Quotes in the Classroom

I love quotes. I am a Pinterest hoarder of quotes both for myself and for kids. They can be really great in the classroom to motivate and inspire kids to not only do their best but to inspire their writing as well! I have used them to prompt short writing assignments when I have an extra 15 minutes to spare.
Here's what I do:

Start by reading a quote and ask the students what they think it means. You will get a lot of generic answers like "everyone can read" or "lions can't read but here they can read." These answers will come and are expected but remind kids to dig a little deeper. Have more than one quote available too, you never know what will really "speak" to kids.

After a short discussion ask kids to write their interpretation of the quote and have kids present theirs after 10-15 minutes. Most kids will take the assignment very literally but some students will surprise you with their take on things. I have done this with 4th graders but I think younger kids could handle this as well sans writing with just a discussion and the opportunity to draw and label their interpretation.

If you try it out or have done this before let us know what you think in the comments below! You can find these and plenty more quote posters here.