Dear Teachers,

Hello from our office in New York City, where we’re feeling so much of the anxiety and uncertainty that I am sure you are experiencing in your own community. The news about COVID-19 is dizzying. And as schools around the country close, the Action team can’t stop thinking about our teachers (and their students!) and how we can support them during this difficult time. Here are a few ways we can help—I sincerely wish we could do more.

Encourage students to use Action at home. If your school is closed, make sure your students and their parents have their classroom password, which you can find here:

This password is all they need to read articles, listen to authors read aloud, and watch videos at Action Online.

Check out our free Learn at Home hub, which includes several great learning journeys across the content areas. There is currently a week’s worth of material, and we’ll be adding more in the coming days.

Find clear and age-appropriate answers to questions about COVID-19 at this site, created by our editors.

Engage and uplift your students with especially inspiring and fun articles from our Action archives. I highly recommend:

• “Amira’s Song”, a short story by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• “The Power of Stink”, a quick text about animal odors
• “How the Wolf Became the Dog”, a fascinating pairing about our favorite furry friends
• “What’s Worth More?”, a fun pairing about the surprising value of unusual stuff
• “Why Is This Pig at the Airport?”, a cute short text about therapy animals
• “The History of Rock/The History of Rap”, two super-engaging texts about the origins of our favorite music
• “The Wild Life of Christian the Lion”, the heartwarming story of a lion and the men who rescued him
• “Who Owns a Monkey’s Selfie?”, a surprising short text about a selfie-snapping monkey
• “The Mystery of the Stolen Bugs”, two texts about the weirdest things people steal
• “The Greatest Invention Ever”, an eye-opening short text about...the toilet!
• “They All Failed!/How to Fail Up”, an inspiring pairing about the value of failure, featuring wisdom from your students’ favorite celebs

Please email me at ktranell@scholastic.com and let me know how your school has been affected and what we can do to support you. As always, we’re standing by to help!

Warmly,

Kim Tranell, Editorial Director