Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...

Students discuss famous examples of historical fiction as a genre and why it is used so often. They create an original piece of historical fiction by developing a character who is an immigrant to the United States. They are assessed...

Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...

The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson plan about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...

Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...

Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...

Students identify and interpret the life of a drummer boy during the Civil War as well as about a reenactment. Students listen to a fictionalized story or a Civil War reenactor and compare ot with the life of the drummer boy the story...

Students listen to a story read by their teacher and identify the pictures inside it to be real or make believe. In this fiction and non fiction lesson plan, students also write a real or make believe story of their own.

Relate literary works and authors to the major themes of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the 20th century. Working in groups, high schoolers will evaluate period philosophy, religion, and politics that influenced...

Tenth graders read "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. In groups, they research the life and works of Morrison and read a speech by Sojouner Truth. Using the novel, they discuss the experiences of slaves and the effect of slavery on their...

Third graders explore the significance of historical landmarks. In this lesson, 3rd graders participate in a class discussion on Kansas landmarks, then complete several activities the reinforce the class discussion, such as writing a story.

Students compare and contrast the society in Orwell's 1984 with modern society. In this 1984 lesson, students research the historical climate in which Orwell wrote the novel. Students create a comparison chart of privacy issues in the...

Learners investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...

Students identify the significance of the author's experiences on his written work; describe the hardships faced by slaves and plantation owners once the caves were set free; explain the role of the Seceses and why they were a threat to...

Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"

Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.

Young scholars read historical artifacts about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and analyze the choices made during the time. In this March on Washington lesson, students read Martin's Big Words and the 'Step Back in Time'...

Students categorize information into a problem/solving chart and examine the value of using a diary. In this problem solving and diary lesson plan, students read portions of Dear Mr. Henshaw, while they investigate the importance of...

Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...

Students read three different genres of fiction. They create a story map and brainstorm possible collage inclusions. Each student prepares a minimum of two scrapbook page entries for each text or passage. Students write beside each...

Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...

Eighth graders read Across Five Aprils and correlate it to a unit on the Civil War. They culminate the unit by writing a a piece of historical fiction in the first person entitled "Brother Against Brother."

Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.