Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Rhythms in Poetry: Jean Toomer

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a brief biography of Jean Toomer, an African American author of poetry and short stories, published in many magazines in the early twentieth century. Click on "Jean Toomer Activities" for related materials.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Slavery and Freedom: Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
This biography focuses on the abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, infamous for her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and author of many other influential published works in the nineteenth century. See "Harriet Beecher Stowe Activities" for...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Phillis Wheatley, an African-American slave, is featured for her neoclassical poetry of pre-nineteenth century America. Click on "Phillis Wheatley Activities" for more resources.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Masculine Heroes: James Fenimore Cooper

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief biography of James Fenimore Cooper highlights his life as an author who was able to incorporate politics, wilderness and Native Americans into fictitious novels. Click on "James Fenimore Cooper Activities" for related materials.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Utopian Promise: William Bradford

For Students 9th - 10th
Seventeenth century author, William Bradford, set sail on the Mayflower and embarked on a journey to the New World using his experiences for his writings. Click on "William Bradford Activities" for related artifacts and activities.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Susanna Rowson

For Students 9th - 10th
American Passages presents a brief biography of Susanna Rowson, accomplished author and actress of the nineteenth century. Click on "Susanna Rowson Activities" for related materials.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Rhythms in Poetry: Ezra Pound

For Students 9th - 10th
Poet and mentor Ezra Pound is the focus of this brief biography highlighting his works and energy for new artistic movements of the early twentieth century. Click on "Ezra Pound Activities" for related materials.
Article
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: American Literature by Morris Dickstein

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This article by Morris Dickstein traces the history of American poetry, drama, fiction, and social and literary criticism from the early 17th century to the late 20th century. It includes a section for each century providing historical...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: Theodore Dreiser

For Students 9th - 10th
Theodore Dreiser is featured as a realistic author who draws upon the social conditions and humanity in America in his writings. Click on "Theodore Dreiser Activities" for related materials.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: Henry James

For Students 9th - 10th
Henry James is the focus of this biography for his ability to write about how people deal with problems with attention drawn to Europeans versus Americans in the early twentieth century. See "Henry James Activities" for more resources.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: Booker T. Washington

For Students 9th - 10th
Focused on his personal racial and civil philosophy, Booker T. Washington moved mountains making the public aware of the injustices and inequalities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Click "Booker T. Washington...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: W. E. B. Du Bois

For Students 9th - 10th
W. E. B. DuBois is featured here for his writings which advocated human rights for all, but particularly for African Americans in the early twentieth century. Click "W. E. B. DuBois Activities" for related materials.
Primary
Other

New York Public Library: African American Women Writers of the 19th Century

For Students 9th - 10th
A digital collection of some 52 published works by 19th-century black women writers. This collection provides access to the thought, perspectives and creative abilities of black women as captured in books and pamphlets published prior to...
Website
Authors Calendar

Author's Calendar: Countee Cullen

For Students 9th - 10th
Includes Countee Cullen's early life, his works and contains links to his contemporaries.
Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: America and the British Empire

For Students 9th - 10th
Article illustrating the connection between America and the British Empire. The author points out that much of early American history is part of British history. Outlines British history since 1066.
Website
University at Buffalo

Circle Association: Harlem Renaissance History and Links

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource from the Circle Association at the University of Buffalo gives background on the origins of the Harlem Renaissance and highlights its most famous authors.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Utopian Promise: Edward Taylor

For Students 9th - 10th
Born in England, emigrant Edward Taylor was a Harvard educated minister, writer, and poet of orthodox Puritan theology. Click on "Edward Taylor Activities" for related materials.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Margaret Fuller

For Students 9th - 10th
Margaret Fuller is featured for her writings during the transcendentalist movement of the nineteenth century, considered progressive for her times as women of the era were not taught to think. Click "Margaret Fuller Activities" for...
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Outline of American Lit

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Part of a larger series on "The Rise of Realism: 1860-1914," this website provides some brief analysis of Henry James' three writing phases: his two "international" phases (early and late) and his "experimental" phase.
Unit Plan
C-SPAN

American Writers: Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
An informational site on Harriet Beecher Stowe. Includes general information about her life, works, and writings, including Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also includes links to other sites.
Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Perspectives: Pamphlets From Daniel a.p. Murray Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
The Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, with the...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Poetry, Making of African American Identity: V. 3

For Students 9th - 10th
This study of black protest poems from the early part of the twentieth century through the late sixties can provide insight into the issues African Americans faced during that time and the ways they responded to them. Works from seven...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Transcendentalism

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an introduction to the Transcendentalism period (1836-1860) in American Literature. It focuses on the beliefs and characteristics of transcendentalism and its leading authors: Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson and...
Primary
Other

American Journeys: Life of Father Junipero Serro, Founder of Franciscan Missions

For Students 9th - 10th
This study of Junipero Serra's (1723-1789) life was first published in 1913. It's made available here with some great features. You can search the book for key terms, read background information on the author and the subject, print or...