Help clarify the nature of symbols for your students as they study …
Help clarify the nature of symbols for your students as they study the Statue of Liberty, complete research on a national symbol, and use their research to communicate a message of their own.
This lesson encourages students to consider why an author might choose to …
This lesson encourages students to consider why an author might choose to base their fictional work in nonfiction by examining the use of nonfiction as inspiration in John Steinbeck's famous novel.
Stephen Crane's own experiences informed his short story "The Open Boat," one …
Stephen Crane's own experiences informed his short story "The Open Boat," one of the best examples of American literary naturalism. In this lesson students answer text-dependent questions in order to examine the relationship bewteen man and nature as well as the role of the third person, omniscient narrator.
Some of the most the most essential works of literature in the …
Some of the most the most essential works of literature in the world are examples of epic poetry, such as The Odyssey and Paradise Lost. This lesson introduces students to the epic poem form and to its roots in oral tradition.
The federal judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court as well as the …
The federal judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court as well as the district and circuit courts, is one of three branches of the federal government. This lesson provides an introduction to the Supreme Court.
Was the American Revolution inevitable? This lesson is designed to help students …
Was the American Revolution inevitable? This lesson is designed to help students understand the transition to armed resistance and the contradiction in the Americans' rhetoric about slavery through the examination of a series of documents. While it is designed to be conducted over a several-day period, teachers with time constraints can choose to utilize only one of the documents to illustrate the patriots' responses to the actions of the British.
What are we teaching and learning when we analyze films? Who's missing …
What are we teaching and learning when we analyze films? Who's missing from the story? This resource is offered for teachers across the humanities who use film and incorporate opportunities for students to develop media analysis skills.
Through close readings of Zora Neale Hurston'sTheir Eyes Were Watching God, students …
Through close readings of Zora Neale Hurston'sTheir Eyes Were Watching God, students will analyzehow Hurston creates a unique literary voice by combining folklore, folk language, and traditional literary techniques. Students will examine the role that folk groups play in both their own lives and in the novel.
Using archival materials, re-creations, and classroom activities, help your students think about …
Using archival materials, re-creations, and classroom activities, help your students think about which aspects of everyday life have changed and which have stayed the same.
This lesson plan introduces students to Thomas Edison's life and inventions. It …
This lesson plan introduces students to Thomas Edison's life and inventions. It asks students to compare and contrast life around 1900 with their own lives and helps students understand the connections between the technological advancements of the early twentieth century and contemporary society and culture.
Students will be able to describe Benton's artisitc techniques, identify the roots …
Students will be able to describe Benton's artisitc techniques, identify the roots of country music as well as some of the early performers. Students will also be able to discuss how changes in art and musical style reflect changes in society.
In this lesson, students study issues related to independence and notions of …
In this lesson, students study issues related to independence and notions of manliness in Ernest Hemingway’s “Three Shots” as they conduct in-depth literary character analysis, consider the significance of environment to growing up and investigate Hemingway’s Nobel Prize-winning, unique prose style. In addition, they will have the opportunity to write and revise a short story based on their own childhood experiences and together create a short story collection.
Students study select court transcripts and other primary source materials from the …
Students study select court transcripts and other primary source materials from the second Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933, a continuation of the first trial in which two young white women wrongfully accused nine African American teenagers of rape.
One of the most compelling novels of the twentieth century, Beloved by …
One of the most compelling novels of the twentieth century, Beloved by Toni Morrison has been read in classrooms across the country since its publication in 1987. The novel follows Sethe's escape to freedom, the murder of her child, and her difficult psychological journey as she copes with her past as a slave. As both an historical account of the experiences of slavery and an insightful novel about a supernatural ghost, this text is ideal for upper level high school students and students in AP programs.
This lesson plan is the eighth in the "Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating …
This lesson plan is the eighth in the "Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community" series.It provides a video recording of the poet, Richard Blanco, reading the poem "Translation for Mama." The companion lesson contains a sequence of activities for use with secondary students before, during, and after reading to help them enter and experience the poem.
This lesson plan explores elements of wonder, distortion, fantasy, and whimsy in …
This lesson plan explores elements of wonder, distortion, fantasy, and whimsy in The Nursery "Alice," Lewis Carroll's adaptation for younger readers of his beloved classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
On the same day when the New York Times, the Washington Post, …
On the same day when the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other national media outlets announced the reopening of the Emmett Till case, 36 K-12 educators from across the country were gathered for a panel discussion in the Tallahatchie County Courthouse, where the Till murder trial took place in 1955.
The classic American drama Twelve Angry Men can be used to frame …
The classic American drama Twelve Angry Men can be used to frame discussion of the constitutional right and civic function of the trial by jury. The lesson explores the specific provisions associated with this right as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the system.
The corrupting influence of slavery on marriage and the family is a …
The corrupting influence of slavery on marriage and the family is a predominant theme in Solomon Northup's narrative Twelve Years a Slave. In this lesson, students are asked to identify and analyze narrative passages that provide evidence for how slavery undermined and perverted these social institutions. Northup collaborated with a white ghostwriter, David Wilson. Students will read the preface and identify and analyze statements Wilson makes to prove the narrative is true.
This lesson focuses on the slave narrative of Solomon Northup, a free …
This lesson focuses on the slave narrative of Solomon Northup, a free black living in the North, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Slave narratives are autobiographies of former slaves that describe their experiences during enslavement, how they became free, and their lives in freedom. Because slave narratives treat the experience of one person, they raise questions about whether that individual's experiences exceptional.
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