Welcome to a new “Off the Shelf” blog post highlighting important key dates, ideas, and activities for April that you can incorporate into your library lesson plans or classroom activities. My goal is to help you stay organized and inspired as you plan your month, making it simpler to bring exciting and meaningful activities to your students. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas or resources to save you time, I hope these posts help make your planning process smoother and more enjoyable.

Key Dates, Ideas, and Activities for April:

April 1 = April Fool’s Day
April 2 = Children’s Book Day
April 4 = School Library Day
April 7 = Beaver Day and World Health Day
          *Explore beavers using books and/or databases.  Then have kids use this Fast Facts to organize their learning.
April 8 = Zoo Lovers Day and National Library Workers Day
          *Explore zoo animals through books and/or databases. Then have kids use this Mystery Animal Game to share their learning.
April 9 = Education and Sharing Day, First Public Library Opened in 1833
*Take your kids to the nearest public library and help them fill out a library card.
April 10 = National Bookmobile Day, Sibling Day, Encourage Young Writer Day 
*Read books like Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile. Have students design their own bookmobile.
April 12 = Passover
April 14 = National Dolphin Day
          *Learn about dolphins using books and/or databases.  
April 15 = Jackie Robinson Day
          *Research Holi traditions. Have your own color explosion celebration.
April 16 = Save the Elephant Day
April 17 = Haiku Poetry Day
          *Research St. Patrick’s Day. Have your students create their own Kindness Leprechauns and hide them around school.
April 20 = Easter
April 21 = Kindergarten Day
April 22 = Earth Day
          *Explore poetry. Let students write their own poems and have a Poetry Slam! (Check out my post about Poetry Anchor Charts!)
April 23 = Talk Like Shakespeare Day
April 25 = World Penguin Day
          *Ohhh a opportunity to research types of dogs.  Vote for which dog breed is the best!
April 26 = Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
          *Let students create their own holiday poster.  Vote for which holiday should get a special celebration day at school.
April 27 = Babe Ruth Day
April 28 = Poetry Reading Day and Arbor Day
          *Pull out books to read and learn about Eid al-Fitr and Cesar Chavez.

Activities For April:  

These bookmarks have been a lifesaver for me this year in the library! After students check out their books, they choose one of the bookmarks to color. This gives them a fun, new bookmark each time they visit the library, but it also gives them something to do while they wait for others to finish finding their books.

Activity Link: TpT Store

Do you teach poetry to multiple grade levels? Do you want an anchor chart that you can use with each grade level…one that can “grow” with them? Then I have just the thing for you! The Poet-tree!

This anchor chart can be used to introduce and review concepts in poetry from Kinder through 5th grade. I’ve included multiple versions to help this work for you.

Activity Link: TpT Store or LessonsBySandy

Poetry has many tools and devices that is part of the curriculum for Kinder through 5th grade.  I wanted to create a fun way to introduce key concepts and vocabulary terms to each grade level, while at the same time building upon skills from one grade level to the next.  There are 3 main sections (Kinder & 1st grade, 2nd and 3rd grade, and 4th and 5th grade).  Each section contains vocabulary terms, definitions, and examples that I wrote to model each term. At the end, there is a “Show What You Know” quick review quiz that you can do immediately afterwards with your kids.

Activity Link: TpT Store or LessonsBySandy