PBS
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise | Maya Angelou and the 1993 Inaugural Poem: “On the Pulse of Morning”
President Bill Clinton asked Maya Angelou to deliver a poem as part of his 1993 Inaugural Ceremony. Class members watch a clip of Angelou's presentation, do a close reading of the full text of the poem, and respond to discussion...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Trueblood Incident
How is the reader of Ralph's Ellison's Invisible Man supposed to react to "The Trueblood Incident" of Chapter 2? A short clip from the American Master film Ralph Ellison: An American Journey offers differing critical analyses from two...
PBS
Invisible Man: Battle Royal
A film reenactment of the "Battle Royal" scene in Chapter 1 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man offers readers a chance to compare the film version of the scene to the novel's depiction. The discussion questions ask readers to consider the...
PBS
Invisible Man: The Hero's Journey
The narrator of Invisible Man is on a quest, a quest to find out who he is and what his place is in a deeply divided American society. An episode from the American Masters series asks readers to consider Ralph Ellison's acclaimed novel...
PBS
Invisible Man: Plot Summary
Although labeled as a plot summary, this resource from the American Masters series is so much more. In addition to clips from the American Masters film, the packet contains teaching tips, discussion questions, a background reading, and...
PBS
An Introduction to Ralph Ellison
Powerful and painful, Ralph Ellison's acclaimed Invisible Man is a must-read. A short video from the PBS American Masters series introduces viewers to Ellison and the major themes of the novel.
PBS
American Masters: The American Dream in the Grapes of Wrath
For many farmers displaced by the Great Depression and the droughts of the 1930s, California represented the American Dream: a place to find work, to establish a new life, and to provide for their families. The reality they found, as...
PBS
American Masters Meet F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby
Introduce readers to the great Jay Gatsby with a short video from the American Masters series. Narrators analyze how Fitzgerald's choice of narrator and point of view create the dreamlike qualities and near-mythic status of Jay Gatsby.
TED-Ed
"New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus
What might a poem about the Statue of Liberty sound like? Viewers of a short video discover the answer as they watch an animated interpretation of the poem "New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus.
TED-Ed
"The Opposites Game" by Brendan Constantine
What is the opposite of a gun? A classroom grapples with the complex question in Brendan Constantine's poem, "The Opposites Game." Using the resource, viewers watch an animated interpretation of the poem to discover how the poem's...
Storynory
A Christmas Carol Part One
Prepare for the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future with an audio retelling of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. As learners listen to Ebenezer Scrooge's dynamic journeys through time, they reflect on the story's...
TED-Ed
"New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus
Lady Liberty has welcomed millions of immigrants into the United States with her mighty flame and the immortal poem at her feet. Listen to a dramatic reading of "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, complete with illustrative animation, in...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read "Hamlet"?
Romeo may appeal to more romantic students, but the broodier teenagers in your class are bound to relate to the melancholic, inward-facing Hamlet. Show an enthralling video that summarizes plot elements, characterization, and the...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read Kurt Vonnegut?
In the midst of darkness, there's hope. A video lesson shares key themes found in Kurt Vonnegut's writing, including the idea of hope in darkness. After watching the video, viewers take a short quiz to test their understanding, answer...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read "Don Quixote"?
What value could there possibly be in a story about a man who sets out to fight windmills? Turns out, quite a bit! A video and interactive lesson about the novel Don Quixote sets out to explain the answer to the question. Viewers track...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read "Waiting for Godot"?
Sometimes life feels like a tragic comedy. A video about the play Waiting for Godot describes the play as a tragic comedy. Viewers see a summary of the famous drama and its history before answering multiple-choice and open-ended...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read Edgar Allan Poe?
Edgar Allen Poe's writing goes far beyond the familiarity of "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." An intriguing video lesson explores the work, history, and style of the famous Gothic writer. Animations engage viewers in the video, and...
TED-Ed
The Myth of Sisyphus
Having an eagle eat your liver sounds like a form of cruel and unusual punishment. As explained in an interesting video lesson, it's nothing compared to the punishments doled out in "The Myth of Sisyphus." A summary introduces the...
PBS
How Fantasy Reflects our World
History inspires fantasy. That idea forms the basis of an informational video about the genre. Through the video, viewers learn about different subgenres of fantasy and discover its key characteristics. The video discusses many popular...
PBS
An Ode to the Romance Novel
Heroes with six-pack abs, helpless heroines, cliche plot lines —must be a romance novel! An informational video describes the romance novel genre and explains how it differs from a traditional love story. It uses popular texts as...
PBS
The Evolution of Science Fiction
How is it that science fiction writers have displayed the uncanny ability to predict the future? An informational video discusses the genre of science fiction and explains how it has developed. Discussions of specific texts, such...
PBS
The Evolution of YA: Young Adult Fiction, Explained
Paranormal teen romances may currently dominate the young adult fiction shelves, but that's not the only change to the genre during the past few years. The evolution of YA lit is the topic of an informational video that follows the teen...
Storynory
How the Whale Got His Throat
What happens when a whale bites off more than he can chew? Rudyard Kipling's classic story "How the Whale Got His Throat" was originally part of his 1903 Just So Stories, and is featured as an audio story to accompany a transcript of the...
Storynory
The Elephant’s Child
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it gave the elephant a very useful nose! Listen to a retelling of Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant's Child" that explains how the elephant's long nose came to be—and what a hungry crocodile had to do...