MINIPAGE TEACHER'S GUIDE

MiniPage Teacher's Guide
MiniPage activities meet many state and national educational standards. This week's standard: Students understand people and events honored in commemorative holidays. (History)
Activities:
1. Mark the birthdays of three family members or friends on the MiniPage calendar. Now make birthday cards for each person, but include something from a special celebration of that month on your card. (For example, if a friend has a birthday in May, you could include a bicycle on the card because May is National Bike Month.)
2. Look at the special celebrations for the month in which your birthday occurs. Make a birthday month collage by cutting out pictures and words from the newspaper that show that month's celebrations.
3. What are the people or events that are celebrated on the calendar: (a) individuals in history, (b) ethnic or cultural groups, (c) foods, (d) nature, and (e) reading or writing?
4. Look at all the different types of celebrations and recognitions celebrated on the calendar. Write a paragraph discussing what those different recognitions say about our country and culture. Who and what do we value? Why do we value those people and events?
5. Select a day or month that celebrates a particular group of people, such as women, laborers or veterans. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about that group and why it is celebrated. Use these questions to guide your research: When was the day/month first celebrated? Why was that particular group selected? Who are some famous individuals connected to the celebration? What special events take place in recognition of the celebration? What does your community do to recognize that day/month? What special event would you plan for that celebration?