Students examine how African American families were affected by slavery. As a class, they watch and read King's "I Have a Dream Speech" and write a paper on how this message relates to families. In their journals, they compare and...

Students are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the activity, by...

Ninth graders explore the meaning of the American dream and how it has been explained in various forms. After reading various immigrant accounts, 9th graders use poetry and writing to explain how different cultures view the American...

Students identify Iowa's American Indian cultures and complete a research project for the topic. In this Iowa's American Indian instructional activity, students research read the background information about tribes in Iowa and complete a...

High schoolers interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. For this women's history lesson, students examine the role of women prior to and following the suffrage movement. High schoolers also read selected pieces of...

What are the strengths and weaknesses of American individualism and independence? Explore these principles through a close reading of Jack London's To Build a Fire, and engage in high-level discussion with your class by analyzing the...

A 10-page guide to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men includes a brief plot summary, information about preparing readers for the language in the novel, pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading questions, essay prompts, and project...

Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...

Introduce your high schoolers to one of the most important pieces of American literature with a reading comprehension lesson. As class members read a short passage from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, they learn...

Young scholars listen to chapter from novel When Legends Die by Hal Borland, listen to traditional Lakota song, discuss feeling song induces and in what circumstance it may be used, and examine connection between cultural music and...

Learners examine the Declaration of Independence. For this Revolutionary War lesson, learners use primary sources to analyze how the creation of the Declaration of Independence lead to the development of the United States as an...

Students identify and connect themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz. They compare and contrast historical and fictionalized versions of the jazz scenes of the Harlem Renaissance. They...

A lesson plan originally designed around the short story "Mr. Saito of Heaven Building" by Yamanokuchi Baku, this resource provides historical background, discussion questions, and brief writing assignments that help your class explore...

Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...

Students read and research American Indian creation stories as a way to understand the origins of American Literature. They conduct Internet research utilizing Internet search engines. They create an online report page as well as write...

Connecting social studies and American literature, students study the Great Awakening and draw comparisons between its impact on England and on parts of Colonial America. They research the lives and experiences of people who lived during...

Nathaniel Hawthorne as a humorist? Really? The three lessons in this series focus on the the storytelling style, conventions, and literary techniques employed by Hawthorne, George Washington Harris, and Mark Twain. 

Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...

In this An American Tragedy worksheet, students analyze plot, symbol, irony, narrator, style, and theme of An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser.

Students define the American dream. In this primary research lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding the ideal of the American dream.  Students create presentation to...

Students explore, analyze and study novel reflections on the American dream that the United States has held the promise of unlimited possibilities. They describe the concept of the American dream, listen to and record real stories of...

Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...

Students compare the tone, purpose, point of view, etc. of traditional Native American poems and creation myths to traditional Colonial American literature. they debate which is the right way of thinking/living.