Native American Day

 Education World offers 12 lessons (K-8) to help students learn about Native American history and cultures.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson209.shtml

A brief history of the quest for a day to honor American Indians.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmorigins1.html

Much of what is known by Indians and about Indians has passed from mouth to mouth - generation to generation.
http://thewildwest.org/interface/index.php?action=207

This website offers short biographies of famous Native American People.
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/famous/famous_native_americans.htm

Recycling Day

Your attitude, your actions, can make a world of difference. Let's each do our part. Grades 4-8.
http://www.americarecyclesday.org/home.html

This website includes a list of books and other resources for K-8 students that you might use to discuss recycling in the classroom.
http://illinoisrecycles.org/resources.html

At Illinois Earth 911 you will find activities and games to teach students about recycling. Elementary and middle school.
http://illinois.earth911.org/master.asp?s=kids&a=kids/kids_teens.asp

Recycling Starts With You is a recycling education program designed for grades 3-6 that focuses on math and language arts as well
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/recycling/
 

Leif Erickson Day

In 986, Norwegian-born Eirik Thorvaldsson, known as Eirik the Red, explored and colonized the southwestern part of Greenland. It was his son, Leiv Eiriksson, who became the first European to set foot on the shores of North America, and the first explorer of Norwegian extraction now accorded worldwide recognition. This is a brief biography of Leif Erickson.
http://www.mnc.net/norway/ericson.htm

General information on Vikings. It includes links to life, beliefs, travel, trade and exploration.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/vikings/index.shtml

Columbus Day

This page features educational activities related to Columbus Day. Discussion topics are suitable for students of all ages, including ESL/ELL students. Crafts and songs are geared toward young children, while language activities were designed with older children in mind. Poetry, recommended books, and links pages include something for everyone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/vikings/index.shtml

Nearly everyone knows that "Columbus sailed the ocean blue .. in fourteen hundred ninety two (1492)." The question is - Was Columbus smart about safety? Can you imagine what it would be like to live on a crowded school bus for eight long months? Columbus and his men had a little more room than that, but not much. It was an amazing adventure.
http://events.askacop.org/columbusday.html

Veteran's Day

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/faq/vetsday/vetshist.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

Pearl Harbor Veteran's Day

December 7, 1941: It was a fateful day, the start of World War II for the United States, and a turning point in our history.

Pearl Harbor, on the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii, (then a territory of the United States) was attacked by the Japanese Imperial Navy, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. The surprise attack was conceived by Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, with a striking force of 353 Japanese aircraft led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. The attack was launched from six heavy aircraft carriers accompanied by 24 supporting vessels. A separate group of submarines was to sink any American warships which escaped the Japanese carrier force. The goal: Cripple U.S. naval might in the Pacific, allowing Japan to seize control of the area.

These sites are for the upper grades. The Wordbook Online website has a 2 1/2 minute video that gives a short over view of Pearl Harbor. The Think Quest site has videos of survivors and eyewitnesses as well as a short video about Pearl Harbor. The others have general history and photos.

http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/

http://www.ccdemo.info/PearlHarbor/PearlHarborDayRemembered.html

http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Home

http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_pearlharbor.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112601/

Martin Luther King Day

'I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." August, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. in a speech to civil rights supporters at the March on Washington.

A primary teaching website with a timeline, quiz, and word search.
http://www.pocanticohills.org/taverna/98/king.htm

This site has printouts and activities that are great for elementary students.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/MLK/

This web site has general information about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the I Have a Dream text.
http://www.holidays.net/mlk/

This timeline is for upper elementary or junior high students.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/srs216.html

This web site has pictures, a biography and quotes for upper elementary and junior high students.
http://www.mlkonline.net/

This website has photos, a time line, biographical info, audio and text clips of his speeches,
Note, there is no www in front of the address. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/index.html

President's Day