Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...

The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...

Learners create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Learners write analytical paragraphs and...

Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...

Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...

Young scholars identify the concerns of people caught in desperate times during the Great Depression. They make connections between The Grapes of Wrath and historical images from the Great Depression. Students make connections between...

Students select books to read that include disease as a plot or theme component. They fill out a matrix for the disease in their novel and write a five-paragraph paper about their book. Students use the rest of the week's classes to...

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...

What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...

What was the relationship like between George and Martha Washington? To protect their privacy, Martha Washington destroyed all her husband’s letters after his death so historians have little evidence of their lives together. Two letters...

Learners examine the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the diction in her poetry. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the diction in the poems. Learners journal about the poetry and...

To do this engaging and pleasurable activity, your learners should have already read a graphic novel, and produced a piece of writing that can be reproduced into the format of a graphic novel. This exercise provides a script that...

Explore the history of the American novel in the contexts of literature and US history. How does a novel or piece of writing from a particular time showcase the mood during that historical period? After conducting research and discussing...

Fourth graders read a Cherokee myth about the origin of strawberries. After reading the story, they add another chapter to it and read their additions to the class. Or, as a group activity, they each write a few sentences and then pass...

Learners recognize Theme through the use of simple, short stories. Using Pro Quest, students begin by researching the literary element, theme, and how it can be identified. They then identify the themes in Aesop's Fables and...

Young scholars read poems about Tuberculosis by John Keats. Using the poems, they identify similies, metaphors, personification and imagery. In groups, they make connections about the author's outlook on life and how his disease...

Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. They apply knowledge of language structure,...

Young scholars conduct a literature study of John Steinbeck's classic "Of Mice And Men". They write in reflection of the author's influence upon 20th century literature. Students take apart the story to focus class discussion upon major...

Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.

Students explore the various societal and cultural "lenses" which color their perspectives and life experiences by reading the short story "What Means Switch" by Gish Jen. They discuss how the cultural ideas and beliefs affect the...