National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Mark Twain and American Humor
This lesson leads high school students 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 three-part...
PBS
Pbs Ken Burns: American Lives: Mark Twain
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...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Mark Twain: Storyteller, Novelist, and Humorist
By examining two primary source activities and a short video, young scholars will learn how this literary icon used humor and a uniquely American voice to chronicle post-Civil War life in the United States.
Indiana University
Wright American Fiction Collection: Mark Twain
The full texts to Twain's lesser-known works can be accessed from this site such as "Celebrated Jumping Frog" and "The Innocents Abroad." Read facsimiles of the original books or plain text versions.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: On Stage at the Kennedy Center: 2001 Mark Twain Prize: Twain and R
Use this lesson to study the lives of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. Analyze the writing styles of both authors, and identify the men as humorists who reflected and changed American culture.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The 2001 Mark Twain Prize
This Teacher Resource from the Kennedy Center helps students examine where and how humorists derive the material presented to their audiences. Activities encourage students to analyze elements of humor and the style of entertainers, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: American Literary Humor: Twain, Harris, and Hawthorne
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.
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: Library of Southern Literature: Humor in Lit.
Learn about the type and place of humor in Southern authors through information and links to several authors including Mark Twain, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, George Washington Harris, Joel Chandler Harris, and more.