Boy Scouts, Daylight Savings, Chinese New Year, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Galileo, Valentine’s Day, Socrates
February 8–Boy Scouts
Incorporation of Feb. 8, 1910 on Boy Scouts of America
A Popular Mechanics article published February 6, 2019 entitled “10 Wild Things You Didn’t Know About Boy Scout History” is a delightful collection of fun facts your students will enjoy. From historical information to fun facts such as discontinued badges (No, you cannot get the Pigeon Raising Badge any longer), the article is informative and engaging
February 9–Daylight Savings
Congress instituted daylight savings time February 9, 1942.
Freetech4teachers.com features short videos about daylight savings time. There is also a link to a Ted-Ed lesson about standardization of timezones. While you are on the site, click the archives and explore some of the other topics.
February 10–Chinese New Year
February 10, 1910, was New Year’s Day in the Chinese calendar. It was the year of the Metal Dog in Chinese astrology.
The website Cantonese for Families has a blog post “Chinese New Year Cantonese Teaching Activities and Resources.” It includes songs, vocabulary, audio files for learning Cantonese greetings, crafts, and related articles about how Chinese New Year is celebrated in Hong Kong.
February 11–Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is released from prison February 11, 1990.
nea (National Education Association has a webpage of resources, “Classroom Resources for Nelson Mandela, Apartheid, and South Africa.” This includes a New York Time resources on the death of Mandela (slide show, speeches, reactions, timeline and more. (Note–may require logging in or starting a free account to access.) There is a link to the Nelson Mandela Foundation which includes video, images, speeches, and much more. Another link goes to the outstanding biographical PBS film “The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela.” You may wish to show excerpts as the full video is 1 hour 50 minutes. A viewer and teacher’s guide is also linked. There are additional Mandela and apartheid links which might be useful in your class.
February 12–Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809.
Although this lesson is correlated to common core standards for grade 5, it could be adapted to other ages with just a little tweaking. The material is provided on the website for Ford’s Theater. Scroll past the common core standards to find the complete resource download. The lesson is in three parts with lesson one involving a timeline of events and the connections between events leading to Lincoln’s assassination. Lesson two asks students to examine and analyze the John Wilkes Booth diary to determine motivation for killing Lincoln. Activity three asks students to explore primary source documents and write a letter as a 1865 fictional character. The lessons are well-defined and include objectives, guiding questions, common core standards, rubric, answer keys, graphic organizers, and more.
February 13–Galileo
Galileo is in Rome to face the Inquisition for heresy on February 13, 1633.
Ohio State University has an interactive lesson plan that will captivate your students. Studying primary sources and historical information, the students will either defend or convict Galileo as part of the Inquisition. A short-answer exam is also included.
February 14–Valentine’s Day
February 14 is Valentine’s Day with history and customs varying in different countries.
has a lesson for students to practice using poetic devices (simile, metaphor, personification, rhyme, and alliteration. Links are included to other resources.
February 15–Socrates
Socrates was sentenced to death for corrupting the nines of youth on February 15, 399BC.
Showing your students how Socrates approached questioning will both teach them about Socrates and help them understand and explore ideas in depth. Check out the pdf explaining a background on the Socratic questioning technique, tips, examples,
