Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"I Believe..." Podcast Style

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dreamcatchers

For Teachers K - 5th
After reading a Native American legend about dreamcatchers, why not make some. This resource provides several good links that explain the legend of the dreamcatcher and step-by-step instructions for making them with the class. Tip: If...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

A Dream Deferred: DACA

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
 "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" has even more meaning for some children. The resource explores the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Scholars analyze primary sources and participate in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dream Career Presentation, Part 2

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of characteristics people have when they are happy with their career. In groups, they review their material from the previous lesson and share their information with the class in the form of presentations....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keeping the Dream Alive

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the life and works of black American playwrights to gain insight into how their works reflect and influence the black American experience.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tennessee Williams: Exploring the American Dream

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and analyze selections of Tennessee Williams' work. They write journal responses, conduct Internet research, perform various scenes from one of Williams' dramas, and create a presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Mosaic

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders role play as a poor immigrant family moving from the Old World to the New World in search of the American Dream. They create a portfolio and journal of their travels.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hollywood Magic-The Dream Factory Recreates the Novel

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Great Gatsby, The Jungle and study HRC's Teaching the American Twenties-The Dream Factory are the focus of this lesson, Your students will rewrite a small scene from the novel into a dramatic film scene and then create a modern...
Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

My Dream Career

For Teachers 6th Standards
Is your job a dream come true? Career seekers research to discover what their ideal jobs might be in the second of five career and college readiness lessons for sixth graders. After determining their occupational clusters, individuals...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Minority Groups

For Teachers 12th
Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students write their own dream poems in the style of African American dream poetry.  In this African American poetry lesson, students discuss the dreams of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement  and read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American Music and the Flute

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the role of the flute in Native American music while determining what an exemplary example of flute music sounds like. They develop a method of assessing a Native American flute performance. They perform a Native American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dream Catcher

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students create a dream catcher. In this visual arts lesson, students read the book Dream Catcher and create a dream catcher by using a willow branch, leather string, feathers, and beads.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits: Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the contributions of African Americans of the 20th century. In this African American history lesson, students examine portraits of Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, Lorraine Hansberry, Judith Jamison, and Leontyne Price in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When Worlds Collide

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the intersection between immigration and America's vision of itself. They examine how immigrant groups view themselves as Americans, and how the American 'mainstream' views these same immigrant groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"i Have a Dream" As a Work of Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and analyze Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. They answer discussion questions, and write and compose a speech that addresses an injustice in society.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Novel Ideas: History of the American Novel

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Song of the Lark

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Using the internet, class members research the biography of Willa Cather, view photographs of Red Cloud, Nebraska, and read the novel, The Song of the Lark. They discuss the film, its setting and characters, and explore the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pop Culture and Art

For Teachers 6th
Learn about American pop culture, art, and the social voice that art can convey. The class discusses the life and art of Barton Benes, views his piece Reliquarium, then discusses what they see and feel when they view his work. Make sure...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature: Satire in the American Dream

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine cartoons for examples of satire, irony, and sarcasm. They write essays about cartoons, art work, or literature analyzing it for satirical elements. Finally, they create their own piece in one of the three areas...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sampling the American Dream

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students, after viewing a variety of different and unique websites, write a short paragraph on each one that describes their reactions to specific information on unfamiliar subjects. They react to each website as personally as they can.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigrants Who Built America

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students research the lives of ten famous immigrant Americans. They conduct research, and match names with the accomplishments of famous immigrants on a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students 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...

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