Name January Calendar: free-time activities January Free Time MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY CHOCOLATE SYRUP There are lots of fun food combinations, such as vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup or chocolate and peanut butter. What is your favorite food combination? Jacob Grimm, one of the brothers Grimm, was born on January 4, 1785. Create your own fairy tale using some of the Grimm brothers characters, such as Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin. The Hobbit Tolkien Once upon a time J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit, was born on January 3, 1892. Make a list of your favorite fantasy authors and their books. The first commemorative stamps were issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1893. Design your own stamp to commemorate a family member or a person whom you admire. Each January, newspapers and magazines review the top news stories of the previous year. In your opinion, NEWS & RECORD what were the top five news events of last year? Pizza Week is observed during the third week of January. List your favorite pizza toppings. What s the most unusual pizza topping you ve ever eaten? Ray Bolger, the actor who played Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz, was born on January 10, 1904. Draw a picture of your favorite character from Oz. Many authors use a pen name instead of their own name when publishing a book. For example, Lewis Carroll is the pen name for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, author of Alice s Adventures In Wonderland. Create your own pen name. Rock n roll singer Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. Who is your favorite rock singer/ group? List the titles of your favorite rock songs. Some countries have no paper money, only coins. Pretend that the United States has converted all its paper money to coins. Design a coin for 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollars. January 15 is National Compliment Day. In honor of this day, compliment at least three people. NOTHING NATIONAL January 16 is National Nothing Day. List ways you can celebrate this unusual holiday. D AY?! The adventure character Tarzan first appeared in newspapers in 1929. Draw a picture of your favorite adventure character. My, you look nice today! In 1914 Henry Ford, the automobile manufacturer, adopted a minimum wage of $5.00 a day for his workers. Research to find out what the minimum wage is today. In 1942 Pan American Airlines achieved the first around-the-world commercial flight. If you could fly anyplace in the world, where would you go and why? Answer Your Cat s Question Day is observed on January 22. If your pet could talk, what do you think it would say to you? CALIFORNIA Gold was found in California on January 24, 1848. The secret of this discovery leaked out to the public and the gold rush began. Have you ever told a secret? What were the consequences of telling it? National Popcorn Day is observed in January. Today popcorn comes in a variety of flavors. Write a letter to a major popcorn manufacturer suggesting a new flavor. How about a little grilled tuna for dinner tonight? January 21 is National Hugging Day. In honor of this occasion, give at least three people a big hug. Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706. Research to find out about at least two of Ben s inventions. Note To The Teacher: Have each student staple a copy of this page in a file folder. Direct students to store their completed work inside their folders.
Name January Events: family activities JANUARY Events And Activities For The Family Directions: Select at least one activity below to complete as a family by the end of January. (Challenge: See if your family can complete all three activities.) Soup s On! Nothing s better than a warm cup of soup on a cold January day. Maybe that s why January is National Soup Month. Local shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries often experience a shortage of canned goods during the winter months. Help your family observe National Soup Month by collecting cans of soup during the entire month. Then, as a family, deliver the canned goods to the various organizations mentioned above. You and your family will enjoy the feeling of helping others in need in your community! SOUP Winter Exercise Basketball was designed as a sport that could be played during winter and on rainy days. It got its name because the goal was to throw a ball into a peach basket hung on a wall. Early basketball, unlike the modern version, was quite slow. Each time the ball landed in the basket, a player had to climb a ladder and remove it. What are some ways your family can experience fast-paced exercise during the winter? List suggestions for increasing aerobic activity when the weather doesn t cooperate. Then organize a family exercise program for the month of January. Keep a chart of each day your family exercises and the type of exercise performed. Report back to the class at the end of the month with the progress of your family s exercise program. Secret Pal Day Show family members just how special they are by observing Secret Pal Day, the second Sunday in January. This is a day for secret pals to remember and do something special for each other. Put each family member s name in a container and have each person draw one name (secret pal) from it. Then, instead of buying gifts for his/her pal, encourage each family member to do special deeds for his/her pal throughout the week. At the end of the week, have secret pals reveal themselves to one another. 4 Note To The Teacher: Distribute one copy of this page to each student at the beginning of the month. Encourage each family to complete at least one activity by the end of January.
Start the new year off by celebrating Read A New Book Month. Introduce your students to eight genres of literature with the following reproducible activities. The Awesome Eight Introduce your students to the Awesome Eight eight genres of literature (humor, biography, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, and mystery) with the following independent reading incentive program. At the beginning of the month, give each student one copy of pages 6 and 7. Introduce each literature genre by reading its description on page 6. Tell your students that each type of book has something special to offer. Then have students brainstorm a list of books for each genre (see list below). Read over the directions for completing the Treasure Trove Of New Books activity on page 7. Have students look for appropriate books in your school s library. Instruct each student to post page 7 on his refrigerator at home. Then tell him to fill in each space on his treasure trove book map with the appropriate color each time he reads a different type of book. When a student has completed his map, have him return it to you in exchange for a special reward foil-covered chocolate coins and a certificate of completion. Bookmark Collectables Students love to collect just about anything! Capitalize on this craze and enhance your reading incentive program with the bookmark patterns on page 12. Duplicate a class supply of the bookmarks. Punch a hole at the end of each bookmark and add a yarn tassel. When a student finishes reading a book from a particular genre, award him the appropriate bookmark. Encourage students to collect at least one of each type of bookmark. Award the door hanger (pattern on page 12) I m A to any student who collects Champion all eight bookmarks. Reader! 1 # Realistic Fiction Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Strider by Beverly Cleary Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech Historical Fiction Lyddie by Katherine Paterson The Midwife s Apprentice by Karen Cushman Number The Stars by Lois Lowry Under The Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury Fantasy The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl Pigs Might Fly by Dick King-Smith Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt Science Fiction Aliens Stole My Body by Bruce Coville My Trip To Alpha I by Alfred Slote Stinker From Space by Pamela F. Service Top Secret by John Reynolds Gardiner Mystery The Doll House Murders by Betty Ren Wright The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder The Ghost Wore Grey by Bruce Coville Incognito Mosquito, Private Insective by E. A. Hass Biography Boy: Tales Of Childhood by Roald Dahl The Double Life Of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz Helen Keller s Teacher by Margaret Davidson Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman Humor How To Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell Matilda by Roald Dahl Skinnybones by Barbara Parks Soup by Robert Newton Peck Poetry At The Crack Of The Bat by Lillian Morrison Bone Poems by Jeff Moss The Dragons Are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky Out Of The Blue: Poems About Color by Hiawyn Oram
Name Biography A biography tells about a real person. When a person writes his or her own biography, it is called an autobiography. Realistic Fiction Realistic fiction takes place in modern times and presents fictional characters who behave in realistic ways. Read A New Book Month: literature genres Historical Fiction Science Fiction Science fiction is set in the near or distant future. The events in science fiction might happen and are usually based on scientific facts. The characters are fictional but act in ways that make sense from a scientific point of view. Historical fiction takes places in a definite period in history and may contain either all fictional characters or a mixture of fictional and real characters. The characters are involved in a conflict or dilemma realistic for that period in time. Poetry Through meaning, sound, and rhythm, poetry expresses feelings and emotions about different topics, issues, places, people, and events. Humor Humor books can contain elements of realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and even science fiction. What makes this type of book different is that it makes you laugh. Pure fun is the purpose of a humor book. Fantasy The events of a fantasy could not happen. The characters are fictional and use magic or other mystical means to solve a problem. Fairies, animals that talk, people who shrink, and many other fantastic characters and events are often found in a fantasy. Mystery In a mystery, all the characters are involved in the puzzle or problem to solve. A mystery contains a series of clues that might help the reader solve the mystery. The setting of a mystery is realistic, and the story ends with a believable solution to the mystery. 6 Note To The Teacher: Use with The Awesome Eight on page 5 and Treasure Trove Of New Books on page 7.
Name Read A New Book Month: independent reading log Treasure Trove Of New Books Follow the directions below to find the hidden treasure. Arrr... Shiver me timbers! Book Map Key Directions: 1. Color each type of book in the map key below a different color. 2. Read a book from one of the categories in the map key. 3. When you finish reading the book, write the title and author on the next step of the path on the map. Then color the step the correct color from your map key. 4. You cannot record two books of the same type in a row on your map. For example, you could record a mystery and then realistic fiction, but you could not record a mystery and then another mystery. 5. Read another book and continue the process until you ve read at least one book from each category in the map key. 6. You ve discovered the treasure when you ve filled in all the steps on your map. 7. Return the completed map to your teacher for a special reward! Biography Historical Fiction Science Fiction Mystery Realistic Fiction Fantasy Humor Poetry Note To The Teacher: Use with The Awesome Eight on page 5 and the genre descriptions on page 6. 7