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1. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  July 16
   African American journalist Ida B. Wells was born in 1862.
   Students brainstorm a list of human rights issues, research their group's issue in depth, examine the way journalists cover a story, and create articles for a classroom newspaper.
2. Classroom Resources | Grades   7 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  March 6
   Author Gabriel García Márquez was born on this day.
   Students take place in a collaborative creative writing activity to begin to understand the hallmarks of the literary style known as magical realism.
3. Classroom Resources | Grades   K – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  March 11
   Ezra Jack Keats was born on this day in 1916.
   In celebration of Keats' birthday, students write stories that include some characters from Keats' books and practice using collage techniques with the Collage Machine.
4. Classroom Resources | Grades   1 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  July 12
   Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817.
   Students make mental "snapshots" of a natural setting, then capture the details of their setting by writing and then creating a class booklet of the nature walk.
5. Classroom Resources | Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  November 8
   In 1847, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula was born.
   Students brainstorm the superstitions they know and small groups research one of the superstitions to determine its origin and meaning or purpose. Students can write about the superstition using the Mystery Cube interactive.
6. 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.
7. Classroom Resources | Grades   5 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  April 11
   Sharon Draper was born on this day in 1952.
   Students read a book from one of Draper's trilogies and then meet to discuss their book with students have read the other two books.
   
8. 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.
9. Classroom Resources | Grades   3 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  March 5
   Today is Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko's birthday.
   Students revive elements of the oral tradition by writing about something funny that happened to them recently, sharing with classmates, and discussing the changes that occur during the retelling of the stories.