December 9 reading ideas
Finding reading ideas for this date…
Finding reading ideas for this date…
For the informal National Llama Day, study adaptations in the Andes. A holiday-card activity and a Smithsonian milestone honoring Alexander Graham Bell offer separate writing and telephone-history connections.
Special date
A simple how-to passage supports a hands-on card-making activity.
5 reading resources
Explore this topic through Christmas Reading Passages.
Open collectionExplore this topic through Christmas Arts and Crafts Reading Passages.
Open collectionFollow the instructions to plan, decorate, and assemble a holiday card while practicing sequencing.
Read passageRead a sample thank-you note to identify specific thanks before planning a holiday-card message.
Read passageSpecial date
The Smithsonian records a bust honoring Alexander Graham Bell being presented to its Board of Regents on this date.
3 reading resources
Explore this topic through Museum Projects Reading Passages.
Open collectionRead how Bell’s telephone work developed alongside other inventors’ efforts and discuss why invention stories can have complex histories.
Read passageCompare Bell’s photophone with the telephone and explain how light can carry information.
Read passageSpecial date
The informal National Llama Day on December 9 connects to a short animal report about llamas and life in the Andes.
Find details about a llama’s coat, padded feet and long neck.
Read passageMore reading for this time of year, alongside today’s special dates.
3 reading resources
Christmas 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.
On December 9, 1926, a bust honoring Alexander Graham Bell was presented to the Smithsonian Board of Regents. Read the holiday-card instructions and use the thank-you note example to plan a message for a real recipient.
Then read the telephone history for background on Bell’s work and the development of telephone communication; it does not describe the bust presentation.
For the informal National Llama Day, Llamas of the Andes gives younger readers a short factual report. Match a coat, a padded foot and a long neck with details explaining how llamas live in the Andes. Keep this animal-science activity distinct from the separate telephone-history connection.
