Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stories of the Wrights' Flight

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rocky Shore

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students compare a realistic landscape painting with a photograph of the same place.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spy on a Spider

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creatures from Planet X: Spiders

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students are given a description of some fascinating animals from "Planet X". They follow the descriptions given to illustrate one of these animals paying careful attention to introduced vocabulary such as 'appendages', 'receptors', and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Facts, Feats and Folklore: Spiders

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students review and discuss a variety of sayings, folklore and superstitions about spiders. They discuss this information and choose either an interesting fact or appealing foklore tradition to illustrate.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ABC's of the Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers K - 12th
Students investigate the Louisiana Purchase by reviewing the ABC's of the purchase. Each letter of the alphabet is accompanied by information pertaining to the event. They participate in a variety of activities to reinforce the concepts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Taste of the Caribbean

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students are introduced to the foods and traditions of the Caribbean. In groups, they brainstorm their own definition of culture and review the physical and political geography of the Caribbean. They spend time sampling different foods...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rhythmic Travel Around the World

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore and play rhythm sticks while listening to songs from around the world. They locate the countries of origin on a map, and tap their rhythm sticks to the beat of the music.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Six Trait Writing with Jack Prelutsky and the Brothers Grimm

For Teachers K
Students identify and discuss six traits of writing and complete some beginning drawing and writing utilizing the traits. Six lessons on one page.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Trickster in African American Literature

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Trudier Harris, Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains the role of tricksters in African American literature.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Anacostia Community Museum: All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak

For Students 9th - 10th
An online companion site for an exhibit showing at the Anacostia Community Museum. Read biographical information on many African American writers while viewing video clips and photos.
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Wallace Thurman

For Students 9th - 10th
This site includes the author's credits as an editor and playwright, a biography, and links to three of his books.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.
Handout
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Literature by and About African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
A bibliography collection of literature by and about African Americans. Includes a selection of memoirs, fiction and non-fiction work.
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Alain Locke

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of African-American writer Alain Locke, chief interpreter of the Harlem Renaissance, the video [5:30] "Ossie Davis: Dr. Alain Leroy Locke's Influence," and links to three of his books.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Literature & Life Givens Collection (Afr. Am. Lit)

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This PBS site explores African-American literature from its beginnings to the present. Includes an on-line study guide.
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Dorothy West

For Students 9th - 10th
This biography of Harlem Renaissance writer Dorothy West includes a video [2:42] of West in New York and links to book reviews for all of West's works.
Unit Plan
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Zora Neale Hurston

For Students 9th - 10th
This site focuses on Zora Neale Hurston including a bibliography, the video [2:30] "Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun" and links to 11 of her books including her most famous work There Eyes Were Watching God.
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Alex Haley

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a concise biography of Haley, the video [12:28] "Alex Haley Interview Roots (Merv Griffin Show 1977)" and links to six of his books.
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Examining African American Culture Through the Use of Children's Literature

For Teachers 3rd
This curriculum unit is designed for third grade students to address the issue of diversity during many different core areas via the use of African-American children's literature. The unit incorporates a variety of children's books, both...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: The Harlem Renaissance

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson is an introduction to a unit on The Harlem Renaissance, the period between the end of WW I through mid 1930s when African Americans were recognized for their literature, music, and art. It discusses their themes and lists...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Realism: Spirituals

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on the spirituals sung by the African American slaves as a way to express feeling and relay information in coded messages. as well as, to pass the time. It includes a PDF of the lyrics to two spirituals, "Go Down,...
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Chinua Achebe

For Students 9th - 10th
This site includes a brief biography of Achebe, the video [9:13] "Nigerian Writer Chinua Achebe on CNN's 'African Voices'" and links to 17 of his books.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Becoming Visible: James Baldwin

For Students 9th - 10th
James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.