Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's 1901 Constitution
"We, the People of the State of Alabama. . ." Did you know that the Alabama State Constitution has 357,157 words while the US Constitution has only 4,400? And that it has 798 amendments while the US Constitution has...
Channel Islands Film
Santa Cruz Island - Visible Thinking Routines
Visible Thinking Routines are designed to help learners deepen their understanding of what they are learning and enable them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. Individuals adopt one of these routines to use to...
Curated OER
The Importance Setting and Mood in Fiction
Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction. In this story analysis lesson, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has. Students discover new vocabulary terms applying to...
Curated OER
Transcendentalism and Epiphany in Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine
Twelfth graders examine the characteristics of transcendentalism. In this transcendentalism lesson, 12th graders determine what this type of writing entails before reading a passage from, Ray Bradbury's, Dandelion Wine. They cite three...
Curated OER
Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. For this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Symbolism
Students engage in a lesson about symbolism while reviewing the work of Edgar Allen Poe. They review the definition of symbolism and use it to list the symbols in his work. They write a journal about how the author uses many literary...
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Life and Death Decisions
Students defend contrasting perspectives concerning the purpose of medicine and the issues surrounding euthanasia.
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Caesar Ciphers: An Introduction to Cryptography
Students brainstorm and discuss the concept of cryptography, the science of secrets in today's world and then focus on a system for sending secret messages used by Julius Caesar. They make a Caesar wheel assessing encrypting and...
Curated OER
Taking to the Airwaves
Young scholars consider the purpose of talk radio and examine its importance in the new democratic Iraq. They enact mock talk shows based on current events and reflect on the value of free speech and the role audience members play in...
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Unionized We Stand
Students compose a statement of basic rights to protect their own health and well-being. They research the history, power and purpose of unions in the United States before creating their own union to promote the interests of students.
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Bone Transformations
Students create a picture from the shape of a bone. In this life science and art lesson plan, students discuss their bones and their purposes, then use a picture of a bone as a starting point for an artistic transformation. Lesson can be...
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We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
Sharing Your Vacation-Send a Postcard!
Students demonstrate how to write about travel experiences. In this narrative writing lesson, students discuss what the purpose of postcards are and any personal experiences they have had with writing a postcard. Students observe the...
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Cracking the Genetic Code
Students investigate different purposes for manipulating DNA. After reviewing the structure and functions of DNA, students explore topics related to the use or manipulation of DNA and the potential benefits and problems, later making a...
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Unraveling the Web
Students consider how a message might be traced along a complex network, then explore backbone maps as a basis for understanding the purpose and structure of the Internet.
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Shakespeare Analysis
Eighth graders focus on the Shakespearian sonnet as a form and analyze the sonnet in terms of structure, the particular rhyme scheme of the quatrains and the rhyming couplet, the rhythm of iambic pentameter, as well as any figurative...
Curated OER
A New NATO?
Students read and interpret NATO's mission statement. After reading an article, they discover incidents in which NATO has deviated from their original purpose. In groups, they research the opinions of the countries of NATO. They write...
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The 'Capital' of the World
Students are introduced to the purpose of the World Bank and its president Paul Wolfowitz. After reading an article, they work together to complete a writing exercise in which they use primary source documents to state their viewpoint. ...
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Rebecca Brown's "Forgiveness" and Christine Delea's "CoCo Chanel in the Stairwell"
Students, after reading and analyzing Rebecca Brown's "Forgiveness" and Christine Delea's "CoCo Chanel in the Stairwell," explore and focus on the author's tone and genre analysis. They interpret different rhetorical situations as they...
Curated OER
Details, Details: How Choices Reveal Character, Setting, Tone, and Theme. (Analyzing and Interpreting, Making Inferences)
Students respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson plan, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the...
Curated OER
Chinese Kite
Young scholars create their own Chinese kite. In this multicultural art lesson, students use butcher paper, newspapers, string, pipe cleaners and paint to create a Chinese kite. Young scholars follow the given steps and attempt to fly...
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A Pixie Biography Report
Students practice biographical writing after completing research on the subject. In this journalism lesson, students read a story of an important person's life and discuss the important moments along the way. Students utilize...
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Teaching with Primary Sources Across Tennessee
Students examine Gee's Bend Alabama. For this resettlement lesson, students view a series of photographs taken of Gee's Bend Alabama. Students will write a series of newspaper articles based on the images, that exemplify the evolution of...
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Farmer Boy Days
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Farmer Boy Days. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...