In response to Harriet Tubman’s request for a letter of commendation, Fredrick Douglas wrote a testimony of her character, hard work, and sacrifices for the sake of freedom from bondage while marking the differences in their leadership styles for the common cause. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this history through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

This teacher's guide for Little Green by Chun Yu includes background information on the Cultural Revolution, discussion questions, activities, writing practices, and collaborative exercises.

Students will have an opportunity to develop such "live interviews" with ancient athletes; working in small groups, they will produce a script based on the results of their research and they will perform the interview for other students in the class.

Students will explore the personalities of the Revolutionary War's Patriots and Loyalists by participating in a character role play. The lesson will culminate with students researching and writing a character sketch of a key Revolutionary figure of their choice and participating in a Colonial Town Hall & Debate.

Rather than extending a two-page paper to five pages by restating facts, philosophizing aimlessly, or simply making things up, students engaging in this revision lesson learn how to make the cut. In Zinsser’s guide for nonfiction writing, he states, “The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components”

In this lesson, students will use the individual experience of Mary McLeod Bethune to analyze choice, its affects on social equality, and impact on their own life experiences.

In this lesson students examine how imagery is used to represent ideas, themes, periods of history, and make cultural connections to poem, "Still I Rise." Students will reflect through written expression how resiliency is in their lives, school, and community.

In this video from American Masters | Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, students will explore the role of poetry in American politics, compare Angelou and Frost, and consider how Angelou’s poem reflects the challenges and concerns of the time. Discussion questions, teaching tips, and a student handout push students to engage with Angelou’s words and to think critically about her famous work.

In this video from American Masters | Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, students will learn about the lasting impact of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and why it’s such an important piece of American literature. Students will answer discussion questions, analyze text from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and write a short essay to gain a deeper understanding of Angelou’s work.

The emphasis of this lesson is on history and research rather than literature, selections from Jack London's The Call of the Wild are used to provide focus and structure for students' research in online databases of primary sources, and to serve as models of vivid narrative prose for students' own stories.

This teacher's guide for The Misfits by James Howe containes discussion questions, activities, and research assignments.

Using the supernatural powers of The Monkey's Paw, the Whites make a wish for money, receive the money after their son is involved in a fatal accident, wish for his return, and finally wish for his disappearance. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In Mrs. Flowers, an excerpt from the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the author, Maya Angelou, describes a significant experience with a respected person in her community, Mrs. Flowers, who changes her life. Through their interactions, Maya Angelou learns the power of language (spoken and written) and relationships to transform lives. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this unit students practice writing to an essential question, using context clues and root words to determine word meaning, close reading with the aid of a glossary, taking notes with graphic organizers, re-reading to answer text dependent questions; and summarizing.

In this lesson, students will explore the various beliefs and points of view Douglass experienced as he became increasingly aware of the unfairness of his life. Students will need to consider the emotional context of words and how diction (word choice) affects an author’s message.

This lesson plan uses graphic organizers to help students create podcasts/ radio broadcasts using a Natural Inquirer article.

Students examine the impact of digital technology on print journalism and develop creative ideas for delivering news

In this lesson, students examine the impact of digital technology on print journalism and develop creative ideas for delivering news

A USA Today Education informational article on Joe Montana's 16 principles for success with included reources/ worksheets for students.

The poem describes the victorious homecoming of a ship. The Captain responsible for the safe return of his ship and crew has died before reaching port, and the narrator is grief stricken at the loss. While acknowledging the greatness of the victorious return of the ship to port, the poem also laments the loss of the leader responsible. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.