Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: American Literary Humor: Twain, Harris, and Hawthorne

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this curriculum unit, students will consider American Literary Humor: Mark Twain, George Harris, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Mark Twain and American Humor

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This instructional activity leads high school learners through a greater understanding of the conventions of the literary device of "Humor," through a study of Mark Twain and the story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." A...
Handout
Washington State University

Washington State University: Literary Movements: Local Color Fiction, 1865 1895

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Washington State University provides a good look at the regionalism and local color of American literature from 1865-1895. A definition is included, practitioners, characteristics, and techniques. There are many links to...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Ken Burns: American Lives: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
In his time, Mark Twain was considered the funniest man on earth. Yet he was also an unflinching critic of human nature, using his humor to attack hypocrisy, greed and racism. In this series, Ken Burns has created an illuminating...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Mark Twain: Storyteller, Novelist, and Humorist

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
By examining two primary source activities and a short video, students will learn how this literary icon used humor and a uniquely American voice to chronicle post-Civil War life in the United States.