Step out of the classroom and take students on a field trip to a local government building or historical site, such as a battlefield or courthouse. Kids can get dirty while excavating a local archeological dig site. In the classroom, set up a scaled community where students will have to open businesses, apply for jobs, buy items and develop a working government system.
Let kids translate a play by Shakespeare into a play using modern day languages, locations and situations. Students can read the play, or act it out, in front of other students and then talk about why they chose the setting they did. Other authentic literature plans can include going to a play, watching how a play is produced or auditioning for a community production.
Kids can learn about counting and handling money through a mock store set up in a classroom. Out of the classroom, kids can visit a local business and see how math is used in the day-to-day operations. Comparing and contrasting everyday items, such as how much he ate, how long it took complete a project or how many exercises a student can do and then document these items on a graph.
Take kids on a field trip to a local zoo, farm or veterinary office where students can learn about different animals, their anatomy and how to take care of them. In the classroom, set up an ant farm or aquarium for kids to document the lifestyles and development of the different creatures. Kids can also go to an environmental learning center where they can get a hands-on experience with ponds, plants and native animals.