After retelling a familiar fable, students discover the differences in one of Morrison's retellings of a fable.
In 1931, Toni Morrison was born.
Jonathan Swift was born on this day in 1667.
Students explore satire and parody in television and film, advertising, and journalism and create a display that highlights their findings.
Black Beauty author Anna Sewell was born in 1820.
Through Sewell's novel, students explore the cruelty to animals and extend the discussion to current events, eventually presenting the information.
The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850.
Students brainstorm the possible meaning of the title The Scarlet Letter and what its significance might be. The class' responses are returned to once the reading has begun to see how their definitions have changed.
In 1902, John Steinbeck was born.
Students brainstorm a list of the ills of society, research a topic of their choosing, and then prepare an annotated bibliography of texts that address the topic.
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.
Ezra Jack Keats was born on this day in 1916.
In celebration of Keats' birthday, students write stories that include some characters from Keats' books and practice using collage techniques with the Collage Machine.
Jacob Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm, was born today.
Students compare different versions of the fairy tale Cinderella and then rewrite a lesser-known Grimm story and explain the changes they made.
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.
Today is the birthday of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland.
After reading one of Carroll's chapters, students plan an unbirthday party and do activities and preparation for the event.
Poe's "The Raven" was published in 1845.
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.
Judy Blume was born in 1938.
Students work with a partner or individually to create cartoons of their favorite scenes from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden was dedicated on October 13, 1995.
Students select characters that they believe are the most memorable from Cleary's books and write short persuasive essays to explain their choices.
Barbara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones series, was born on this day.
Students write their own "Junie B." stories, based on the Junie B. Jones series, after brainstorming issues they've experienced during the school year.
Roald Dahl was born on this day in 1916.
Students adapt a Roald Dahl story to picture book format and share their books and add them to the classroom library. Additionally, they compare a book version and film version of one of Dahl's works.
Avi was born in 1937.
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.
David Macaulay was born in 1946.
Students use the Multigenre Mapper interactive to explore Macaulay's use of multiple genres by composing original multigenre texts.
Celebrate Kate DiCamillo's birthday today.
After examining the characters in one of DiCamillo's stories, students write original short stories featuring animals as central characters.
Author Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944.
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.
Science-fiction author Ray Bradbury was born in 1920.
Students do a Bradbury author study and then create flyers to advertise their favorite story using the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.