National Grandparents Day, first proposed in 1970, was officially proclaimed in 1978. This holiday occurs the first Sunday after Labor Day, and is intended not only to honor grandparents, but to remind young people of the “strength, information and guidance older people can offer.” What an appropriate topic to start off the school year!
Help students learn about their personal and community histories through interviews with their grandparents or other elderly community members. See the ReadWriteThink video “Helping a Teen Plan and Conduct an Interview” for tips and suggestions. Students can use what they learn to create a presentation honoring the person they interviewed. Presentation ideas include:
- Writing acrostic or biographical poems about their grandparents. See the ReadWriteThink lesson plan “Acrostic Poems: All About Me and My Favorite Things” for additional resources on writing personal poems or use the Acrostic Poems online publishing tools.
- Working with a grandparent to create a scrapbook of their family/community history.
- Collaborating with older family members to create a family tree.
How else can families and older generations be incorporated into the classroom?