Students read messages sent to the White House from Jackie Robinson and discuss his role as an athlete and a civil rights activist, as well as the role of athletes in society.

Students read letters from the Gold Rush and follow up by writing an imaginary letter to a family member about their experience using the Letter Generator.

"Famous Firsts" are researched by students, followed by small group research and multimedia presentations to report research results.

As Poe's "The Raven" is read aloud, students note their reactions and discuss the changes or development of their first impressions as the poem continues.

Students study Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and work in groups to create a mural that depicts Dr. King's vision of peace.

Students explore the definition of a hero and use the interactive Venn diagram to identify the most common characteristics of a hero.

Students write and illustrate their own children's stories using the text from a Walt Whitman poem.

Students do a book report assignment based on a current or past winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

After reading Nothing But the Truth, students explore a current event topic and write their own short work of fiction in a similar multigenre format.

Students use the Multigenre Mapper interactive to explore Macaulay's use of multiple genres by composing original multigenre texts.

Students use Ringgold's books as a springboard for a discussion of race, gender, and civil rights, and then write and illustrate original picture books on these topics.

Students explore the history of the Caldecott Medal and create a classroom literary award modeled after the Caldecott.

After students read the novel The Color Purple, dialect is discussed and students write a short piece of fiction or poetry using the dialect of their peer group.

Students discuss some of the ways in which illustrations can enhance a story and then become illustrators, using a variety of media.

Students do a Bradbury author study and then create flyers to advertise their favorite story using the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.

Students discuss how the form of a film script affects the story, why the author may have selected this writing style, and write a story using a similar format.

Students explore their own roots by interviewing family members and use their family history to write a fictional account of their roots.

Students research the concept of immortality from beliefs around the world and compose a short story, myth, or poem that addresses immortality.

Students examine the ways different authors treat the subject of war in their writing and compare and contrast using the Venn Diagram interactive.

Students brainstorm a list of human rights issues, research their group's issue in depth, examine the way journalists cover a story, and create articles for a classroom newspaper.