United StatesThe Emotional Appeal of Children's Literature
The Need for Laughter
Children's lives are sometimes serious and dark. They need books to laugh at and characters to laugh with. Here are some good, funny books:
| The Best School Year Ever (Robinson) | Grades 4-6 |
| The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown (Byars) | Grades 5-7 |
| *Henry and Mudge and Annie's Perfect Pet (Rylant) | Grades K-2 |
| The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (Pinkwater) | Grades 3-6 |
| The Huckabuck Family and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back (Sandburg) | Grades 4-6 |
| *The Relatives Came (Rylant) | Grades K-3 |
| Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (Sachar) | Grades 4-6 |
| Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear (Namioka) | Grades K-3 |
Children may enjoy creating their own class "Laugh Book." Ask them to include riddles, jokes, reviews of funny books and quotes that make them laugh. You may want to collect this material in hard copy or have students keep an electronic book on a class computer.
* Picture books or easy readers.
Learn more about The Emotional Appeal of Children's Literature.
Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month
May is Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month! Don't overlook this opportunity to study and enjoy activities about the history and culture of Asian-Pacific American communities.
Top 10 Galleries
Explore our most popular Top 10 galleries, from Top 10 Behavior Management Tips for the Classroom and Top 10 Classroom Organization Tips from Veteran Teachers to Top 10 Free (& Cheap) Rewards for Students and Top 10 Things Every Teacher Needs in the Classroom. We'll help you get organized and prepared for every classroom situation, holiday, and more! Check out all of our galleries today.
May Calendar of Events
May is full of holidays and events that you can incorporate into your standard curriculum. Our Educators' Calendar outlines activities for each event, including: Children's Book Week (5/13-19), Biographers Day (5/16), and Memorial Day (5/27). Plus, celebrate Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month, Clean Air Month, and Physical Fitness & Sports Month all May long!
Common Core Lessons & Resources
Is your school district adopting the Common Core? Work these new standards into your curriculum with our reading, writing, speaking, social studies, and math lessons and activities. Each piece of content incorporates the Common Core State Standards into the activity or lesson.
