March 27 to April 2 on ReadWriteThink
March 29, 2011
Hope March is heading out like a lamb for you. After all the snow and rain of the last weeks, we could all use a nice, pleasant transition into April. As you plan your classes for the last days of the month, ReadWriteThink has lesson plans and related resources to support you.
New Resources
- Help students understand the Conflict in Libya with a special collection of lesson plans and classroom resources from Thinkfinity.org.
- ReadWriteThink has a new collection of tips and activities translated in Spanish for use at home. The resources span grades K–12 and cover important literacy topics, such as “How to Help a Child Choose a Book” and “How to Be Safe Online.”
- New lesson plans:
- Designing Elements of Story in Little Blue and Little Yellow (for grades K–5)
- Literature Response in Primary Classrooms (for grades K–2)
- What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose (for grades 6–8)
- What’s the Purpose? Examining a Cold Manipulation of Language (for grades 9–12)
- Show students how and why it is important to preserve the environment with eco-friendly classroom resources from Thinkfinity.org.
- Prepare students and their families for Drop Everything and Read Day (April 12) with the new Make Time for Reading tip sheet.
From the Calendar
- March 30: Black Beauty author Anna Sewell was born in 1820. Through Sewell’s novel, explore cruelty to animals and extend the discussion to current events. (For grades 3–12)
- March 31: César Chávez was born on this day in 1927. research a civil rights leader and do a creative writing piece, followed by a short story, with their group. (For grades 7–12)
- April 1: April is National Poetry Month! Students are assigned to be “poets of the day” and are provided several models to create, illustrate, and present their different poems to the class. (For grades K–12)
- April 2: Hans Christian Andersen was born on this date in 1805. Compare one of Andersen’s stories to the original story with
the Venn Diagram tool, write fairy tale autobiographies, and explore satire with the movie Shrek. (For grades K–12)
- Look ahead to next week for literacy activities on Maya Angelou, Pocahontas, Billie Holiday, and Marian Anderson.
Connecting with Other Teachers
- Kindergarten Teacher ReGina Harvey explains how to spark imagination and engagement with fractured fairy tales in ReadWriteThink community stories.
- Take your teaching career to the next level! Watch the new ReadWriteThink ReView video to Find out how you can benefit from the outstanding professional development resources from IRA and NCTE.
- Join our Reading & Language Arts group forum in the Thinkfinity Community to exchange ideas and resources teachers across the country and around the world.
- April Fool’s Day is Friday. Share some humorous books that get kids laughing and learning in Humor and Giggles in the Classroom.
- Join the discussion on Bullying and Civic Education in the Thinkfinity Community.
- Thinkfinity is planning to invite educational figures to discussion events. Who would you like to connect with in the Thinkfinity Community?
If you have feedback or questions about ReadWriteThink, all you have to do is contact us. Have a great week!
—Traci Gardner