In "Paradox and Dream," a 1966 essay on the American Dream, John Steinbeck writes, "For Americans too the wide and general dream has a name. It is called "the American Way of Life.' No one can define it or point to any one person or group who lives it, but it is very real nevertheless." Yet a recent cover of Time Magazine reads "The History of the American Dream " Is It Real?" Here, students explore the meaning of the American Dream by conducting interviews, sharing and assessing data, and writing papers based on their research to draw their own conclusions.

This lesson plan attempts to dissolve the artificial boundary between domestic and international affairs in the postwar period to show students how we choose to discuss history.

In this lesson, students will take a survey on white and male privilege that explores race and gender inequality. They will then compare and contrast the experiences of African American and white women facing discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s. In a culminating activity, students will then research current areas of discrimination and formulate an anti-discrimination campaign.

This resource includes a lesson designed to assist students with performing a close reading. Students will read “The Crisis, No. 1” and annotate the text. Afterwards, students will evaluate claims using textual evidence. Finally, students will work with their peers to write short arguments.

This resource includes a lesson designed to assist learners with reading and annotating a text. Students will view a presentation on ethos, pathos and logos before reading selections. Afterwards, students will work collaboratively to complete a graphic organizer designed to assist them with analyzing appeals within the speeches.

Students read and analyze a topical news article about some aspect of climate change and share their analysis with their classmates.

This resource provides a close reading lesson of The Gospel of Wealth. Learners will spend time deconstructing the text by performing multiple reads.

This resource provides a lesson which is designed to provide students with the opportunity to perform a close reading of a text. Students will respond to the provided text dependent questions, outline the text, and complete a comparitive essay.

This article details the decline of communism at the Cold War as a result of internal Soviet Union struggles. It examines the revoluions as a symptom of the problems facing the USSR. At the end of the article, there are reflection questions and a quiz for students to assess their knowledge.

In this lesson, students will analyze primary sources to identify the perspectives of various political parties regarding the Kansas Nebraska Act and Scott v. Sandford in order to write an ECR (multi-paragraph essay) which determines the impact these events had on national political unity.

This lesson focuses on John Winthrop's historic "Model of Christian Charity" sermon which is often referred to by its"City on a Hill" metaphor. Through a close reading of this admittedly difficult text, students will learn how it illuminates the beliefs, goals, and programs of the Puritans. The sermon sought to inspire and to motivate the Puritans by pointing out the distance they had to travel between an ideal community and their real-world situation.

This unit has been developed to guide students and instructors in a close reading of Learned Hand?s ?I am an American Day Address? from Appendix B of the Common Core Standards. The activities and actions follow a carefully developed set of steps that assist students in increasing their familiarity and understanding of Hand?s speech through a series of text-dependent tasks and questions that ultimately develop college and career ready skills identified in the Common Core standards. This unit is recommended as an activity for a ?Great Conversation? Module and can be taught in two days of study and reflection on the part of students and their teachers. A third day or more could be added if the time is needed or extension activities are desired.

This lesson looks at Thomas Paine and at some of the ideas presented in his pamphlet, "Common Sense,"Â such as national unity, natural rights, the illegitimacy of the monarchy and of hereditary aristocracy, and the necessity for independence and the revolutionary struggle.

In this lesson students select and then research an issue that concerns them, using internet and print sources. Next, students review the concepts of purpose and audience. Then they argue a position on their selected issue in letters to two different audiences. Students work with peer groups as they use an online tool to draft and revise their letters.

These docmument based questions and essay prompt provide the student with an in-depth opportunity to evaluate the concepts behind capitalism and communism using primary sources. Selections are taken from: Friedrich Engels, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Adam Smith, Karl Marx and others.

This activity asks students to reflect on similarities and differences between the following religions and belief systems: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, and Daoism. Although not a religion, the philosophical writings of Confucius are included because it is one of the major belief systems that flourished along the Silk Roads.Using quotations from translations of religious texts, students are asked to organize these quotations into broad categories of essential concerns. The quotations will be posted on a silk routes map as reminders of how cultural interchange and belief systems are represented in the ancient and contemporary world.

Like many 19th century photographers, Mark Twain struggled with how best to portray fictionalized characters while creating social commentary. In this lesson, students will compare and contrast Twain's novel and excerpts from Frederick Douglass' narrative to original photos of 19th century slaves. After writing journal entries about Huck Finn's Jim and Frederick Douglass, students write an essay evaluating the reliable depiction of slavery.

Students read two descriptions of Earth's interior structure and summarize similarities and differences between the two and answer a series on analysis questions.

Constructing an annotated bibliography from research and using research topics as discussion starters.

In this structured discussion method, under the guidance of a facilitator, participants are encouraged to engage intellectually with challenging materials, gain insight about their own point of view and strive for a shared understanding of issues. In this conversation, students will focus their study on the "Syrian Refuge Crisis and U.S. Policy."