Students will explore the connotations of the colors associated with the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." They will discuss the meaning of connotation and how word meanings can change. Next they will work in groups to explore the cultural connotations of a particular color, present findings to the class, keep a color log as they read the novel, and write an analysis of a major character.

In this activity, students analyze primary source documents in order to better understand the content, impact, and perpetual relevance of the U.S. Constitution to the daily lives of American citizens.

In this lesson, students gain background information to help them understand the context of A Modest Proposal as they read it. Also provided are activities to further student understanding after reading.

This lesson and resource engages students in a metacognition exercise about critical thinking and also practice research and informational writing skills using a collection of critical thinking quotes.

Nineteenth century middle-class American women saw their behavior regulated by a social system, known today as the cult of domesticity, which was designed to limit their sphere of influence to home and family. Yet within this space they developed networks and modes of expression that allowed them to speak out on issues facing the nation. Students will read four sets of passages and identify which principals of the cult of domesticity are illustrated and how. Students will also perform textual anlayses to determine audience, voice, point of view, themes, and the rhetoric used.

In this activity, students use primary source documents in order to assess the validity of this statement, with regard to diplomacy, religion, and commerce: "From 1607 to 1763, Indian/white relations in colonial America shifted from mutual dependency and cooperation towards conflict and tension." Students will write an essay based on their analysis of the documents.

In this activity, students use primary source documents in order to answer this question: "To what extent did colonial encounters with Native Americans from 1607 to 1763 shape a unique American identity?" Students will write an essay based on their analysis of the documents.

In this activity, students use primary source documents in order to respond to the statement: "Analyze the extent to which western expansion affected the lives of Native Americans during the period 1860–90 and evaluate the role of the federal government in those effects." Students will write an essay based on their analysis of the documents.

In this activity, students use primary source documents in order to respond to this statement: "Assess the social, political, and economic impact of the development of the Federal Interstate Highway System from 1940 to the mid-1960s." Students will write an essay based on their analysis of the documents.

In this lesson, students will analyze the Allied war aims, strategies and major turning points of the war by reading the prescribed text pages and participate in class discussions and by defining terms and names into notebooks. They will describe the impact of events on the people at the home front by creating cartoons summarizing events depicted in the New York Times articles and describe the role and sacrifices of members of the American armed forces by writing a letter home from the perspective of a D-Day survivor.

The past is often neatly partitioned in time periods and eras with generalized names meant to characterize what life was like during that time. In this multi-day lesson, students question the validity of using ?Dark Ages? to describe Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. In the process, students examine a variety of primary and secondary sources highlighting different social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental facets of life in Europe during this period.

Students read an article describing a study that sheds new light on Charles Darwin's hobby of breeding pigeons. They learn about the origins of genes responsible for certain traits in pigeons, explore how scientists unravel the connections between genes and physical characteristics, and simulate a selective breeding program.

In this lesson, students will work in small groups to read and analyze a primary source using a set of questions designed to help them understand the writers' viewpoints. Students will then explain their findings to their classmates. Finally, each student will produce a written essay that explains how and why scientific understanding of the atom has changed over time.

This online interactive lesson from the United Kingdom's National Archives guides students through several primary sources to answer the big question, "Did Churchill Cause the Cold War?" There is a worksheet, glossary, and timeline provided to assist students in their analysis. You must click on the picture of each primary source to access it.

This online interactive lesson from the United Kingdom's National Archives guides students through several primary sources to answer the big question, "Did President Johnson make the right decision to send forces to Vietnam in 1965?" There is a worksheet, glossary, and timeline provided to assist students in their analysis. You must click on the picture of each primary source to access it.

This online interactive lesson from the United Kingdom's National Archives guides students through several primary sources to answer the big question, "Did Truman Cause the Cold War?" There is a worksheet, glossary, and timeline provided to assist students in their analysis. You must click on the picture of each primary source to access it.

In this lesson, students learn about the draft lottery during the Vietnam War, and how it affected the lives of young men during that time. Students are introduced to the Selective Service’s lottery system through a bell-ringer that asks them to locate their “number” and then segregates the class into the drafted and undrafted. They then read a short description of the Selective Service’s lottery system. The key points from the reading are summarized through a teacher-directed discussion. Finally, students view the oral histories of veterans who discuss the ways the draft impacted their perspectives on the Vietnam War.

Students will identify and explain factors that contributed to ethnic tensions and conflicts in Sri Lanka. They will watch a video clip related to the conflict in Sri Lanka and critically analyze texts to determine the characteristics of the author. Students will also use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the war in Sri Lanka with another conflict previously studied.

In this lesson students are ask to explore ideas using examples of great writers with a particular focus on William Shakespeare. In the Introductory Activity, students look at several authors to begin identifying ways in which authors' lives are reflected in their writing. In the Learning Activity, students watch videos segments from the PBS series and explore the question of whether or not events in Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. Finally, in the Culminating Activity, students examine text from The Tempest to assert whether or not Prospero's speech from Act V, Scene 1 was in fact Shakespeare's farewell to the theatre.

Students explore the qualities that make a classic writer"™s work special and then compose newspaper articles celebrating the works of different authors.