Mock Trial Classroom Activity for The Giving Tree: Teach Persuasive Writing, Character Analysis, and Public Speaking

Bring the Courtroom to Your Classroom with a Mock Trial of The Giving Tree

Looking for a fresh, dynamic way to teach persuasive writing, literary analysis, and public speaking? Step into the world of courtroom drama with a Mock Trial Activity based on The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein! This engaging, standards-aligned simulation turns your ELA classroom into a courtroom, where students put the Boy on trial for being a bad friend to the Tree.

Why a Mock Trial?

Mock trials aren’t just fun—they’re powerful tools for critical thinking and collaboration. This activity encourages students to dig deep into character motivation, explore moral responsibility, and back up their claims with textual evidence. Whether they’re defending the Boy’s actions or making a case for his guilt, your students will build key skills while engaging with literature in a whole new way.

What’s the Case?

The Charge: The Boy is on trial for being a bad friend to the Tree.

Was he selfish and exploitative, or simply growing up and taking what was freely offered? It’s up to your student attorneys to argue the facts—and your jury to decide the verdict.

Student Roles That Bring the Trial to Life

Each student steps into a real courtroom role:

• Attorneys (Prosecution and Defense): Craft compelling arguments and question witnesses.

• Witnesses: Step into character and bring testimony to life.

• Judge: Keeps the courtroom in order and ensures a fair trial.

• Jury: Listens closely, deliberates, and renders the final verdict.

• Bailiff: Maintains order and leads the trial proceedings.

This role-based learning fosters empathy and accountability while helping students see literature through multiple perspectives.

What’s Included?

Everything you need to make your classroom courtroom-ready:

• ✅ Complete teacher instructions (with sample images for setup)

• ✅ Editable jury duty notices to assign roles (mail these to your students to generate excitement)

• ✅ Mock trial prep slides to guide each stage

• ✅ Student outline for building their case

• ✅ Printable trial script to structure the courtroom dialogue

• ✅ Courtroom posters (horizontal & vertical) to set the scene

The Skills They’ll Build

This isn’t just about putting a fictional character on trial—it’s about building real-world competencies:

• 🧠 Critical thinking: Interpreting actions and motivations

• 📝 Argumentative writing: Crafting and delivering persuasive statements

• 🎙️ Public speaking: Practicing poise and presence in front of peers

• 📚 Literary analysis: Using textual evidence to support claims

• 💬 Collaboration: Working as a team toward a common goal

Who Is It For?

Perfect for upper elementary and middle school, this activity is designed to be flexible and accessible for a wide range of learners. Whether you’re teaching argumentative writing, or simply want to energize your classroom with a hands-on project, this mock trial delivers unforgettable engagement.

Final Verdict?

If you’re looking to combine literature with real-world skills in a way that students will remember long after the trial ends, this mock trial activity is the perfect case to bring before your class. The courtroom is open—let the trial begin! Click here for the product download!

5 Reasons You Need to Use Digital Escape Rooms in Your Classroom

Looking for a fun, engaging way to enhance learning in your classroom? Digital escape rooms might be your new favorite teaching tool. These interactive experiences challenge students to solve puzzles, decode clues, and collaborate to "escape" a virtual scenario—all while reinforcing academic skills. Here are five compelling reasons to bring digital escape rooms into your classroom:

1. They Boost Student Engagement
Students love a challenge, and digital escape rooms turn learning into a game. The element of mystery and urgency keeps students motivated and focused throughout the activity.

2. They Encourage Critical Thinking
Each puzzle or clue requires students to analyze information, make connections, and think creatively. These activities build essential problem-solving skills in a fun, low-pressure environment.

3. They Promote Collaboration
Escape rooms work best when students collaborate. As they work in teams, students practice communication, compromise, and leadership—skills just as important as academic content.

4. They Reinforce Curriculum Content
Whether you're teaching math, reading, science, or social studies, digital escape rooms can be tailored to align with your curriculum. Students apply what they've learned in meaningful, memorable ways.

5. They’re Easy to Integrate and Adapt
With many pre-made options available online and the ability to create your own, digital escape rooms can fit any subject, grade level, or time limit. They also work great in both in-person and virtual classrooms.

Try one out and see your students light up with excitement—and learning. Have you used a digital escape room before? Let me know in the comments. Want to give it a try? Check out these fun math themed escape rooms for elementary school classrooms:

End of the School Year Digital Escape Rooms for Math Review and Practice

The end of the school year is in sight and testing season is starting! These fun “Escape the School Year” math review digital escape rooms are an excellent way to keep kids excited and engaged in their learning. You’ll find all the versions grades 3-6 available by clicking here. Or click on the grade specific images below!

Are you looking for a particular skill to review? Find all my digital escape rooms by grade level by clicking on the images below:

Don’t forget to pin these images so you can refer back to them in the coming months!

Are you looking for a particular math skill to review and you don’t see an escape room that fits the bill? Let me know in the comments!

March Themed Activities, Games, Crafts and More

As February draws to a close, we are looking forward to all the RAINBOWS March will bring :) This collection of 31 March and St. Patrick’s Day themed activities are finally live and you can download them by clicking this link!

These activities are designed for toddlers, preschool students, prekindergarten and kindergarten kids at home or at school and they are a great way for kids to decompress after a big day at school or for special family connection time over the weekend.

This collection is filled with loads of sensory activities (think oobleck, playdough, sand, paint and more!) as well as fun arts and crafts.

These activities are easy and mostly self explanatory but just in case, lesson plan-like instructions are included for each activity, game and craft.

Follow along @SpaidsintheClassroom and join us for this month of daily activities! Grab all the printables and instructions by clicking here!

Activity-A-Day for the Month of February: Activities, Crafts, Games with a Valentine's Day Theme

What this download IS:

1. A collection of 29 activities one for each day of the month that will encourage meaningful time together with the kids in your life.

2. Activities that foster parent and child engagement and promote optimal development during the preschool years.

3. Preplanned and easy to prep activities that allow you to spend quality time each day with your kids.

What this download is NOT:

1. It is NOT a subscription!!

Not that there is anything wrong with subscriptions ;) but sometimes it is nice to be able to simply download something without having to worry about reoccurring payments.

Here is a preview of February’s collection of activities:

This download includes a collection of 31 easy and fun FEBRUARY and Valentine's Day themed activities, crafts, and games for the whole month!

Designed for toddlers, preschool students, prekindergarten and kindergarten students at home or at school! Lesson plan-like instructions are included for each activity, game and craft. Activities include: counting, scissor skills, games, art projects, Valentine's Day cards, sensory bins, fine motor practice, invitations-to-play, craftivities and more!!

Follow along @SpaidsintheClassroom on Instagram as we complete these activities during the month of February! You can also grab the download by clicking HERE and complete these activities with us!

Colors of Christmas a Fine Motor Color Sort to Help Your Toddler Learn Colors

We are officially ready to teach our daughter(1.5) her colors! So far she can say “boo (blue)” so it is definitely a work in progress but we are helping her along the way with some fun color sorts that her older brother also likes to assist with.

Included in this Christmas Color Sort download are a poster and five templates each representing a color related to Christmas: purple, gold, red, green, and white. The activity is very easy— cut out the hole and add contact paper or tape to the back to create a sticky surface (this is what we did), cut the paper strips and have kids sort the colors onto the sticky paper. Alternatively, you can use glue instead of tape or contact paper.

If you have a very young one like we do, I suggest starting with just a few of the colors. We picked red, green and white to start with and her brother helped her complete the gold and purple when he got home from school! To finish off the art I like to add pieces of clear packing tape on top so the paper is no longer sticky.

I hope you give this activity a try! If you post pictures to social media make sure to tag @SpaidsintheClassroom so we can feature your work!

Merry Christmas!

Twelve Months of Famous Artists

My son has become very interested in art of all kinds- drawing, coloring, play dough sculptures, painting, chalk art etc. So while earlier this month I decided to be more intentional with what music we listen to during play time I have also decided to formally teach him about famous artists and their styles and techniques with imitation art projects.

So the companion to my 12 Months of Famous Composers was born: 12 Months of Famous Artists!

The concept here is straight forward and easy to implement. Each month, print the materials and templates included for that particular month. Display and review the information card/poster about the artist with your child(ren). For each month two art projects are included along with everything you need for the projects (except the paint)! I designed these with my 3 (almost 4) year old in mind so the projects are simple enough for young children to complete but could also be done with older kids in more detail and with more precision!

The famous artists included in this download are: Matisse, Kandinsky, Monet, Van Gogh, Mondrian, Hokusai, Warhol, Gauguin, Seurat, Kusama, Pollock, and Michelangelo.

We can’t wait to get started in January (tbh we may actually start early and do December first)! Interested in doing this with us? You’ll find the download by clicking HERE. If you share any photos to your social media account don’t forget to tag @SpaidsintheClassroom!

Colors of Hanukkah

My son’s best friend is Jewish so we have been learning a lot about the Jewish faith through their family. It came up in conversation the other day that this little girl doesn’t celebrate Christmas the way our family does— she celebrates Hanukkah. This led to a deep dive into learning about Hanukkah, checking out Little Dreidel Learns to Spin by Rebecca Levington from the library and practicing our dreidel spins. We also worked on this Colors of Hanukkah craft:

This was a really fun, simple way to learn more about Hanukkah and a little bit about the Jewish faith. It is an easy craft to prep with everything you need included in one download. We printed the templates, cut out the blank spaces and added contact paper behind the template to serve as a sticky surface. I cut up some colorful paper (also included for printing in case you don’t have construction paper at home) and my kids sorted the colors and stuck little pieces of paper to each template.

To finish off each template, I added clear tape to the top to get rid of the sticky surface and hung these up in my son’s bedroom! Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! Grab these templates by clicking HERE. Let me know if you try this craft!

I SPY Phonemic Awareness Sound Game Montessori Literacy Activity

If you haven’t heard of the I Spy Phonemic Awareness game yet you’re in for a treat!

This activity is perfect for literacy development at home or at school with toddlers, preschool, prek and kindergarten students OR simply anyone learning to read English. You'll find it helpful for teaching reading and writing in a traditional Montessori classroom or homeschool environment.

Here is how it works:
This I SPY sound game is meant to help students on their reading journey by isolating individual sounds that make up words. When you introduce this game start with 2-3 sounds at a time and grow to 4-5 sounds at a time as students become more comfortable with the game.

1. Print the cards and posters on heavy white cardstock. Cut and laminate for durability.

2. Start with 2-3 beginning letter sounds (for example /s/, /d/, /n/). Lay out three images with these initial sounds (for example sun, dog, narwhal).

3. Begin the game by saying, “I spy with my little eye something that starts with /d/”. The students should point to the dog card. If they do not you can follow up with, “You pointed to a card that starts with /n/. Which one starts with /d/?” Repeat this until all the cards have been identified.

4. Once students have mastered beginning sounds, move on to end sounds. If this is too tricky, you can start with beginning and end sounds. “I spy with my little eye something that starts with /d/ and ends with /g/.”

5. The final stage is to bring together all the sounds in words. ”I spy with my little eye a /d/ /o/ /g/”. The students should be able to find the dog and repeat at the sounds in the word.

   CLICK HERE FOR THESE I SPY GAME RESOURCES

Interested in the Letter Sounds Phonics Alphabet Flashcards that pair perfectly with this game? You can find them here: CLICK HERE.

Famous Classical Composers and Intentional Listening in the Classroom and Home

My teacher-mom mind is always trying to find new ways to teach my kids about the world around them. This year-long collection of famous classical composers is a way for us to practice mindful listening at home during playtime.

Here is one way you can use these cards:

1. Print these cards on white card stock. Laminate and cut for durability.

2. Pick a composer to start with and display the card in a prominent spot. Review the information with your kids and explain that all the music played this month during playtime/morning arrival/quiet reading time/dismissal time will be music composed by this month’s famous composer.

3. Find or create a playlist with music by the composer (Spotify has some wonderful options).

4. Switch out the composer each month and marvel when your child recognizes a song by Mozart ;)

I plan to use these cards at home but they could just as easily be used in the classroom during morning work, quiet reading time, dismissal, indoor recess— you name it!

For the link to the Famous Classical Composers cards CLICK HERE. I hope you enjoy these cards— let me know what you think and how you use them in the comments below!