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1. Classroom Resources | Grades   8 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 9
   Author Matt de la Peña was born today.
   Students use an essay by de la Peña as a model for writing their own literacy autobiography.
2. Classroom Resources | Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  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.
3. Classroom Resources | Grades   3 – 8  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 3
   In 1927, Joan Lowery Nixon was born.
   As a class, a genre study of mysteries takes place and a chart is made about what makes a good mystery.
4. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  August 29
   Karen Hesse, author of the Newbery-winning verse novel Out of the Dust, was born in 1952.
   Students write original short works of historical fiction in verse format, modeling the style Hesse used to write Out of the Dust.
5. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 1
   Langston Hughes was born in 1902.
   Students examine the poem "Dreams" and identify metaphors in each sentence. Groups of students then compose poems with metaphors for dreams.
6. Classroom Resources | Grades   3 – 8  |  Calendar Activity  |  November 18
   Mickey Mouse appeared in his first animated feature.
   Students create a short, humorous story with at least one action character, and then use online tools to make a flipbook.
7. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  January 29
   Poe's "The Raven" was published in 1845.
   As Poe's "The Raven" is read aloud, students note their reactions and discuss the changes or development of their first impressions as the poem continues.
8. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  May 18
   Raymond Carver was inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1988.
   Students identify characteristics of Carver's work and compare them to other authors, as well as to literary minimalism. Students then write original poems or short stories in minimalist style.
9. Classroom Resources | Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  May 31
   Time Magazine launches its "Tom Swifty" contest today in 1963.
   Students have fun with language by creating a special kind of pun with its origin in a literary source.
10. Classroom Resources | Grades   3 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  June 18
    Today is Chris Van Allsburg's birthday.
    Students explore varying points of view, one of Van Allsburg's common themes, by rewriting a traditional story.

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