Middle Tennessee State University
John Brown: Hero or Villain?
"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a lesson that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source documents,...
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Bad Brother
Students deal with the historian's dilemma of how to write about people in the past who committed wicked deeds. They analyze a well-known cartoon, "Satan Tempting Booth to the Murder of the President."
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American Music Styles - Lesson 1
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.
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Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
Students take a closer look at archetypes. In this characterization lesson, students examine the setting and the characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as they read and analyze the novel. Students consider how Twain mythically...
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Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Pupils explore protest songs. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
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The Bill of Rights in Times of National Crisis
Learners examine the ability of the government to suspend individual rights in times of national crisis. They formulate a constitutional amendment that clearly states if, when, how and by whom the rights of individuals can be suspended.
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Fugitive from Labor Cases: Henry Garnett (1850) and Moses Honner (1860)
Young scholars engage in the comparison of cases which demonstrate the increasingly volatile political crisis in the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and the necessity for the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to...
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Lessons in Drama: Learning About American Political Thought
Students develop critical thinking skills so that they may produce their own written plays or music from their thoughts and feelings. They express their thoughts based on what has been presented to them over the duration of the course.
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Organizing Main Ideas and Supporting Details
Students read given information and identify the main ideas and specific detail of the story. In groups, they read a historical title and create a "book talk" for each one, summarizing the story. In addition, students create a...
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Writers of the 19th Century
Students are introduced to women authors during the 19th century. In groups, they read about the criticism they faced during this time period by the public and literary community. Using the internet, they research one author to...
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Post- Modernism
Students participate in a lesson that investigates post-modernism in American literature. They conduct the lesson with the help of reading "America" by Ginsberg to create context. Then students define the genre and the culture that has...
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Lincoln, Douglass, and Black Emergence (Literature and Politics, 1840-1865)
Young scholars examine the ideas of Lincoln and Douglass. In groups, they compare and contrast writings from each man and how they formed the nation with their ideas. After watching "Glory", they discuss how people like Lincoln and...
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VH1's When Disco Ruled the World
High schoolers choose a minority culture or an event and research the musical influences of that culture or event on American popular music. They discuss how minority cultures and events in American society influenced the Disco era.
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Legal Definitions of Childhood
Learners examine how various cultures define childhood. Using the internet, they research how countries around the world determine who is a child. They identify the sources they most relate with as a child.
Global Oneness Project
Far From Home
A timely and provocative lesson inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.
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Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...
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The Supreme Court
Students examine the Fourteenth Amendment. In this Supreme Court lesson, students define due process and equal protection as they analyze the impact of the amendment and the Supreme Court on workers' rights in the early 20th century....
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Perseverance
Students examine how the failure of Reconstruction led to the systematic passage of Jim Crow laws in states across the South and the negative impact these laws had on the growth and development of the US.