Discovery Education joins teachers, students, parents, and communities in celebrating reading and instilling a love for literature at all ages. Below are some of our on-demand events, literature series and resources in the Discovery Education library along with instructional ideas for use in your classroom as you celebrate Read Across America Day.
On-Demand Virtual Experiences
Read Across America Event – Live Read Aloud
Discovery Education Streaming
Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, On-Demand Archive
Join Fablevision and Discovery Education for a live read aloud of the book Going Places from award-winning author Peter Reynolds with this on-demand virtual experience.
International Dot Day Virtual Experience
Discovery Education Streaming, Social Studies Techbook
Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, On-Demand Archive
Introduces the founder of International Dot Day, Terry Shay, and explains the significance of The Dot and the scope of International Dot Day in North Tama Community School and around the world.
Shakespeare 400: Virtual Field Trip
Discovery Education Streaming
Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, On-Demand Archive
This virtual field trip witnesses a lesson in Shakespeare’s classroom as taught in the late sixteenth century, tours significant Shakespeare-related locations, including his childhood home, examines twenty-first-century methods of bringing Shakespeare’s work alive in schools, views rarely seen documents related to Shakespeare’s life held in The National Archives, and hears from actor Ian McKellen about his passion for students experiencing the power of Shakespeare on stage.
Barbara Bush Reads
Discovery Education Streaming, Social Studies Techbook
Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Video Segment
First Lady Barbara Bush reads a selection from the book “Rushmore” to a live audience.
Featured Resources
Shmoop Literature Guides and Biographies
Discovery Education Streaming
Grades 6-8, 9-12, Learning Guide
Shmoop’s learning guides are fun, rigorous learning and teaching materials that use current events and pop culture to help students see how topics, authors, and literary works are relevant today. Available guides include Frankenstein, 1984, Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, A Wrinkle in Time, and authors Harper Lee, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, and Edgar Allan Poe. Find the complete series here.
Instructional Idea: Use SOS: 25 Things You Didn’t Know to have students identify new information from the resources and in order to create a collaborative list of facts.
Great Books Series
Discovery Education Streaming, Social Studies Techbook
Grades 6-8, 9-12, Video
The Great Books series by Discovery Education features dozens of texts, including The Great Gatsby, The Jungle, Lord of the Flies, The Red Badge of Courage, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Scarlet Letter, and more. Each video explores literary themes, author’s experiences and influences, historical context, modern impact, and discusses why we study these works today. Find the complete series here.
Instructional Idea: Use SOS: Step Inside and have students consider content from multiple perspectives, such as author, historic/contemporary reader, and modern reader.
Films by Weston Woods
Discovery Education Streaming
Grades K-2, 3-5, Video
Publisher Weston Woods creates short films based on well-known books for children, including Caldecott Honor and other award-winning books and authors. Favorites include James Marshall-illustrated Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Miss Nelson Has a Field Day. Emily’s First 100 Days of School, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, Where the Wild Things Are, and so many more come to life in animated and live-action versions with read-aloud text. Find the complete series here.
Instructional Idea: Use SOS: Get a Clue and have students analyze a video and its transcript as they match context clues to content.
Celebrate Reading Content Collection
Discovery Education Streaming
Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Content Collection
Celebrate reading! Reading is a complex cognitive process in which meaning is derived from the process of decoding symbols. People read to learn language, to share ideas, and to communicate. Access to information through the written word has not always been widely spread. In the past, only a privileged few owned books, could gain admittance to libraries, or could read. Today, reading is considered a fundamental aspect of education, and public libraries make written materials available to the general population for reference or borrowing.
