This list zeros in on some key events that are celebrated in November—how many will you celebrate your classroom?
1. November is Family Literacy Month
Send a letter home to parents encouraging them to read with their child. Print a suggested book list on this reading-themed stationery, or send home reading passages for families to enjoy. In your take-home note suggest that parents, or another family member, read the passages with their child. Then, they might answer questions together to ensure the child comprehends what he or she has read. The series Comprehension Skills: 40 Short Passages for Close Reading offers grade-perfect short passages with follow-up questions—for grades 1 through 6—perfect to send home!
2. November is National American Indian Heritage Month
Celebrate with compelling projects and activities that explore the history of Native Americans. These projects can also tie into Native American Heritage Day which is celebrated on November 23rd!
3. November is National Family Stories Month
Inspire your students to research their family history. Have them interview members of their family!
PreK-1 students may enjoy filling out “People in My Family” or completing “Family Fun”:
Students in grades 4 and up may practice narrative writing while learning about their family history. This “Writing Stationery” is the perfect place for students to write out their family history.
Once students have recorded their family history have them share some of their favorite stories!
4. November is American Diabetes Month® & National Diabetes Month; these month-long celebrations of awareness tie in with November 14th which is World Diabetes Day.
Discuss what diabetes is and help students to understand that for diabetics daily nutrition is critical. This is the perfect month to study nutrition. You may also help students learn how to practice a healthy life style with activities that promote health and fitness:
5. November 12-16 is National Young Readers Week
A wonderful week to celebrate! Take time to do some read alouds, act out plays, and give students extra time for independent reading. Let’s develop life-long readers!
For younger students, provide a variety of reading opportunities with, The Big Collection of Mini-Books for Guided Reading (75 reproducible mini-books that correlate to Guided Reading Levels A, B & C)!
You might also find some leads on compelling reads in the Teaching With Favorite Read-Alouds series. Pick one of the suggested books and spend some time reading to your students and then let them take turns reading to the class.
For older students, Read-Aloud Anthology provides 35 riveting read-alouds in a variety of formats: stories, poems, speeches, magazine articles, memoirs and more. Perfect for students in grades 5 and up!
6. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated on November 22, 1621.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill decreeing that Thanksgiving would always be held the fourth Thursday in November. In 2012, Thanksgiving will also be on November 22. Click here to find lots of ways to bring the Thanksgiving holiday into your classroom!
7. So what's there to do on the day after Thanksgiving? Well, November 23rd is Eat a Cranberry Day. This is the perfect excuse to eat up those leftovers!
Wow, November is full of celebrations. From reading to eating, to being thankful and more—there is something for everyone to enjoy in this diverse month!
