Curated OER
Early American English Lit Writing Assignment (Senior, Literature)
To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...
Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the...
Curated OER
American Colonists Protest Song
Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history instructional activity, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Mark Twain and American Humor
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...
Curated OER
Native American Culture
Students read a variety of Native American Literature and discuss the main idea by answering critical thinking questions about the poem. Students use context clues to understand the feeling of the Native American culture about the Earth....
Curated OER
Lesson 1: Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury
I love Faulkner, his experimental style and stream of consciousness are so exciting. Your learners can analyze William Faulkner and his novel, The Sound and the Fury by defining his place in American literary history and exploring...
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...
Curated OER
Sharing Their Stories: Native American Literature and Culture in 19th Century America
Students investigate Native American culture reading and writing about early Native American authors. They listen to an expert to extend their understanding of the culture.
Curated OER
Salem Witch Trials
Students consider the implications of the Salem Witch Trials. In this literature lesson, students read Arthur Miller's The Crucible and compare the witch trials to McCarthyism of the 1950's. Students rewrite scenes from the play...
Curated OER
Literature and Thought of the American Colonies
Eleventh graders analyze works by John Donne and Thomas Heriot. In this Colonial America lesson, 11th graders examine pieces of literature, documents, and video clips to identify the issues regarding religion in the colonies. Student...
Curated OER
America Moves Out!
First graders analyze the events of early American exploration. This is a unit resource for teachers in which there are six lessons about the American Western exploration and expansion. Within each lesson there are objectives, materials,...
Curated OER
William Apess and the Mashpee "Revolt" of 1833
Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
Curated OER
Paul Revere's Ride and the American Revolution
Students analyze the cause, results, and critical historic figures and events of the American Revolution. For this American Revolution lesson, students review Paul Revere's significance and the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Students...
Curated OER
People for the Land: Native Americans in Iowa
Students identify Iowa's American Indian cultures and complete a research project for the topic. In this Iowa's American Indian activity, students research read the background information about tribes in Iowa and complete a research...
Curated OER
"Some Excellent Dumb Discourse:" Caliban as native American
Explore The Tempest and how language and power are intertwined in the play. Through a series of questions (provided) and an intense activity that has groups translate Caliban's speech into American Sign Language, learners recognize...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Freedom and Individuality
What are the strengths and weaknesses of American individualism and independence? Explore these principles through a close reading of Jack London's To Build a Fire, and engage in high-level discussion with your class by analyzing the...
Middle Tennessee State University
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? A Comparison in American Culture
As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving,...
Curated OER
American Literature: An Oblique Introduction
Eleventh graders research journals and periodicals of different accounts of Columbus and Latin America. They examine indigenous civilizations and design their own curriculum based on the information they have gathered.
Literacy Design Collaborative
The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne
Is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman? To conclude a unit study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter class members craft an argument essay in which they use the standards listed in Proverbs 31 from the Bible to judge Hester's virtues.
Curated OER
Pass the Peace Pipe
Students investigate the history of smoking in the United States. In this history of smoking instructional activity, students read about the Native American influence on early settlers before researching the Internet for information...
Curated OER
Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire Body Multiple Choice Quiz
In this literature based multiple choice worksheet, 5th graders answer 10 questions based on the book, Help! I'm Trapped in a Vampire's Body by Todd Strasser.