December 14 reading ideas
Finding reading ideas for this date…
Finding reading ideas for this date…
December 14 connects Monkey Day, Alabama’s 1819 statehood anniversary, and the 1911 arrival of Amundsen’s team at the South Pole. Compare stories, place-based history, and an Antarctic wildlife explanation.
Special date
Use a cultural landmark and a fictional story to explore two different ways monkeys appear in human storytelling. The Nikko shrine passage describes the symbolism of the three monkeys, while the jungle story is clearly imaginative; neither should be presented as scientific primate research.
11 reading resources
Use Animals Reading Passages as related background or for comparison.
Open collectionExplore this topic through Bobo the Singing Monkey.
Read passageExplore this topic through Max the Monkey: Jungle Detective.
Read passageUse Chimpanzee Tool Time as related background or for comparison.
Read passageLearn what the three monkey carving at Toshogu Shrine represents in the passage’s cultural context.
Read passageEnjoy a fictional macaque adventure and identify details that show the story is invented.
Read passageExplore chimpanzee behavior or an imaginative chimpanzee story as a broader primate connection. Chimpanzees are apes.
Read passageExplore chimpanzee behavior or an imaginative chimpanzee story as a broader primate connection. Chimpanzees are apes.
Read passageExplore chimpanzee behavior or an imaginative chimpanzee story as a broader primate connection. Chimpanzees are apes.
Read passageExplore chimpanzee behavior or an imaginative chimpanzee story as a broader primate connection. Chimpanzees are apes.
Read passageSpecial date
Alabama became a state on December 14, 1819. Locate it on a map and explore part of its later history through a Rosa Parks biography.
6 reading resources
Explore this topic through Alabama's Elegant Emblem: The Story of the Camellia.
Read passageExplore this topic through The Story Behind the Alabama State Flag.
Read passageExplore this topic through Alabama's Magnificent State Mammal: The Black Bear.
Read passageUse the Montgomery setting of a Parks biography to connect Alabama’s geography with later civil-rights history.
Read passageMeet Alabama’s yellowhammer and connect a state symbol with the statehood anniversary.
Read passageOn this date in history · 1911
Amundsen and four companions reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911. Use the anniversary to explore Antarctica’s environment through a wildlife reading. The passage describes a polar spring, rather than recounting the expedition; identify environmental details that would help someone ask questions about polar travel.
5 reading resources
Explore this topic through Arctic & Polar Regions Reading Passages.
Open collectionExplore this topic through Exploring the Southern Ocean.
Read passageUse Pip's Antarctic Dream as related background or for comparison.
Read passageExplore the Antarctic environment through a seasonal wildlife reading. Use the sourced South Pole anniversary as a date connection; the passage is not an account of Amundsen’s expedition.
Read passageAlready shown above: Wild & Zoo Animals.
More reading for this time of year, alongside today’s special dates.
6 reading resources
Christmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Explore themeChristmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Open collectionChristmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Open collectionChristmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Open collectionChristmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Open collectionChristmas reading for the December 1–25 teaching window, alongside the day’s own date-specific topics.
Open collectionYour topic. Your level.
Have another idea for today’s lesson? Let Pico create an AI-assisted passage with questions and an illustration. Choose the topic and reading level in the creator.
Read about the three monkeys at Toshogu Shrine to learn what the carving represents in its cultural context. Ask students to describe what they notice first, then use the passage to explain the meaning rather than guessing from the image alone.
Compare the monkey stories and identify details that belong to fiction. A Rosa Parks biography offers a separate historical reading: students can identify the Alabama connection and place key events in order, keeping the history distinct from the animal tales.
Amundsen’s team reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911. Read Antarctica’s Brief Awakening for environmental context: list the seasonal changes and animal adaptations it describes, then write questions about how people prepare for polar travel. Keep the reading’s wildlife explanation separate from the expedition history supplied by the date source.
Explore Chimpanzee Grooming: More Than Just Cleanliness, Amazing Chimpanzees: Our Close Relatives, Coco's Colorful Discovery, Ace Ventura, Ape Detective, Alabama. Choose a text or collection that fits your readers and the day’s topic.
