Special days — from Dot Day to Valentine’s, are a great opportunity to spice up your curriculum and engage your students. See some cool examples below and get inspiration for the holidays from our favorite educators.
Use special days to jazz up your calendar
Dot Day 2017
by Roland Rois, Director of Technology, Ft. Sam Houston ISD, @drrjrios & Jeannine Freeman, District Instructional Technology Specialist, Ft. Sam Houston ISD, @TechTimeWithJ9
What we love about this newsletter: This newsletter is a great example of using a lesser-known day as a theme for special activities. Having special days and events helps break up routine and gives students a chance to try new skills. The newsletter is very theme-focused with the spotty background, complemented by the simple beige overlay.
Tips from Roland:
What are your tips for creating a Smore newsletter about special days?
When creating Smore for special days think like a “viewer.” That is, if I went to this Smore what would I want? Do I need links to other resources? Do I need videos? Do I need pics? Smore offers it all! So include as much as you can. And never be afraid to go back and add more after the fact. People will access your Smore long after your special day.
What tips would you give our user community for creating great newsletters for students, parents and colleagues?
My advice for users is to have fun with it! Smore gives you the ability to easily create stunning web pages with lots of great graphics and interactivity. Make it fun and liven up your Smores with cool pics, videos, sounds, links, etc. And, share this incredible resource with your students! They can use Smores for projects, special events, and more. Our students love it!
See Roland & Jeannie’s flyer here
Refocus special days to discuss important issues
Be My Valentine
by Tracy McMeans, Highschool Counselor at Stamford High School @mcmeanst
What we love about this newsletter: What a great use of special days for important conversations! Take a simple theme like love to discuss hate, bullying and abuse — help kids connect these topics and have a real understanding of such crucial issues.
Channel curiosity into learning
Solar Eclipse Day
by Diana Bush, 5th Grade Teacher at Holston View Elementary School
What we love about this newsletter: Definitely one of the prettiest Smore newsletters we’ve seen, this one really catches your eye and entices you to learn about eclipses. It’s not every day (or year) you see a solar eclipse, so students (and adults) are interested in understanding what’s up. This gorgeous newsletter feeds curiosity and explains how eclipses come to be.
Use special days as a theme for your class
St. Patrick’s Day Science
by Laura Riley, Instructional Coach at Westmont Junior High School @lauramriley60
What we love about this newsletter: Using a special day as a way to make classwork a little more interesting is a great way to engage students especially if your main focus is green science experiments for St. Patrick’s day.
Lay out a full week of small activities
Red Ribbon Week
by Rebecca Bostic, 2nd Grade Teacher at Turner/Bartels K-8 @QueenBostic7
What we love about this newsletter: Red ribbon week is about drug awareness, with a growing tradition of observing it with special clothes, beyond just red ribbons, to make the observance obvious around campus, even without special events. This newsletter is a great example for introducing a theme-packed week with bold images in an organized, clear way.
Give students tools to create their own content
National History Day
by DeAnna Jackson Stalnaker, librarian at Chesapeake Bay Middle School
What we love about this newsletter: National history day could be a topic for a boring lecture, or you could send your students on a hunt for information about a topic of their choice and make it a day (and topic) they’ll remember. This newsletter is full of history related resources that can help students find all the information they need while introducing them to useful historical archives.
Observe awareness days
Children’s Grief Awareness Day
by Danielle Audet, School Counselor at Corry High School
What we love about this newsletter: Observing awareness days is a great way to create conversations about the challenges people around us face. Host an event, ask students to wear a certain color in solidarity and create a Smore newsletter to spread the word.
