Peter Pan Classroom Activities

Tinker Bell serves as a guide through Never Land for Peter Pan and the Darling children. She gives them advice and provides help where needed. After reading the story, teachers can invite children to create their own fairy to guide them through Never Land. This activity works best for younger students, up to third grade. Students should draw or paint pictures of their fairies, then give them names and provide information about their personalities. Students should answer questions like what kind of power the fairy has, whether the fairy is mischievous or sincere, how the fairy will help them, and so on.

Students don't have to search for treasure to enjoy their own hunt. Teachers can create small cutouts to represent the Lost Boys, and then hide them around the classroom. They can then give students a treasure map and clues about where to find the Lost Boys. Students can work in small groups, and the group that finds the Lost Boys first can win a prize. If the figures are hidden individually, then a prize can be awarded to the group that finds the most figures. The activity can work for students in any age group, from preschool throughout elementary school. The hunt can be made more challenging for older students.

In order to fly, Peter Pan and the Darling children have to think nice thoughts. While students may not be able to fly, they can feel like they are soaring by hearing the nice thoughts their classmates have to say about them. One by one, ask each student to sit in a chair at the front of the class while classmates share what they like about that person, such as that he is a good friend or she is good at soccer. To save time, students might write these thoughts down and put the slips of paper in a basket for each classmate. When you are done with the activity, ask students to think about how the good thoughts from their classmates made them feel, and relate it back to the story. This activity can be used for any age group.

Many of the characters in "Peter Pan" wear hats or headgear of some kind. Peter Pan and Captain Hook both have distinctive hats, and Tiger Lily wears a feather headband. Students can make hats from the story or create their own. Students should perform historical research on their creations and explain what they represent in an oral presentation or research paper. For example, students who make pirate hats might talk about some of the characteristics of pirates and what they do, as well as the origin of the hat and how it evolved over time. This activity is best suited for students in middle school and high school.