October here is getting off to a great start. The weather is perfect: crisp, chilly mornings and bright, sunny afternoons. September was an incredibly busy month, so I have high hopes that October will also be a little slower so that we can enjoy the season.
Some highlights of October to celebrate:
October 6-12 – National Newspaper Week
Ask your local newspaper for a class set of papers one day this week. Use throughout the week to teach current events, reading skills (cause and effect, fact and opinion, finding the main idea, etc.), math (calculate prices for groceries on sale), and even for art projects!
October 16 – Dictionary Day
What better excuse to learn some fun new words!
October 18 – Boost Your Brain Day
Take some time to do some fun critical thinking activities
October 30 – Anniversary of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” Radio Broadcast
There was a short piece from this radio play in our reading textbook when I taught 5th grade. I found an audio recording of the play (not the original, but still with fantastic sound effects and voices like an old radio play would have). When I played it for my students, it always took a few minutes for them to figure out how to listen to a story without also having something to watch, but the story is so compelling that they were quickly sucked right in.
Have a great month!
