Mini-Lesson

TIME 100

Mini-Lesson: Grades 4-6

Objective: Students will write about an influential person.

1. Tell students that each year, TIME Magazine creates a list of the world's most influential people. Explain that having influence means being able to affect the actions and opinions of others. Ask: Who are some of the most influential people in the world right now? Who would you include in the TIME 100?

2. Pass out copies of the timeforkids.com story, A Night of Stars. As students read, encourage them to think about why each attendee mentioned is included in TIME's list of influential people. (View the complete list here.)

3. Challenge students to write about someone who has had a positive influence on their life in the past year. Encourage them explain how this person has affected their actions or opinions, and to think about how they might play a similar role in somebody else's life. Display student work on a bulletin board of "Influential People" for all to see.