources
- Discover ways to use Engage Students After School and at Home with our newest ReadWriteThink ReView video.
- Explore the National September 11 Memorial and Museum with your students.
- New Lesson Plans:
- Make the most of summer. Use the Verizon Thinkfinity resources to kick off a summer of learning for students.
From the Calendar
- May 8: Celebrate blues legend Robert Johnson’s birthday. Students learn about blues music and brainstorm subjects that might give them “the blues.” Finally, they write their own blues lyrics and have the option to perform. (For grades 5–12)
- May 10: Newbery Medal winner Christopher Paul Curtis was born in 1953. Students brainstorm a list of civil rights-related issues and use the Acrostic Poems interactive to create poems. (For grades 3–12)
- May 11: Pedro Albizu Campos leads the Puerto Rican Independence movement. After learning about the story of Pedro Albizu Campos and his commitment to Puerto Rican independence, students research and share their learning about another nationalist figure from around the world. (For grades 6–12)
- May 14: Star Wars creator George Lucas was born in 1944. Students use the Hero’s Journey interactive to describe how Luke Skywalker meets each stage of his journey, and then brainstorm other works that use the formula. (For grades 7–12)
- Look ahead to next week for lesson plans and activities on the first Academy Awards ceremony, Raymond Carver, Malcolm X, and Charles Lindbergh.
Connecting with Other Teachers
- Get connected! Join our group focusing on all things reading and language arts.
- The end of the school year is fast approaching. What do you do in the classroom to help students mark their accomplishments—and keep them focused on the work that remains?
- Find New Asian and Middle East Resources from NEH and new group in the Thinkfinity community for Parents & Families.
- Keep students at the center of learning by checking out the recorded sessions from the Supporting Students in a Time of Core Standards Virtual Conference Series.
If you have feedback or questions about ReadWriteThink, all you have to do is contact us.
[Photo: 29th Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival by Asian/Pacific American Heritage Festival, on Flickr]
