The first couple of weeks of March are very important in the world of literacy. During the first week, from Monday to Friday, March 1-5, we celebrate Newspapers in Education, and Teen Tech Weeks. Read an Ebook and Words Matter Week start on March 7.
National Newspapers in Education Week is meant to inspire educators to incorporate newspapers in the classroom. Throughout the week, guides and tools are provided to help schools with new ideas each year. Students don’t have to wait for their teachers to instigate activities, though. They can sign up directly at https://www.socalnie.com/.
Literacy isn’t always about the printed word. Teen Tech Week, which are aimed at teens, parents, educators and other concerned adults, is meant to help those without access to computers and electronics that would otherwise miss opportunities to gain and obtain knowledge. Thanks to libraries and schools, teens across the country are becoming more literate in terms of technology. Although it is no longer a focus of the American Library Association (ALA) who turned their focus elsewhere with technology so available, you can still find out more about the opportunities offered at https://teentechweek.ning.com/.
Rita Toews created Reading an Ebook Week in 2004. It has become a great opportunity to start reading eBooks as thousands of publishers and authors offer their books for sale and even free. In 2004, Toews shared her history with the week. You can read it here: https://rb.gy/aojlzw.
The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) supports Words Matter Week focuses on cleaning up grammar. “Words are the basis for communication, no matter the language spoken,” according to the NAIWE website and because of that, the group offers writing contests throughout the week. Visit https://naiwe.com/wordsmatterweek/ to find out more.
Whether you are reading a newspaper, a computer or an eBook – or even an old-fashioned paperback – you can officially celebrate the first half of March with words.