The notebook collects what we write for reading and writing at home or in the classroom: how to build a story, spelling rules explained with examples, and traditions such as Halloween and the Day of the Dead. To start with stories, see how to make a story.
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C, k or ck? The spelling rule, with Halloween words
When /k/ is spelled c, k or ck, explained for grades 1 to 3 with Halloween words like cauldron, skeleton and broomstick.…
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The legend of the jack-o’-lantern, and where it really comes from
The legend of Stingy Jack, told to read aloud, and the history behind it: the word, the oldest version (1894), the turnips…
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Halloween pumpkins come from Mexico
The Halloween pumpkin was domesticated in Oaxaca, Mexico, about 10,000 years ago. Its trip around the world, the milpa, record giants and…
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Calaveras literarias: what they are, examples and how to write one
What a calavera literaria is, where it comes from and how to write one in four steps, with examples in Spanish and…
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Sugar skulls: where they come from, what they mean and how to make them
From the sugar figures a friar saw in 1760s Mexico City to the skull with your name on it: the history of…
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La Catrina: who created her, who named her and what she means
La Catrina began as a bodiless skull in a hat, in a 1913 print by Posada. Who named her, who gave her…
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Halloween vs. Day of the Dead: how they’re alike and how they differ
Same week, both about death, very different nights. Where each holiday comes from, what it celebrates, a comparison table and a Venn…
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Why is the Day of the Dead on November 1 and 2?
Halloween, Día de Muertos, Andean Todos Santos and Poland’s candlelit graves share dates for one reason: a calendar of popes and monks.
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Why are there scarecrows at Halloween?
From the field to the front porch: where the Halloween scarecrow comes from, what’s repeated about it without evidence, and how to…
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How Halloween came to North America, layer by layer
Scottish kale, Sleepy Hollow pumpkins, a billion postcards, a Canadian phrase and a Mexican skull: how Halloween was assembled in about a…
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Where did Halloween come from? Origins and myths
Samhain, All Saints, turnips, Stingy Jack and trick-or-treat: where Halloween really comes from, what’s documented and what’s just repeated, with sources.
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Until what age to read aloud: there is a number
Until seventh or eighth grade, and there is a reason: all through elementary school, what they can read is capped by what…