Social Studies--A Collection of Dates and Websites to Support Special Days

August

September

Ramadan (August 22 - Sept. 20, 2009)

Labor Day (1st Monday in September)

Grandparents' Day (Sept. 13, 2009)
Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)

• Lesson plan from Education World
• Celebrating Hispanic Heritage
• Hispanic Heritage Month from FactMonster
• National Hispanic Heritage Month from Evergreen State College
• Hispanic Heritage Resources for Teachers from Teacher Vision
• Legislative History of Hispanic Heritage Month
• Hispanic Heritage Month from the Smithsonian
• "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage" Article from Time for Kids
• National Hispanic Heritage Month from the Library of Congress
• Hispanic Heritage Month from National Council of La Raza
• Hispanic Biographies from Gale Group

Diez y Seis (Mexican Independence Day--Sept. 16, 1810)

Constitution Day (Constitution signed--Sept. 17, 1787)

• Region XIII resources
• Library of Congress resources
• Federal Resources for Education Excellence
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• Bill of Rights Institute
• U.S. Courts
• Constitution Center
• Constitution Day website
• Law-Related Education (go to Lesson Plans, archive, and search by September)

Celebrate Freedom Week (Week of Constitution Day)

October

Columbus Day (Oct. 13, 2008)

Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)

• Overview and biographies

Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 23-31, 2008)

November

American Indian Heritage Month

• American Indian Heritage Month from the Smithsonian

Election Day (Nov. 4, 2008--1st Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November)

Veteran's Day (Nov. 11)

Thanksgiving (Last Thursday in November)

December

December Dilemma--Publication on holiday guidelines in schools
Hannukah (Dec. 21-29, 2008)

Christmas (Dec. 25)

January

Inauguration Day (Jan. 20, 2009)

• Library of Congress Inauguration Home
• U.S. Senate Inauguration Information
• PBS Kids Information and Lesson Plan
• PBS In-Depth Coverage
• Lesson Plans from Education World
• Smithsonian Inauguration 2009 Countdown Kit
• Inauguration Lesson Plans from Penn. Dept. of Ed.
• Additional Resources and Lesson Plans
• Extensive Lesson Plans from Univ. of Virginia (Create a free log in) Lessons are in Spanish, too.
• Lesson Plans from YLI (Univ. of VA)
• PowerPoint from Sylvia Jeffries, WES
• Agenda for Inauguration
• National Public Radio "Where does the oath come from?"
• Ben's Guide for gr. 3-5 "The Oath of Office"
• Texts of the Presidents' Inaugural Addresses from Yale's Avalon Project
• Bill of Rights Lesson Plan
• Questions and Teacher Info from Sara Lucas (Primary, Intermediate, Secondary)
• Extensive Information from Fact Monster

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January)
Chinese New Year (Jan. 26, 2009)

February

Black History Month

• Famous Black Americans
• Texas Black History Preservation Project
• FactMonster: Extensive information for Black History Month
• InfoPlease: History, timelines, today's issues, holidays, awards, quizzes, etc.
• History Channel
• Biography.com
• Wikipedia: Black History Month
• BBC.com Black History Month
• Black History Month from the Smithsonian

Groundhog Day (Feb. 2)

School Counseling Week (Feb. 2-6, 2009)

Valentine's Day (Feb. 14)

President's Day (3rd Monday of February)

March

Texas Independence Day (March 2, 1836)

St. Patrick's Day (March 17)

Women's History Month

• Women's History Month from the Smithsonian

April

Easter (April 12, 2009)

Administrative Professionals Week (April 19-25, 2009)

May

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month from the Smithsonian

Teacher Appreciation Week (May 3-9, 2009)

Cinco de Mayo (May 5)

School Nurse Day (May 6, 2009)

Mother's Day (May 10, 2009)

June

July