The custom of sending verses on Valentine's Day goes back to a Frenchman named Charles, Duke of Orleans. During the Battle of Agincourt, the English captured Charles in 1415. He was put in prison in England. On Valentine's Day, he sent his wife a rhymed love letter from his cell in the Tower of London.

In the 1700's groups of friends met to draw names. For several days, each man wore his valentine's name on his sleeve. Have you heard the saying "wearing his heart on his sleeve?"

Some other subjects you might check on are: Kate Greenaway, Esther A. Howland, "penny dreadfuls," Geoffrey Chaucer, Saint Valentine of Rome, (martyred under Claudius II or Claudius the Goth, 269AD) and Saint Valentine, bishop of Interamna.

Valentine's is one of several unique holidays in February. What about President's Day or Ground Hog Day? A unit study may be as close as your World Book Encyclopedia!