August reading calendar
Plan August reading with engaging topics, meaningful dates, and conversations to carry into the classroom.
Finding reading ideas for this month…
Plan August reading with engaging topics, meaningful dates, and conversations to carry into the classroom.
Finding reading ideas for this month…
Ease into August reading with short passages about inventions, space, and music. Use them for late-summer reading or the first days of class.
August 2, 2027
2027 total solar eclipse
View August 2 reading →
August 5, 2027
Cleveland electric traffic signal tested/installed (1914)
View August 5 reading →
August 6, 2027
Curiosity landing local date in Eastern US (same event as Aug 5 Pacific)
View August 6 reading →
August 11, 2027
Bronx hip-hop party anniversary (1973)
View August 11 reading →
August 21, 2027
National Honey Bee Day
View August 21 reading →
Collections, themes, and maps to explore with your students.
August can feel like summer in one household and back-to-school season in another. Start with a reading routine that works in either setting. Choose a short passage, ask a question everyone can answer from the text, and give readers time to share a detail. The calendar offers several topics without requiring the whole group to start with the same passage.
Open the August 5 readings for the electric traffic signal. Have readers draw two boxes for the problem and the design. Ask them to use a line from the text to explain how the invention was meant to change what happened on the street.
Use the August 6 readings about Curiosity to ask what evidence a rover can collect. Then find the solar eclipse card in Dates to explore for the selected year and compare what readers can learn from an observation made from Earth.
Try the August 11 hip-hop readings to talk about how people make and share music. Give students a chance to choose a different August topic and explain what drew them to it. Use what you hear to plan the next read-aloud, or send families to the Summer Reading collection for another choice.
Try a brief read-aloud, a partner reading, and an independent choice over several days. Ask readers which format helped them notice more about the passage and why. Their answers can help you decide when to offer a shared text and when to give students several readings on the same subject.
