Author and scholar C.S. Lewis was born in 1898.

Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was reared by well-read, intellectual parents, and hence spent much of his childhood reading. Among his favorite books were Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and his ability to escape into the world of books may have helped provide him some solace after the death of his mother, which occurred when he was ten. In 1916, he was accepted to study at Oxford University. His studies were interrupted, however, when he volunteered to serve with the British Army in the trenches of World War I. Following the war, Lewis returned to Oxford, where he excelled in his studies of Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, ancient history and English literature. Thereafter, he took a post teaching English at Oxford, a post he held for 29 years.

Lewis began writing at Oxford and published his first book, The Pilgrim’s Regress, in 1933. This was the first of many books on Christian and spiritual topics—Lewis's life involved a journey away from and then back to Christian faith. He is perhaps best known for his seven-book series called The Chronicles of Narnia, rich in Christian allegory, which has become popular with children and adults alike.

Following the death of his wife in 1960, Lewis’ health deteriorated, and he died on November 22, 1963. Earlier in his life, he had asked that the occasion of his death be marked only quietly. Ironically, on the same day that he died, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

ReadWriteThink
In Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction (3-5), students review the elements of fiction and the key components of a book report. They identify and share these concepts by writing and illustrating their own mini-book based on a fiction book they have chosen to read. The stapleless book offers an alternative to the traditional book report and an opportunity for students to share their work in pairs or small groups and to learn from each other.

In Lewis' popular Narnia series, the setting of the magical land of Narnia ties the adventures from each of the novels together. In Using Picture Books to Teach Setting Development in Writing Workshop (3-5), students examine the craft of developing the setting of a story through focused experiences with picture books. They apply the characteristics of a well-developed setting to selected examples of their own writing.

Illuminations
The unit A Tale of Two Stories (3-5) is inspired by children's natural curiosity about fantasy and fairy tales. Specifically, the investigations focus on developing the process of classification, especially an awareness of similarities and differences. The activities use "The Three Little Pigs" and "Cinderella" to motivate students to think and reason mathematically. This lesson has two different activities: one for grades 3-4 and one for grades 5-6. The investigation for grades 3-4 uses the story of "The Three Little Pigs" to motivate students to think and reason mathematically in a number of ways. In grades 5-6, students use classification skills to compare and contrast versions of the Cinderella story. Although presented in developmentally appropriate grade-level clusters, these investigations are readily adaptable and extendable to other grade levels.