Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Violence Prevention

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Pursuit of Truth: Comparing Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr.

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare the life and times of Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. In this life comparison lesson plan, 5th graders explore the key events that happened in each of their lives and fill out worksheets, write essays, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

PARAMILITARY VIOLENCE AND THE CONFLICT IN NORTHERN IRELAND

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine documents to reconstruct the past, employ processes of critical historical inquiry to reconstruct the past, analyze aspects of the Northern Iereland conflict through perspectives of documents, and write a short position...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Games Children Play: Then and Now

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine primary documents to discover similarities and differences in life today and life before.  In this toys then and now lesson, 2nd graders complete a graphic organizer to show how things have changed or stayed...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Charles Baudelaire: Poète Maudit (The Cursed Poet)

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, students work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations to see...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Spirit of Nationalism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Story Writing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students master their compare and contrast writing skills by choosing an American cultural element (fashion, food, religion, etc.) and comparing it to the same element of another culture.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Two Fantasies by J.R.R. Tolkien

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners explore fantasy through The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  In this literature lesson, students investigate character analysis through book comparisons.  Learners read The Hobbit and one other book by J.R.R. Tolkien and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Essay on People and Their Experiences

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, "The Magic Barrel" by Bernard Malamud, and "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver. For this shorty story analysis lesson, students write down facts about each of the main characters from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survivor Vs. Canterbury Tales

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders participate in activities that compare and contrast The Canterbury Tales with the television show, Survivor. They write a compare and contrast essay, and create a festival table and PowerPoint presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Time Lines: Connecting Your Life to History

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students, who are adult learners, examine time increments in history. The create their own timelines, and write a compare and contrast essay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating and Comparing Climographs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners are introduced to the importance and usefulness of climographs. In groups, they create a climograph of two cities on about the same latitude. They compare and contrast the locations and climates of the two cities and write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Settlement and Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the way humans have settled and moved throughout history. In groups, they compare and contrast the settlement and movement of two different ethnic groups. They discover why some are more dominate in an area...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Dream of Castles: A Comparative Study of Castles in Feudal Europe and Japan

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Pupils study castles of Japan while comparing and contrasting them with those of in Europe from the feudal era. They complete a unit of studies that includes reading, writing, Internet research, and critical thinking. They examine how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recap and Activities (Reveloutionary War Era)

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discuss the importance of the Second Continental Congress. They compare and contrast present-day athletic mascots and their roots in the Revolutionary War. After discussing Loyalists and Patriots, 8th graders write...
Handout
Wyatt Bingham

Comparative Essay: Tips for Timed Writing

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
This site provides a guideline for writing a comparative essay for the AP World History Test. It also provides practice exercises and samples.
Lesson Plan
American Documentary

Religion in Culture & Politics: Women’s empowerment in Syria

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
What defines a woman as empowered, and how does this definition compare to the ideas and actions of a group of Muslim women in Syria? After watching a series of video clips from a documentary film about a school for girls in Damascus,...
Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Tuck Everlasting: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Would you want to live forever? That is a question that Winnie, in Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, must answer. Scholars read to find out what Winnie chooses and reinforce their knowledge with vocabulary activities,...
Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United We Stand

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students recreate and simulate the secession of the South during the Civil War by having their class secede from the school. They write an essay comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of everyday life before and after...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Depression

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars use Using specific examples, compare and contrast how President Hoover and President Roosevelt responded to the Great Depression through relief, recovery and reform. They evaluate whether their attempts were successful.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Were You?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine various New York Times readers' reflections on the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, by reading and discussing "Readers Reflect on President John F. Kennedy." Students then write their own personal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tell It to the Judge - Persuasive Essay

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one and complete a graphic organizer. Then they write a persuasive essay following the steps of the writing process. Finally, students publish their completed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to the Caribbean

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the history and culture of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. They conduct research on Christopher Columbus, create a quiz, watch a video about Cuba, and write an essay comparing and contrasting Puerto Rico...