What if society sought equality by handicapping the gifted and dispelling any traces of diversity? Kurt Vonnegut Jr. offers one possible answer to this question through his incredibly engaging and thought-provoking satirical...

Combining a close reading of a classic American text with the study of history can be a very powerful strategy, and this is most certainly the case with this resource using Edward Everett Hale's The Man without a Country. Consider themes...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...

A 10-lesson unit takes high schoolers through a novel study of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To start, students learn about Fitzgerald's background and gain historical context that prepares them for a reading of the book. The...

The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

Capture the engagement of young readers with this collection of activities based on Jane Yolen's book, Owl Moon. Following a shared reading of this children's story, the class explores the geography of the American Northeast,...

Students examine work by outstanding African American poets from the time period of the 1920s and 1930s. They study aspects of American and African American social, cultural and artistic history that influenced the content of some of the...

In this literature worksheet, students respond to 12 short answer and essay questions about Emerson's Essays. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Students analyze cowboy literature. In this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....

This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.

Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Scarlet Letter is the anchor text in a four-week unit that examines Hawthorne's novel through the lens of the intolerances found in a supposed civilized society. In addition to their reading, class members watch clips from...

A handy guide offers high schoolers support as they read the American novel, The Great Gatsby. Complete with a biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, a timeline of the Roaring Twenties, discussion questions about the novel, and more, this...

Students discover the life and work of an American author, either Samuel Clemens or Louisa May Alcott. In this study of visual and written portraits lesson, students take a look at the authors through four different sources: a portrait,...

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

Simple yet convenient: this resource is a real treasure! Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure novel, Treasure Island, engages readers of all ages with its tales of treasure maps, buried gold, and pirates. With a sleek eBook, learners can...

Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one...

For this Chinese history worksheet, students answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions based on their knowledge of Chinese history and culture.

Students examine and discuss government-imposed censorship of art and artists' methods for counteracting censorship. They view censored artwork, write a persuasive essay, and create an art piece.

Third graders gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, viewing poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition. They study and create their own haiku and tanka poems with illustrations.

Students explore Chinese calligraphy. In this art and social science lesson plan, students copy the Chinese character ideograms in order to create words or phrases.

Information and analysis on the central concerns, characteristics, and distinguishing features of American literature, presented in timeline format. With synopses of classic works, biographical sketches, overviews of literary movements,...