December Company eighth-graders were rewarded for their "heart work" in academics and behavior on Valentine's Day. Students worked collaboratively with their PALS partner on the article of the week entitled "The History of Valentine's Day" from Newsela.

Students also completed a constructed response where they had to explain the significance of Valentine's Day by responding to the following: Why is the event described in the article taught in schools today? What are the lasting lessons that we can learn from studying this event? Students had to support their responses with evidence from the text.