Patriot or traitor? Scholars debate the line between patriotism and treason in a short activity. Academics analyze a political cartoon and discuss varying viewpoints between different groups living in the American colonies. The activity...

To sign or not to sign, that is the question. Scholars review the Declaration of Independence and discuss the Framers' decisions for signing the document. The activity uses primary text, a worksheet, and group discussion to help...

Most people know of the Boston Tea Party, but it was only one of similar protests throughout the colonies. Using a case study from Maryland, learners explore primary sources, including images and newspaper accounts of similar tea...

Eight lessons and worksheets comprise a curriculum guide for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Class members create a timeline that includes world-historical events as well as events in the novel. They analyze the speaking styles of...

An 18-page curriculum guide for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice consists of five lessons. The first plan asks readers to compare the manners, social behaviors, and class issues in Austen's novel to today's. Next, pupils examine a...

Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...

Double, double scholars' appreciation of the Scottish Play with a guide that adds a rich brew of pre-reading background information, chapter discussion questions, activities, and writing prompts to provide readers with a "firm and good"...

Imperialism, colonialism, utopianism. There are certainly a lot of "isms" reflected in The Tempest, just as there are a lot of stormy relationships. Instructors new to using the play in their classroom and those more seasoned will find...

Henry V is certainly not a drama "of few words." It's a sprawling study of a good yet complex king, a tumultuous time in European history, and an examination of justice and mercy. The 20-page guide to the play provides instructors...

Villainy, parricide, ambition, abuse of power, and some of the most famous lines in English literature—Richard III has it all. Instructors using the play for the first time and those who list it as one of their favorites will find...

It's not the best of guides nor the worst of guides, but time spent examining the guide to Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is certainly not wasted. The 17-page guide includes book-by-book synopses of the novel, before,...

The second lesson in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider the characteristics of a good leader. After generating a list of these qualities, they annotate a passage from the novel highlighting the leadership qualities of...

What three readily available things would you grab in case of an emergency? That's the question that launches a unit study of William Golding's The Lord of the Flies. After sharing their choices, class members read Golding's rationale...

To end the unit, groups use the Honeycomb Harvest strategy to show connections among a character, symbols, and themes in the novel and then create an Anchor Chart for the character that includes a symbol that best represents him. They...

The seventh lesson plan in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider whether or not an individual can overcome the worst thing they have ever done. Groups read different articles related to the question, share their expertise...

Readers of Lord of the Flies consider the symbols of power William Golding uses in his dystopian novel and support their choice with evidence from the text.

Is the nature of humans inherently good or evil? That is the question scholars consider in the fourth lesson plan of the Lord of the Flies unit. In a Four Corners activity, they examine statements about human nature and stand by the...

Jane Eyre offers scholars an opportunity to practice reading comprehension skills. Pairs are assigned a word from the text, use their prior knowledge, and consider the context, connotation, and denotation of the word to posit a...

Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and a song from the musical "Hamilton" allow middle schoolers to practice using punctuation to indicate whether sentences are indicative, imperative, or interrogative. 

Students compare/contrast the factors that create strong relationships between countries, researching the evolving relationship between Britain and France. They create a scrapbook that documents the major events in the history of Britain...

Fifth graders develop a common currency. In this colonial currency lesson, 5th graders exchange beads, rice, coins, and paper bills for goods and services. Students explore web tools to research ways colonists used money, even if it was...

Fifth graders evaluate David Bushnell's 1776 American Turtle. In this history lesson students analyze and make predictions about the first submarine invented by David Bushnell after view pictures. They compare the drawing with an account...

Learners identify the extent of the Roman Empire on a map of Europe and North Africa. They discuss the reasons behind Roman expansion and occupation. They read Cymbeline and write about the attitudes of 3 characters. Groups stage the scene.

Students interpret a painting and draw conclusions about life in 10th century Britain. In this British history activity, students determine what life would have been like for an affluent British family including their heating sources,...