Tuck Everlasting Activities Kids will Love
Letter Writing Activity
The book Tuck Everlasting is thought-provoking and offers many educational opportunities. Try these with your class, and watch the kids have fun while they’re learning. These activities are designed for grades four to six. Use them as presented here or modify to suit.
Let students choose to be either Winnie or Jesse, and then decide if they feel immortality is a blessing or a curse. The “Winnies” write letters to Jesse. Based on their decision about living forever, they tell him whether or not they plan to drink the water when they turn seventeen. The “Jesse” letters encourage or discourage her to drink the water based on the writer’s opinion about the benefit of eternal life. The students can read their letters out loud if they wish.
Law and Justice Mock Trials
Act-out a court room scene. Try Mae for the murder of the man in the yellow suit. The students brainstorm ideas ,and write papers about what could happen when Mae is hanged but does not die.
Have the students choose to be a prosecutor or public defender, and then write essays on whether Mae should be punished or why she should be freed.
Movie Day Activity
Rent or borrow a copy of the movie “Tuck Everlasting,” bring lots of popcorn and have a movie day. Students dress-up as one of the characters from the novel. Charge a voluntary admission to the movie day – one bottle of spring water – and have extra for students who forget or cannot afford the water. If time allows after the movie, let kids act out some scenes in their own words.
Tuck Everlasting Art
Divide the class into small groups, and let the groups choose a scene or a character from the novel. Provide art media like markers, paints, colored pencils, art canvas, and poster board for the kids to illustrate their project. When the pictures are completed, sequence them with the events of the book, and display them in the classroom.
Flapjacks Supper Social
Plan a flapjacks and syrup day. Make flapjacks with pre-packaged pancake mix and cook in an electric skillet. While the kids munch on pancakes, the teacher reads aloud chapter 11 of Tuck Everlasting, which describes the flapjack supper shared by Winnie and the Tucks.
After the meal, use the chalkboard and make a comparison-contrast chart. Make two columns on the board; one for how the Tucks eat, and one for how others eat. Let the students take turns calling out ways the Tucks ate dinner and telling ways their families eat supper.
Lesson Extensions
Any or all of these activities are excellent lesson extensions. They are simple to teach and require few supplies or pre-class preparation time. For more lesson plans based on Tuck Everlasting read Tuck Everlasting Study Questions and Answers.
This post is part of the series: English Literature Lesson Plans Tuck Everlasting Unit
Here is a series of lesson plans for the novel Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Study questions and answers, character sketches, and a book summary are included.
