City University of New York
Woman's Suffrage and World War I
How did women use President Wilson's ideals and rhetoric in their bid for suffrage? To answer this essential question, class groups analyze primary written documents and visual images.
Curated OER
Mark Twain: Straddling the Civil War
Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain to...
Curated OER
A P Literary Terms
Is a list of literary terms found frequently on AP English exams of value to test takers? Now there's a rhetorical question. Here's a list that provides definitions for everything from allegory to vernacular. To say the list is of value...
C-SPAN
Should States Shift to Mail-In Voting during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Students read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. For this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Students discuss the...
College Board
2015 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Many schools have honor codes, but scholars do not always choose to follow them. As part of a series of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition Exam, learners discuss the benefits or disadvantages of honor...
Curated OER
Speech in the Virginia Convention
“. . .different men often see the same subject in different lights. . .” but the great orator Patrick Henry used all the skills at his command to craft a speech to convince listeners to see things as he did--that liberty was worth dying...
Curated OER
Violence Prevention
Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...
Curated OER
Business and Advertising
Historical and humorous examples pepper this through presentation, which addresses logical infelicities and humor in business, advertising, and even politics. Though designed for a business and advertising class, this lecture could also...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms and the...
University of North Carolina
Communication Studies
A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....
Prestwick House
Author’s Purpose in Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” Speech
President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...
Curated OER
A New Candidate for Animal Farm
Students create an advertising campaign in which a candidate from Animal Farm will run for an upcoming election. In this follow-up activity to George Orwell's Animal Farm lesson, students explore propaganda, rhetoric, and satire as they...
Curated OER
Activism of Terrorism
Students research animal rights issues and controversies and determine whether they believe extreme tactics are justified. They practice debate and rhetoric skills by successfully arguing both sides of the issue.
Curated OER
Medieval African Kingdoms
Seventh graders examine the geography and political history of West Africa. They role-play as applicants to a company that transports customers to any historic time period. Working in teams, they create promotional products encouraging...
Close Up Foundation
Teach the Vote
Why is voting important? A social studies unit presents a non-partisan approach to the importance of voting, to voting laws and procedures, and to resources that voters need to become informed voters.
Curated OER
Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass, and American Non-Fiction
Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...
Curated OER
Knowledge is Power
Students explore the distinct forms of knowledge that enslaved Africans brought with them to America or developed while enslaved. They study how political movements of the 18th century helped develop abolitionist thinking.
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Lyndon B. Johnson, Excerpt from “The Great Society”
Young historians examine Lyndon Johnson's vision for a rich, powerful, and upward society as detailed in this excerpt from his famous "Great Society" speech presented at the University of Michigan in 1964.
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Lyndon B. Johnson, Excerpt from “The American Promise”
"I want to be the president who educated young people to the wonders of their world." Readers examine the vision Lyndon B. Johnson presented for his presidency in this excerpt from his "The American promise" message delivered to Congress...
C-SPAN
Presidential Candidate Research
Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...
Curated OER
Animal Farm Study Questions and Essay Topics
In this literature worksheet, students think critically about characterization, perspective, rhetoric, and the message of the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell. Students also discuss why Orwell chose a fable as political commentary.
Curated OER
Perspective on the Slave Narrative
Students work with the slave narrative as a resource for historical study and evaluate it as a work of literature; students then examine the narrative in the context of political controversy as an argument for abolition.
Curated OER
Freedom by the Fireside: The Legacy of FDR's "Four Freedoms" Speech
Students read and analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address. They listen to recordings of speeches by F.D.R., answer discussion questions, and participate in a debate.