Students watch westerns and analyze them. They identify the plot, characters and the sounds in the film. They research icons of the American west and prepare a presentation. They share their presentation with the class.

Students examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in many...

Students demonstrate how sociological research and literature can add to our understanding of poverty. They explore poverty and its implications on society and future organizations.

What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson plan about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before...

While reading O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," your class will define and identify situational irony and allusion. Use a study guide (not included, but easy to produce) to record and discuss examples of allusion as you read. Map the...

Emerging writers observe and demonstrate the process of writing an essay. As a class, they read and discuss the writing steps, read a sample essay, and write an outline for a three-paragraph essay. Then they write a final version of...

In this art and literature instructional activity, high schoolers answer short answer questions about famous books, authors, characters, and more. Students complete 20 questions.

Students investigate the military by examining their uniforms.  For this design lesson, students analyze the military uniforms from different locations and time periods.  Students create new ideas for current military uniforms.

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

Engage your class in art analysis of Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie. Using this work of art as inspiration, writers compose a poem or short story. After a peer review session, the teacher conveys information about the work of art as...

Students read a short story about a young Iraqi boy, which opens up classroom discussion about the difficulties some immigrant students face, especially in the days after September 11.

Learners compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."

Young scholars read the first part of the Declaration of Independence and mark the words they don't know. First, they try to guess what the words mean by looking at the them in context, and then they look up the words in a dictionary.

Whether introducing the structure of expository essays or reviewing the format with your high schoolers, take the time to check out this resource. Examples of seven common forms of introductory paragraphs and six types of conclusions, as...

Appeal to your music lovers with this lesson. Middle and high schoolers listen to and describe music from contrasting styles. They identify the common elements between gospel and bluegrass music and have a class discussion regarding the...

Students discover how geographical advantages, locational and regional, ultimately led to western Eurasian societies' disproportionate accounting of world power and innovation. They utilize a workbook which can be downloaded within this...