Explore Topics for Kindergarten to Second Grade Class Visits
September and November: Characters and Perspectives in Literature
Description: Children explore key story elements such as characters, settings, events, and plot in addition to identifying the author, illustrator, narrator, and theme.
Activities based on the book may include: movement games tied to story elements, creating character trading cards to compare perspectives, and hands‑on problem‑solving tasks highlighting perseverance and growth mindset.
October: Government and Citizenship
Description: Students explore why communities establish rules, how individuals contribute to their neighborhoods, and why governments are needed.
Book discussions include: highlighting key text features, identifying key details, distinguishing fact from opinion, and identifying an author’s purpose in informational writing.
Activities may include: hands‑on sorting tasks, community mapping, role‑playing, and collaborative discussions about how individuals help their communities thrive.
December: Technology and Society
Description: Students explore how technology helps people solve problems, communicate, work, and create new ideas.
Book discussions include: using titles, headings, and illustrations to predict what a text will be about, identifying the topic and key details, distinguishing fact from opinion, and recognizing an author’s purpose in informational writing.
Activities may include: hands‑on sorting tasks, simple invention challenges, technology scavenger hunts, and collaborative mapping of where technology appears in students’ daily lives and communities.
January: Themes Across Cultures
Description: Students explore stories and folktales from different cultures to understand how characters learn right from wrong, how mistakes help us grow, and what lessons communities pass down through storytelling.
Book discussions include: identifying main story elements, explaining the moral or theme, and using context clues to determine who is telling the story.
Activities may include: movement-based story element games, crafts based on folktales, role playing character choices, and collaborative discussions about how stories from different cultures teach important lessons.
February: History, Culture, and Geography
Description: Students explore important people, places, and events to understand how the past influences the present, and how learning about different cultures helps shape the future.
Book discussions include: using titles, headings, and illustrations to predict topics, identifying the main idea and supporting details, distinguishing fact from opinion, and determining an author’s purpose in writing informational texts.
Activities may include: timeline building, map creation, hands on sorting tasks, and collaborative discussions about how people and events from the past continue to impact our world today.
March: Earth Science
Description: Students explore seasonal changes to understand how the natural world can influence daily life.
Book discussions include: identifying main story elements, recognizing the author and illustrator, describing settings and events, explaining the lesson or theme, and using context clues to determine who is telling the story.
Activities may include: movement-based games, nature inspired crafts, and collaborative discussions about how people respond to changes in the natural world.
Explore Topics for Third Grade to Fifth Grade Class Visits
September and November: Characters and Perspectives in Literature
Description: Students discuss how characters grow, change, respond to challenges, and explore how their actions shape stories.
Book discussions include: examining how themes develop, comparing perspectives across different characters, and evaluating how settings, conflicts, and key events influence the story.
Activities may include: character perspective swaps, artistic representation of character development, “choose your own adventure” to change the plot and theme, and collaborative tasks focused on interpreting how different viewpoints effect literature.
October: Government and Citizenship
Description: Students investigate how government functions and why civic participation matters.
Book discussions include: identifying text features, determining the central idea and supporting details, analyzing an author’s purpose, and examining claims and evidence across texts. Students evaluate how laws affect daily life, why they change over time, and how people contribute to shaping government.
Activities may include: evaluating real-world laws, a mock “council meeting” to evaluate a classroom rule, and designing government spaces for the community.
December: Technology and Society
Description: Students explore the role innovation plays in communities and examine how technology impacts work, communication, problem‑solving, and daily life.
Book discussions include: analyzing text features, identifying central ideas and key details, recognizing author’s purpose, and evaluating claims and evidence about technological advancements.
Activities may include: evaluating pros and cons of innovations and discussion on how technology shapes society.
January: Survival
Description: Students explore stories and folktales from different cultures to understand universal themes such as perseverance, survival, wisdom, and problem solving.
Book discussions include: analyzing character development, identifying themes, comparing perspectives across characters and cultures, and evaluating how settings, cultural elements, conflicts, and events shape the plot.
Activities may include: games related to hurricane preparedness, problem solving puzzles, and “choose your own adventure” style survival games.
February: History, Culture, and Geography
Description: Students explore communities from past and present, investigate how societies evolve, and analyze how conflict influences culture and historical change.
Book discussions include: interpreting text features, identifying central ideas and relevant details, evaluating author’s purpose, and analyzing claims and evidence. Students compare historical and modern communities, learn how geographical features shape societies, and examine how major events, such as the American Revolution and Transcontinental Railroad, change communities over time.
Activities may include: puzzles using morse code and other ciphers, strategy games related to railroad construction across the country, primary source puzzles, and an American Revolution themed “escape room.”
March: Earth Science
Description: Students explore how natural processes shape Earth and how people respond to environmental changes.
Book discussions include: identifying themes related to Earth’s systems, comparing character perspectives, and examining how settings, events, and conflicts related to nature drive the plot. Students learn about weather patterns, water’s role in societies, natural cycles, and human responses to environmental changes.
Activities may include: mapping water’s role in communities, a water usage game, a natural disaster card game, and water cycle puzzles.