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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Impact of the U.S. Expansion on Indigenous People and Stereotypes About Native American People

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
The 2004 U.S. bicentennial sparks a discussion about its meaning and importance to United States history. Readings, maps, tables, and reflective writing prompt small groups to explore the westward expansion, Lewis and Clark, and how...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learners research the evolution and cultural significance of the Arabic ghazal form of poetry. They, in groups, compose an original ghazal poem and read it aloud to the class.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Leadership and a Global Stage

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is, among other things, the study of a ruler's ambitions. Young scholars watch videos, read articles, and keep a Commonplace Book while studying the play. At the end of Act III, pupils stage the play that...
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Lesson Plan
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Anti-Defamation League

We Were Strangers Too: Learning About Refugees Through Art

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Did you know that "in the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more the 64 million people have been forced from their homes"? The Anti-Defamation League presents an activity that asks class members to examine a series of artworks...
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Activity
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Anti-Defamation League

7 Ideas for Teaching Women's History Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Celebrate Women's History Month with hands on-learning. The resource provides seven strategies to help educators teach Women's History Month, ranging from watching films to reading books written by women. Activities including writing...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Analyzing Primary Source Documents to Understand U.S. Expansionism and 19th Century U.S.-Indian Relations

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Historical events can be viewed from multiple perspectives. This simple truth is brought home in a lesson that examines primary source documents related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny,...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Viewing History from Multiple Perspectives

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Celebration or protest song? The full text of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" opens a study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Louisiana Purchase, and Western Expansion from various perspectives. Middle schoolers examine...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Bias, Bullying and Bad Behavior in the NFL

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A 2014 case of locker room behavior in the National Football League offers high schoolers an opportunity to get involved in the conversation of bullying and abuse. Class members read about the case and analyze quotes that reveal...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

What Is the Dream Act and Who Are the Dreamers?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) is the focus of a lesson that asks high schoolers to investigate the act's provisions and read statements by individuals who support and oppose the act. They then...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

“Walling Out the Unwanted”: Understanding the Barriers that Perpetuate Anti-Immigrant Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of immigrant bias, high schoolers investigate the language used in blogs, readings, media reports, and current legislation whose language perpetuates xenophobia. They then consider ways they can get involved in...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

“They Don’t Know Me”: Exposing the Myths and Establishing the Facts about Immigration

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson plan that teaches them to distinguish myths from facts about United States immigration. Class members take an immigration quiz, watch a "What Would You do" video, and discuss how they could be an ally...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...
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Lesson Plan
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Anti-Defamation League

Bringing It Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The "Bringing It Home" lesson asks scholars to investigate segregation and diversity in their school. They research, collect, and analyze local demographics. After reflecting on their personal experiences with cliques and social...
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Lesson Plan
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Anti-Defamation League

The Road to Brown

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a  poem on the same subject...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce middle schoolers to free verse poetry with a lesson that has young poets read two free verse poems and list the common characteristics of the form. They then read a passage from Cesar Chavez's biography and a free verse poem...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

García Márquez’s Nobel Prize Speech: “The Solitude of Latin America”

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude a study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, class members analyze Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech. After a whole-class discussion of the main ideas in the speech, individuals draft a...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

The Realism in Magical Realism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A lesson on magical realism has young historians research how Garcia Marquez weaves historical events and his own experiences into One Hundred Years of Solitude. Using historical records and information found in a biography of Garcia...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Readers of Lord of the Flies examine the four main symbols William Golding develops in his novel: the island, the conch, the Lord of the Flies effigy, and fire. Partners select one of the major symbols and create an image by adding words...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Marian Wright Edelman

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Marian Wright Edelman's 2014 Commencement Speech at Lewis and Clark College serves to inspire young scholars to investigate a problem in their community, to determine why the problem is important, and then to develop a plan for one thing...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Mary McLeod Bethune

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Maya Angelou

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...