Depending on the age group, the kids can either read the story themselves or the teacher can read it to them. After reading the story, the class can discuss their comprehension of what they've just read and heard. Students may be asked to describe the setting and their reactions to what happened to Rip Van Winkle.
Children can exercise creativity by thinking about what life might be like for them decades into the future. Discussing their future selves helps children develop empathy for older people. Kids can even act out their visions of the future by role playing their own future selves or acting out the scenario as they think it may have happened when Rip Van Winkle awoke from his 20-year nap.
Kids can examine the ways that the Rip Van Winkle story works as a legend, focusing on the improbable events it includes. Children can think of other stories they've heard, perhaps from family members or friends, that might also be legends. They can write their own legend in the style of Rip Van Winkle to help them understand legends.
Nicknamed "The Rip Van Winkle State," North Carolina is closely associated with the Rip Van Winkle story because, during the 1800s, many thought the state's economy was lagging behind while the rest of the country was moving forward. The changes that occurred while Rip Van Winkle slept can be used to illustrate the state's economic and political history during that time. Students can discuss or write about their interpretation of how the story correlates to the state's history.