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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Short Story Lesson Plan: “The Californian’s Tale”

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore the theme of "The Californian's Tale" by Mark Twain. After reading Twain's short story, they identify and study its literary theme. Additionally, they analyze information and relationships in the piece, and write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Short Story Lesson Plan: "The Californian's Tale"

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Middle schoolers read the short story "The Californian's Tale" by Mark Twain and complete related activities. They discuss vocabulary for the story and complete a vocabulary matching definition activity. They complete  writing activities...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Mark Twain and American Humor

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Taming the Bicycle"

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discuss invention of bicycle and early obstacles to riding, listen to and discuss short story "Taming the Bicycle" by Mark Twain, define vocabulary words from story, and create and present humorous "how to" project to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Short Story Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners read and discuss the short story, "The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm," by Mark Twain. They assume the role of the main characters in the story and write a humorous letter of complaint using a business letter format. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frame Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students explore the story "The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Students are introduced to the life of the author, read the story, and respond to prompting questions about the text. The story is included in this lesson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Frontiers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the settlement of the American frontier through literature. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss works by James Fenimore Cooper, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. Students compare...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pudd'nhead Wilson: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Get your pupils thinking about some of the big ideas present in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson with this anticipation guide. Learners decided if they believe a series of statements are true or false. A discussion follows.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts Jeopardy

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Be the next Alex Trebek in this language arts themed Jeopardy game! Categories include Lit Terms, Short Stories, Romeo and Juliet, Tom Sawyer, and The Miracle Worker. By clicking on each category (points from 1-5), a slide with the...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

For Teachers 8th Standards
Was that supposed to be funny? Scholars analyze The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to determine if Mark Twain's story is indeed based on humor. Learners work through short response questions, vocabulary, and active reading to make a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Journalism in Tennessee"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to headline from National Enquirer or other tabloid, listen to story "Journalism in Tennessee," compare and contrast connections between Twain's idea of journalism with present day journalism, define vocabulary, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Huck Finn Chapter Questions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars answer chapter questions to evaluate the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Encounter with an Interviewer

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read the Mark Twain short story, Encounter with an Interviewer. They study "the interview" and discuss the role of the interviewer and the person being interviewed. They conduct mock interviews, constructing questions and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writings on a River

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students identify words that can be used to describe Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer. Students explore stage production of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by reading and discussing "An Older (and Calmer) Tom Sawyer". They develop their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Applications: Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style lesson, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and rewrite the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"how I Edited an Agricultural Paper Once"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the point of view of the story. They describe tone of story using at least 3 examples and describe satire and provide at least 3 examples. They identify and describe at least 3 examples of irony and write and share a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparison and Contrast - D. H. Lawrence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Read The Horse Dealer's Daughter and The Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence, then write an essay comparing and contrasting the two stories. Learners choose some aspect to write about, such as themes, characters, setting, or plot.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Literature Authors and Their Works

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students match American Literature authors with their short stories, poems, and books. In this American Literature instructional activity, students are given an overview of the authors and their main works. Then students independently...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

"Old Southwest" Humorists and George Washington Harris

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars discover the work of George Washington Harris and his influence on American humor.  For this George Washington Harris lesson, discuss cultural differences in the United States and read Sut Lovongwood stories by George...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forgiveness and Gratitude

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students are introduced to the concepts of forgiveness and gratitude. As a class, they listen as they are read a story and note acts of forgiveness and gratitude. They answer comprehension questions and brainstorm definitions of peace...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coming of Age Readings: Experiences in Korea and by Asians in America

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Bring multi-cultural experiences and literature into your language arts class with this activity. Here, young readers explore the points of view of first and second-generation Asian immigrants with a list of various fiction and...