In this reading challenge with included articles written and leveled for grades 3–5, students will find themselves whisked away on a reading adventure through four nonfiction Short Stacks all about the history of written communication.
All challenge materials are available to download here.
Student Articles
- The Alphabet's Ancient Origins (1010L)
- This story dives into the earliest known alphabets, including hieroglyphics and cuneiform, and how they spread and transformed into the many different alphabets used around the world today.
- Sensational Symbols (1080L)
- Written communication doesn't necessarily always use an alphabet, though! This short story explores how humans have used symbols to communicate, from Ice Age cave paintings to today's emojis.
- By the Book(1060L)
- In this story, students learn about early versions of books, like the codex, and the materials used before paper was invented, like stone, papyrus, and animal skins. Readers also imagine the future of books.
- It's a Secret (1020L)
- This story peeks back at the methods humans throughout the ages have used to keep messages secret. It discusses ciphers, codes, invisible ink, smoke signals, and more fun ways to send secret messages.
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