December 18 reading ideas
Finding reading ideas for this date…
Finding reading ideas for this date…
Read about baking, astronaut twins, and a fictional child’s arrival at Ellis Island. Compare how each author uses details to explain an experience.
Special date
Bake Cookies Day is an informal December 18 occasion. Compare an argument about cookie choices with the history of gingerbread, then follow a paper-puppet procedure inspired by its shape.
10 reading resources
Use Food History Reading Passages as related background or for comparison.
Open collectionUse Cooking & Recipes Reading Passages as related background or for comparison.
Open collectionUse The Surprising Origin of the Fortune Cookie as related background or for comparison.
Read passageUse Leo and the Cookie as related background or for comparison.
Read passageUse The Peppery Cookie Surprise as related background or for comparison.
Read passageFind reasons and evidence in an argument about Christmas cookies.
Read passageTrace the history of gingerbread and identify how spiced baking became a tradition.
Read passageFollow a paper gingerbread-puppet procedure as a craft-reading activity.
Read passageRead and sequence a cookie recipe, noticing ingredients, actions, and the order of steps.
Read passageSpecial date
National Twin Day is an informal December 18 observance. Read about astronaut twins Scott and Mark Kelly and the limited comparison offered by NASA’s Twins Study.
2 reading resources
Compare the twins’ roles in NASA’s study and identify what a study of one astronaut in low Earth orbit can—and cannot—show.
Read passageSpecial date
Read a fictional account of a child arriving through Ellis Island in 1910. Discuss what the story shows about one migrant’s experience.
Read a fictional account of a child arriving through Ellis Island in 1910. Discuss what the story shows about one migrant’s experience.
Read passageMore 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 baking, astronaut twins, and a fictional child’s arrival at Ellis Island. Compare how each author uses details to explain an experience.
