Feel free to use the lesson plans and classroom aids offered below.
New to the JHR Web site! (October 23, 2003) A new "Teachers Guide for The Boy Who Saved Baseball" is available here for use in your classroom reading program. Click here to read the entire Teachers Guide, to print it out, or to download a MS_Word(PC) document version.
Audiotape versions
of Over the Wall and
Choosing Up Sides now available!
Librarians, Teachers, Parents! The Audiotape version of
Over the Wall has just been released. School Library
Journal calls it, "Superb...imbued with passion,
absolution, and grace, this beautiful story beautifully told is destined
to become one of the year's best young adult audiobooks." As an
Added Bonus: The Audiotape versions of both Choosing Up Sides
and Over the Wall also include an interview with John concerning
the complexities and issues addressed in the novels.
Click here to read the entire review and get ordering
information for audiotapes of both books.
(September 6, 2002)
Choosing Up Sides inspires a commercially available
classroom interactive hands-on unit!
Interact, Inc., has developed
a hands-on simulation unit based on John H. Ritter's IRA award-winning novel,
Choosing Up Sides called "Beyond Baseball." With a foreword by
Dr. Elliot Aronson, author of Nobody Left to Hate:
Teaching Compassion after Columbine, this engaging unit is
specifically designed to help build cross-cultural and cross-clique
empathy and understanding in today's classroom. Find out why it's a
hit with students and more detailed information on the
"Beyond Baseball" page.
News of Note! (June 23, 2001) Find out how one Middle School teacher implemented John's novels as Touchstone Texts in her classroom reading program. Click here to read Patty Ladd's revealing, step-by-step article in the Spring 2000 issue of The ALAN Review.
Teachers Guide to The Boy Who Saved Baseball
Applying the Socratic Method to Choosing Up Sides and Over the Wall
Moving from Literal Interpretations to Critical Analysis of Choosing Up Sides and Over the Wall
Creating Whitmanesque Poetry from Choosing Up Sides
Into, Through, and Beyond Choosing Up Sides
Metaphors in Choosing Up Sides
Cartooning Around: A Left Brain/Right Brain Activity for Choosing Up Sides
Buried Treasures: Exploring Symbolism through Poster Design for Choosing Up Sides
Sandy Asher has a web site on teachers and writers at http://usawrites4kids.drury.edu.
The Yahooligans site has a section on literature and authors for young readers at http://www.yahooligans.com/School_Bell/Language_Arts/. Look up John in the authors list, and lots of other activities are available there.
Web English Teacher is a Web site full of links to help busy teachers.
Also, check out http://www.cateweb.org
Information for Educators and Parents of Left Handed Kids
Teaching Aids and Classroom Plans
John's public speaking schedule
Published Interviews with John
Go to the Choosing Up Sides page
Order Choosing Up Sides
Go to the Over The Wall page
Order Over the Wall
Go to The Boy Who Saved Baseball page
Order The Boy Who Saved Baseball
Read an excerpt from Under the Baseball Moon
Order Under the Baseball Moon
Lefty info