Curated OER
Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s “Learning to Read”
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a lesson that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The lesson introduces them to a brief biography of the poet, includes a video reading, and...
Crafting Freedom
George Moses Horton: Slavery from a Poet's Perspective
Pupils have the unique opportunity to learn about the institution of slavery by reading first-hand experiences as described by George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry.
Annenberg Foundation
Spirit of Nationalism
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
Curated OER
Jean Fritz's American History Series
Students explore children's literature by reading biographies in class. In this history analysis lesson, students read books written by Jean Fritz about the Revolutionary War and discuss the events that led up to the critical moment....
Curated OER
Revolutions in Latin America: Bolivar, 1813-1814
Students compare the leadership skills of Washington and Bolivar. In this Latin American history lesson, students read biographical information about George Washington and Simon Bolivar. Students compare the men to better understand the...
Curated OER
Appreciating Our American Heritage
Eleventh graders learn about the Chinese culture and how important they feel their heritage and culture are, and to help the American students develop a pride in their own culture as well.
Curated OER
Investigating the Harlem Renaissance
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
Curated OER
Isabel Allende
In this famous leaders instructional activity, students read a passage about Isabel Allende and then complete a variety of in-class and homework activities to support comprehension, including partner interviews, spelling, cloze, synonym...
Curated OER
The Early Suffragists
Students research early suffragists in an effort to find the most influential leader of the movement. They give presentations and the class chooses a winner. They write letters to the postmaster suggesting they be placed on a stamp.
Curated OER
Rev. Joseph Lowery: What Makes a Civil Rights Leader?
Students examine the attributes of civil rights leaders. In this Civil Rights Movement lesson, students design "body biographies" of selected civil rights leaders after they have conducted research and discussed the qualities of leaders.
Curated OER
Inside The Harlem Renaissance
Learners explore the Harlem Renaissance to discover where, when, and why it took place and who was associated with the experience. They decide what are the most informative facts, interesting people, and events in this activity.
Curated OER
Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Students examine the historical and cultural context in Sandburg's poem. The poetic devices of personification and apostrophe are utilized in the poem and identified by Students.
Curated OER
Peace and Perspective through Poetry: The Dream of Peace in the Middle East
Students use poetry to understand conflict in the Middle East. In this poetry lesson, students read persona poems and use the poetry and a novel as mentor text to guide their own poem about peace in the Middle East.
Curated OER
Contributions of Immigrants
High schoolers identify the contributions of immigrants to America. They analyze the value of these contributions as well. They discuss how these contributions affect other's personal perspectives of immigrants.