Philanthropy in Literature

When is it okay to go against authority and what can happen if you do? This is the leading question in this activity to accompany your classroom reading of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. After reading chapter eight,...

What type of writing is this? Learners read a brief introduction to various types of text: instructions, explanations, poems, folk tales, novels, informative, and arguments. The introduction doesn't explain these, so consider going over...

Many say that you cannot live in the past. Hannah, in The Devil's Arithmetic, feels that all her family talks about during gatherings is previous years. To her horror, something mysteriously transports her to the past, and she must face...

Explore script writing based on prose in a cross-curricular literacy lesson. After listening to the folktale The Drum, middle schoolers identify and describe specific story elements such as characters and events. They work in groups to...

Students identify acts of philanthropy. For this philanthropy lesson, students define the term "hero" and read the book Stone Soup. Students discuss soup kitchens and complete a Venn diagram analyzing the differences between governmental...

Students study newspaper articles and rewrite events from literature into news stories about kindness. In this news article lesson, students read sentences from newspaper articles and identify the purpose of the article. Students...

Have your class react to a number of statements about The Cat in the Hat, then read a news article about a special event honoring the birthday of the popular book. The teacher introduces an article with a discussion and vocabulary...

Help learners write a creative story from the viewpoint of a shoe. The teacher brings a variety of different types of shoes to the classroom and each person chooses one. They then write a story from the point of view of the shoe,...

Create poems without writing! Young poets create poems using words cut from newspapers, read their poems aloud, and compile them in a book. This lesson allows the teacher to view each learner's creative process and assess their current...

Students define serial reciprocity through art and make a classroom goal for the giving back. For this serial reciprocity lesson, students read Camille and the Sunflowers and discuss why the arts are important in communities. Students...