How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

This annotated bibliography and list of websites are valuable resources for any study of the Holocaust and/or of Elie Wiesel's Night.

Through the book A Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green, learners discuss the implications of a women playing on a Negro League baseball team. There are so many rich discussions that can be inspired by the questions in this packet.

The activities in a comprehensive teacher's resource guide provides budding psychologists with opportunities to design experiments to study behavior, apply their knowledge of research variables, critique online behavior surveys, and much...

From A to Z, learners define, draw, and find examples of specific reading focus skills in an alphabetized reading vocabulary packet. Words include dialogue, theme, text structure, genre, paraphrase, and many more.

Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...

Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...

Tenth graders explore the self through a study of autobiographies. By writing daily in their journals, they improve their writing skills and write reflection pieces at the end of the year. Through a series of writing assignments, 10th...

Students discover labor issues of the 1800's.  In this Pennsylvanian history lesson, students research the case of Mary Harris Jones and discover her work as a labor activist.  Students discuss the case together in class.

First graders explore and explain that different plants and animals live in different kinds of environments. They illustrate various plants and animals and how they survive in the places where they live. A nature journal for enrichment...

Students read excerpts of autobiographies from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. After listening to excerpts of an oral reading of Frederick Douglass' book, they discuss the ways African Americans were treated on plantations. ...

Learners discover ways to learn about the past. In this writing activity students use a writing web to organize their ideas about how we learn about the past. The learners then start a time capsule about their lives....

Students are introduced to the idea of traditional oral narratives and divide them into genres. They explore the genres of context, motifs and variants. Each student finds oral narratives in their own lives and practice retelling them in...

Who was Alexander The Great? How did Abraham Lincoln’s early life influence his political life? Learners select a historical figure to use for video biography. After developing research questions and collecting information, pupils search...

This site, from the University of North Carolina, provides the full text of "My Life in the South," the autobiography of an emancipated slave, Jacob Stroyer(1849-1908). The text is complete and in-depth with a full introduction and...

Read about Hans Christian Andersen, the author of "The Little Mermaid" and other fairy tales. This autobiography is translated from the Danish by Mary Howitt.

In this lesson, students research the history, meaning, and personal significance of their life story. Students will interview parents and reflect on their own experiences to learn the history of their lives. Contains links to step...

A learning module that begins with "Hello, My Name Is ___" by Jason Kim accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...

This lesson site from the Yale University provides narrative, notes, and teacher and student bibliographies. Investigates the "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin."

This assignment requires you to write about your own life, your family, and the things that are influencing you so far in your personal journey. The result will be a short autobiography of your own and hopefully a little more...

Five primary source materials on African American history: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr., My Bondage and Freedom by Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, Up From...