Learners examine African American art. In this African American history lesson, students research face jugs created by African American freedmen after they watch a video about the artifact and its significance. Learners then create...

Students create exhibits about patriotic symbols for a living museum. They write reflective essays exploring the themes and symbols of independence and their influences on social responsibility.

Students analyze the multiple voices in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In this multiple voices lesson plan, students explore the use of symbolism with the narrative voices of the text. Students write a detailed profile of one...

It's time to celebrate Kwanzaa in the classroom! After studying the traditions of the holiday, learners design a menu decorated in the colors and symbols associated with Kwanzaa.

Although they may be based on a novel, a screenplay is not a novel and is read differently. This teacher's guide to Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun teaches readers how to read a screenplay, analyze camera instructions, and...

Pupils explore the similarities of the Japanese-American experience in WWII and Arab-American experience in post-September 11 US policy. They create presentations on their reflections and express themselves through poetry, dance, essay,...

Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one...

Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...

Here are some activities based on Flag Day. Activities include reading a passage, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, spelling, sequencing, scrambled sentences, writing questions, survey, and writing. There is a total...

What are superdelegates? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to explore this informal term with your scholars. Background information gives brief context to help high schoolers examine the featured cartoon, and three talking...

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

What don't we know about our government? Explore the concept of transparency and freedom of information throught this analysis handout, in which scholars examine 2 political cartoons. Background information provides context, explaining...

Open up an intriguing dialogue about Wall Street controversy using political cartoons! Background information gives context, including quotes from various newspapers about compensation caps, bonuses, and the growing disenchantment with...

Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a instructional activity that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked...

Students create their own petroglyph. In this petroglyph lesson, students study and compare various petroglyphs. They create their own petroglyph to symbolize the seasons.

When are responsibilities freely chosen, and when have they actually been imposed on us? Here you'll find a unique way to frame your class discussion on civic duty and responsibilities inherent in the United States Constitution.

Students evaluate primary sources to develop their own opinions about Westward Expansion. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students examine and respond to questions about Gast's painting titled American Progress Students research how...

Students reflect on how many board games they've played have African Americans, their culture or history incorporated within. They identify four street games and three card games that appeal to African Americans. They play the...

High schoolers study a current political cartoon to introduce the ideas of symbolism, humor, exaggeration, and caricature in editorial cartoons. They study cartoons from the past to gain an understanding of the culture of 1912.

“Ich bin ein Berliner.” Here’s the full text of John F. Kennedy’s famous address delivered to the people of Berlin on June 26, 1963. The resource could be used as part of a study of Kennedy’s presidency, of rhetorical devices, or as...

Students pick a time period and put events in chronological order using symbols.

Students complete research to enhance their reading of "The Grapes of Wrath". Using the text, they identify and locate cultural artifacts and discuss their symbolic connotations. As a class, they create a museum exhibit of the various...

Students describe the purposes of the Treaty of Versailles. In groups, they analyze the causes and effects of the treaty and discuss why the Americans were so against it. They note ideas for and against its ratification and they make...

Discover the five main elements political cartoonists use—symbolism, captioning and labels, analogy, irony, and exaggeration—to convey their point of view.