the Power of Plush: harnessing learning energy and resources in the classroom

My post last week dealt with honing in the same zeal used in marketing character themes in the media market (movies turned books turned trinkets, toys and experiences).  Consider how exciting it is to win a plush toy (without any real monetary value) at a carnival game . . .or the claw!  I’ve noticed many claw games now guarantee a win. . .$1.00 and you can take as long as you want to scoop up a 2 cent toy with a crane line challenge that really won’t even prepare you to be a crane operator, but will take your money with a 500% return for the owner of the game.

People like plush.   We like characters.  My challenge to you:  how can you capitalize on that apparent fact to help student learning?  Design lessons around themes based on book characters, assign a character to a cheap plush (get those claw winnings and put them to good use!).  Incentivize learning with sharing reading time with a classroom plush.  Have children act out a story they just read and retell it using plush characters.  The possibilities are endless!