Constitutional Rights Foundation
Suppressing the Vote
Voting rights have expanded over time, but some voters are still being suppressed. A thought-provoking resource explores the history of voter suppression in the US and efforts to remove roadblocks to voting. Young historians learn about...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Purged From the Voter Rolls: Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute
Once a registered voter isn't always a registered voter. Academics explore the topic of voter registration and hindrances to remaining registered. The resource focuses on data analysis, federal voter registration law, and Supreme Court...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Census in US History
The census has been a part of the American landscape since the Constitution was written; however, it does have a history of controversy. Class members use a guided reading and simulation activity on developing census questions to...
National Woman's History Museum
The Equal Rights Amendment
The debate over the Equal Rights Amendment continues. To better understand the controversy, class members research the history of attempts to get the amendment ratified. In addition, pairs engage in a structured academic conversation...
Ashoka
A Toolkit for Promoting Empathy in Schools
Instill kindness with a unit all about empathy. Lessons and activities follow a prepare, engage, reflect, and action sequence. Learning experiences include making the classroom a safe environment, peer-invented handshakes, discussions...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Literary Criticism Module
Building one idea at a time. Scholars complete a close read and multiple activities related to Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon to build upon their understanding of central ideas and motifs. They participate in meaningful...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 3
Virginia Woolf didn't believe a woman could have written Shakespeare's works. Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion to analyze how Woolf uses rhetoric to convey her point of view in A Room of One's Own. Pupils write...
Odell Education
Reading Closely for Textual Details: "And I am willing to lay down all my joys in this life..."
Look closely, some details are hidden! Scholars learn how to find attributes by first examining characteristics in illustrations and then move to locating details in text with close reading. The teacher models good practices for...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 21
Rest in peace, Ophelia! Scholars read about Ophelia's burial in Act 5.1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. They complete a Quick Write to analyze the characters' reactions to Ophelia's death.
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 15
Scholars continue reading Act 3.1 from Shakespeare's Hamlet, discovering Ophelia's monologue about Hamlet. They complete a Quick Write to analyze Ophelia's perspective of Hamlet and participate in an optional jigsaw activity to explore...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 14
How do Ophelia's interactions with Hamlet help develop her character? Pupils continue reading Act 3.1 from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Using writing and discussion, scholars analyze the dialogue between Hamlet and Ophelia, paying particular...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 7
Following a ghost's advice may not be in anyone's best interest, but that doesn't stop Hamlet! Using an exciting resource, pupils continue reading Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the ghost tries to convince Hamlet to seek revenge...
Odell Education
Reading Closely for Textual Details: "We, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
Take another look—there are probably more details than readers realize. Scholars analyze nine texts in a five-part unit that contains 21 activities to find textual details. Activities include close reading, independent reading,...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Extension Module: Understanding and Evaluating Argument
Scholars read, analyze, and evaluate argumentative writing. Discussion about arguments of mass incarceration evolves from The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Learners participate in group discussions and...
Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims Literary Technique: Louise Erdrich and Tim O’Brien
Take a ride in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich. Students read the story and discuss whether a car is really a character. After carrying out several activities using graphic organizers and tools for making their claims in The Red...
Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims: "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois
Scholars dig deep into the text of W.E.B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk and analyze his position that black people must be aware of how they see themselves as well as how the world sees them. The instructor and readers work through the...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to the Works of John Green
The novels of John Green cover the gamut of teenager emotions. A guide to his works provides classroom lesson plans for the novels Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, The Fault in Our Stars, and Paper Towns. Each lesson...
Ford's Theatre
Socratic Seminar/Group Discussion: The Crisis of the Civil War
High schoolers work in four different groups to examine the many factors that led to the American Civil War. They research an assigned topic, prepare questions, and finally engage in a class discussion using the Socratic Seminar method.
Brigham Young University
Putting Ideas Together
As part of their study of set design, theater arts students put together what they have learned so far and create a thumbnail sketch of a set that they feel captures the style and mood they want to project.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Election of 1912
The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...
What So Proudly We Hail
A Lesson on Benjamin Franklin’s “Project for Moral Perfection”
Benjamin Franklin identified 13 virtues that he felt would strengthen his character if he could focus on each one. A thorough lesson explores high schoolers' personal values in the context of their lives, and compels them to strive for...
ReadWriteThink
Defining Literacy in a Digital World
What skills are necessary to interact with different types of text? Twenty-first century learners live in a digital world and must develop a whole new set of skills to develop media literacy. Class members engage in a series of...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conducting a Panel Discussion and Civil Conversation
The final lesson in an 11-session study of immigration asks class members to engage in either a panel discussion or a civil conversation of the controversial legal and policy issues they have investigated as part of the unit.
Curated OER
Educating Children about Autism in an Inclusive Classroom
How do we meet the needs of learners with autism? Find out with an in-depth study that offers a thorough explanation of autism—what it is and how unique every individual's case may be, nine lesson plans spanning from...