Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Is a list of literary terms found frequently on AP English exams of value to test takers? Now there's a rhetorical question. Here's a list that provides definitions for everything from allegory to vernacular. To say the list is...

With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...

Students read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. In this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Students discuss the...

Many schools have honor codes, but scholars do not always choose to follow them. As part of a series of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition Exam, learners discuss the benefits or disadvantages of honor...

Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...

A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....

President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...

Students create an advertising campaign in which a candidate from Animal Farm will run for an upcoming election. In this follow-up activity to George Orwell's Animal Farm lesson, students explore propaganda, rhetoric, and satire as they...

Students research animal rights issues and controversies and determine whether they believe extreme tactics are justified. They practice debate and rhetoric skills by successfully arguing both sides of the issue.

Seventh graders examine the geography and political history of West Africa. They role-play as applicants to a company that transports customers to any historic time period. Working in teams, they create promotional products encouraging...

Why is voting important? A social studies unit presents a non-partisan approach to the importance of voting, to voting laws and procedures, and to resources that voters need to become informed voters.

Young historians examine Lyndon Johnson's vision for a rich, powerful, and upward society as detailed in this excerpt from his famous "Great Society" speech presented at the University of Michigan in 1964.

"I want to be the president who educated young people to the wonders of their world." Readers examine the vision Lyndon B. Johnson presented for his presidency in this excerpt from his "The American promise" message delivered to Congress...

Don't let the young citizens in your social studies class get all their election information from inflammatory commercials and arguing pundits. Use a lesson plan from C-SPAN to guide class members through an election season with a...

Students read and analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address. They listen to recordings of speeches by F.D.R., answer discussion questions, and participate in a debate.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect...

Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were...

Young scholars identify problems and potential improvements for U.S. public school education. They research and debate the pros and cons of the "No Child Left Behind Act".

Students consider which aspects of world around them have roots in 1960s, research and compare 1960s to today with regards to Civil and Women's Rights, Vietnam, counterculture, music, voting, and economic rights, and explore legacy of...

In this Mexican border worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write,...

Students explore the Social Security System including its history, benefits, funds, problems, and its future.

Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In 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...