• Find time for your reading life! Pick a cozy spot and read, read, read!

• Read a fiction text of your choice. Then, write to a friend, the author, or one of the characters in the book. Tell them what you liked about the book and what you would change.

• Read a fiction text of your choice. Then write to yourself from the perspective of one of the characters in the book. What would the character say to you? What would the character want you to know?

• Sketch a picture of a character in a book you have read. Next, think about the character traits of that character. Choose five adjectives that describe the character. Then, find text evidence in your book of examples of the character displaying that trait.

• Read a book or article of your choice. Then discuss with a friend or family member what makes the text confusing. Find a solution to your problem. How will you tackle the text when you are confused? What reading strategies will you use?

• Write a review of a movie that is based on a story. Be sure to include the plot (character, setting, problem, solution) and why you would recommend it! You might even add illustrations.

• Research your favorite author. Create a KWL chart before your research begins. K- what do you already know about the author? W- What do you want to learn about the author? After researching, complete the L- what have you learned about the author. Then write a letter to the author!

• After reading a fiction text, decide which character you would want as your friend. Write about why you would want them as your friend. Does this character remind you of someone you already know? How?

• Keep a journal or diary of all the texts you have read or heard. Include the title, author, illustrator, a brief summary of the text, any personal connections made, connections to other texts, and draw an illustration to support the text.

• Reflect on a story you have heard or read. Now think about the main character. How would the text change if the character were a different age or gender?

• Think about different characters from books you have read. Which character has interested you the most? Write a biography of the character.

• Think about a fiction book you have read or heard. What would happen to the plot of the story if the character made a different decision?

• Pick the most important line from a text, then write about why that particular line is important. Justify your selection with evidence from the text.

• Using a notecard or small half sheet of paper, summarize what happened on one side. On the other side, write an analysis of why those events were important.

• Read an article from a newspaper or magazine, then write a short jot (thinking note) as to why the article interests you. Then write about what you learned.

• Read an article or nonfiction text. Write a short response as to the author’s purpose for writing this text.

• Review an advertisement through the mail, an email, online, in a magazine, or newspaper. Write a short description of the advertisement and the author’s purpose for writing it. Be sure to notice the font and images used.

• Create your own advertisement for your favorite restaurant, candy, or snack.

• As you are reading a book, use sticky notes or paper to jot down key elements of the story. After reading, review your notes/jots and discuss your thinking with a family member or friend.

• Ask a family member if you can interview them. Find out what year they were born and what city they were born in. Then, research what events happened in their birth city during their birth year. Write a summary of your findings.

• Think back to your first day of school this year. Write a reflection essay about how you felt that day.

• Write a letter to your teacher describing your favorite things about their class and your least favorite things about their class. After you complete your letter, re-read your letter and look for places you can revise and edit.

• Phone a grandparent or family member, and write a reflection of your conversation, highlighting what you liked most about the chat.

• Act like a journalist and collect information from a family member about their workday. Jot down notes. Sample questions include: Where do you work? How long does your commute take? What are your hours at work? Do you have friends at work? What do you normally eat for lunch? What is your favorite part of your work day? Name five adjectives that describe your workday.

• Write a letter to your class about a fun time you all shared together in PE or Music.

• Essay Prompt: Think about all of the cool people you know and have learned about. If you could switch places with one of these people, who would it be and why?

• Shuffle a deck of cards and deal to each player or create a stack. Take turns drawing and discarding cards until the deck of cards has run out or a player collects exactly $1.00. You will need to make decisions to problem solve and think through ways to possibly create $1.00.

  • Ace = $0.01, Two= $0.02, Three= $0.03; Jack = $0.11, Queen= $0.12, King = $0.13

• Create a chart to record the number of calories contained in each food you eat at every meal (including snacks and drinks).

  • Check the label on packages, can, or bottles for the number of calories.

  • Multiply the number of calories by the number of servings you actually eat. Don’t forget the extras such as butter, salad dressing, ketchup, etc. (You can use C to stand for # of calories)

  • After recording the calories you consumed each day, find your average daily caloric intake over a seven to fourteen-day period.

  • Compare your average to the following U.S. government recommended average calorie intake amounts. (Females, ages 9-13: 1,600-2,200 calories per day and Males, ages 9-13: 1,800-2,600 calories per day)

• Try these brain teasers

  • Write a 3-digit by 1-digit multiplication problem with a product close to 1,000 and solve it.

  • Use 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to make a multiplication problem with the greatest product. Then do it again to make the smallest product. Explain how the placement of the digits impacts the product.

  • Use two different division strategies to solve 9,754 divided by 5. Label the dividend, divisor, and quotient.

  • Create some multi-step problems and use at least two operations (+, -, x, ÷) in each. Have a parent or sibling solve them.

• Locate the temperature of the first months of the current year and order them in ascending form. Create a line graph to show how temperatures have been fluctuating. Create a word problem using the data gathered about temperatures. Solve the word problem.

• Practice the multiplication facts up to 12.

(ex. 6 x 4 = __, 12 x 3 = __) and practice drawing and filling in a multiplication chart up to 12. (See chart on the left.)

• Practice telling time to the minute on an analog clock.

• Watch the local weather forecasts together and discuss predictions in the weather.

• Research how to make a rain gauge from a recycled water bottle. After several days, record the results and create a bar or line graph to represent the amounts.

• Observe, describe and draw the appearance of the Moon each night or morning.

• Ride your bike, skip a rope or bounce a ball. Talk about how force (a push or pull), motion (the change in an object’s position) and energy (what is needed to do work or cause change) work together during the activity. Where else do you see force, motion and energy in everyday life?

• The Energy Transfer Game: Walk around your house and look for different appliances and devices that change electricity into some combination of mechanical, light, thermal and sound energy. If you say, “A flashlight produces light” it is worth one point. A hair dryer produces mechanical, thermal and sound, so it is a three-pointer. Students can jot their answers and tally points on scratch paper.

• Look at some photos of yourself and talk about how you have changed over the years. Talk about traits you have inherited or share with a family member, like freckles or eye color.

• Keep a “Quarantine Calendar.” Write the date for each day you are home and draw pictures and a description of what you did to keep busy each day. You did three things? Draw and describe each! You can compare it with your classmates when you get back to school.

• Talk about our role as a citizen of America, especially at a time like now. Why is it important to do the right thing? Make a four to six panel comic strip of yourself being a good citizen

• Make a map of your house or neighborhood. Remember to make a map key or legend for your symbols.

• Draw a map of the United from memory. Label as many states, cities, landforms and bodies of water as you can remember.

• Use a map, globe or atlas and describe to someone how to use a map. Identify specific places and map tools like compass rose, key, legend or scale, and use directional terms like north, south, east and west.

• Valentine’s Day was in February, March 17th was St. Patrick’s Day and Easter falls in April this year. What is your favorite holiday or celebration? Write a paragraph or two to tell about your favorite day and how you celebrate it.

• Create a timeline for someone in your family.