with this literary calendar for middle school and high school!
Do you think of a focus word each new year? This year, our word is preparation. We don’t mean the preparation of lesson plans – we mean the preparation for fun! How many times have we been halfway through the day only to read a social media post that it is National Hot Chocolate Day or some other special day? We’ve missed a perfect reason to treat students to a story and a cup of cocoa! (And believe me, even the older students love this!)
So here we are, already checking off one of our resolutions by preparing a literary calendar for middle school and high school!
January Literary Calendar
Here are some January dates to check out! For a complete list, keep scrolling for the download.
Month Celebrations
National Braille Literacy Month Have students research this form of communication and point out Braille on your campus. To expand on this, check your campus for Braille print! Be sure to check room number signs!
National Book Blitz Month How many books can you introduce your students to this month?
Week Celebrations
Universal Letter Writing Week (Week of 1/8) This is a great week to write a letter (or an email) to an author! Use this opportunity to talk about register, purpose, and form!
Day Celebrations
National Word Nerd Day (1/9) – What’s your favorite word? We love indubitably! Do your students have a favorite word? Start a collection!
Appreciate a Dragon Day (1/16) – Our favorite literary dragon is in the book The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (perfect for identifying plot components). What’s yours?
National Thesaurus Day (1/18) – Equip your students with a paper thesaurus or an online one, then see how many words your can find for different verbs or adjectives! Here’s a book to share, too.
National Handwriting Day (1/23) – Learn more about John Hancock and have students practice their signatures!
National Hot Chocolate Day (1/31) – We won’t miss it this year! What a perfect time to treat students to hot chocolate and a great read aloud or silent reading time! Here’s a list of cozy books to check out!
If you’d like a printable list of dates, click on the January calendar below. Tuck it into your planning book or tack it to your board so are ready for what’s coming next.
February Literary Calendar for Middle School and High School
Prepare for February, too!
Month Celebrations
National Library Lovers’ Month: Celebrate the month of library love with some swag! (And don’t sweat the apostrophe. We’ve seen it Lovers, Lover’s, and Lovers’, so you can’t go wrong!)
National African American Read-In (AARI) Month: Commemorate Black History Month by reading books by and for African Americans. Check the link for information, resources, and more! For related titles, check out Literacy with Lesley’s Stories of Black History list and her review of 13 great ones!
Week Celebrations
Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week: This week is for children of all ages, not just young ones! Check the link for celebration ideas for secondary students.
Day Celebrations
World Read Aloud Day: This is another celebration typically associated with young readers, but there is so much more! Visit the LitWorld Read Aloud page for a poem by Nikki Grimes read aloud! Celebrate with a read aloud to your class!
National Read in the Bathtub Day: Need we say more? Maybe we should make a reading display with an inflatable tub like this!
National Tell a Fairy Tale Day: Find a fairy tale your students may not have heard or find examples of references to fairy tales in other works. How many versions of Cinderella can you find – in print AND in movies?
Here’s the complete February list:
Literary Calendar for Middle School and High School – the remaining months
You can find the entire year’s literary calendar for middle school and high school in our Freebie Library! Simply subscribe below and watch for the password to access.
