Students examine the painting that inspired Sondheim's Pulitzer-prize winning musical and then create a story of their own based on image they choose.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was born today.
In 1564, William Shakespeare was born on this day.
Based on grade level, students learn about rhyming structure, experiment with the Shakespearean Insult Kit, or study scenes from Othello and watch an adaptation of that scene from the movie O.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on this day.
Students compare the film versions of The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's novels. Students then imagine how a scene in a current novel that they are reading would be filmed.
Coretta Scott King was born on this day in 1927.
Students do a book report assignment based on a current or past winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award.
Caldecott-winning illustrator Lane Smith was born in 1959.
Students discuss some of the ways in which illustrations can enhance a story and then become illustrators, using a variety of media.
Poet William Blake was born in 1757.
As a class, students brainstorm abstract concepts and personify that concept through a drawing or story told about the character who personifies that concept.
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was published in 1974.
Students are introduced to a Silverstein verse and asked for their impressions. They then draw that they imagine when they read one of his lines and then write a line or two to continue the passage.