Curated OER
Investigating the Harlem Renaissance
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
Curated OER
The Iditarod: Sharing the Last Great Race on Earth
Captivate students and extend on learning through an exploration of the Iditarod.
Reed Novel Studies
One Crazy Summer: Novel Study
Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer describes three girls who go looking for their mother who ran out on them. Scholars complete a novel study guide with vocabulary exercises, character descriptions, and comprehension poems.
Reed Novel Studies
Paperboy: Novel Study
Little Man, in Vince Vawter's Paperboy, is a great baseball player, but due to stuttering he'd rather not speak to a soul. Scholars read how Little Man deals with his fears as they use vocabulary words to complete sentences,...
Curated OER
The Lessons of Emmett Till
Students participate in a WebQuest designed to take them on a journey into the darkness that is race predjudice and the often-violent means in which it is manifested. They investigate the murder of a 14-year-old Chicago boy visiting...
Curated OER
Visualizing Jazz Scenes From the Harlem Renaissance
Learners identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students read and analyze the novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. They discuss the poetry and prose of the book, the importance of role models, complete a worksheet, and write a narrative using figurative language.
Curated OER
Jazz Scenes of the Harlem Renaissance
High schoolers identify and connect themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz. They compare and contrast historical and fictionalized versions of the jazz scenes of the Harlem Renaissance. They...
Teaching Tolerance
Vietnamese Americans: Voice and Identity
Learners explore the concept that one's identity is imposed by others, such as one's family, friends, classmates, society, age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. They assess a poem pertaining to Vietnamese American identity and...
Curated OER
Dogsong
Students read the Gary Paulsen novel, Dog song, about wilderness survival, and research information about the Iditarod dogsled race. Students follow the sled race online each day and complete an Alaska scavenger hunt.
Curated OER
Images and Indirection
Students closely analyze a true event or moments associated with their life, then present the scene, and personal emotions and/or actions generated by that incident in a free verse poem. They learn the difference between words defined...
Curated OER
A Nation of Many Cultures
Students create a presentation about themselves to share with the class. They include information from their family and their heritage. They compare and contrast their culture to their classmates.
Curated OER
HIV/AIDS: Our Fear, Our Misery
Students in an ESL classroom brainstorm their thoughts, fears and perceptions about HIV/AIDS. In groups, they review how one contracts the virus and how it affects them and their families. They read true stories about people living...
Curated OER
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon Lesson Plan
Students listen to Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon in order to determine the main idea and essential message of bullying from the text. In this anti-bullying activity, students first listen to the story, then each student re-reads the...
Curated OER
Miracles of the Heart
Students watch a movie. In this cultures lesson, students read A World Without Black People and then discuss segregation. Students watch the video Partners of the Heart or Something the Lord Made and then reflect on the video in their...
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Sandburg on Race
This article from the University of Illinois covers the work of Carl Sandburg as a reporter in Chicago during the riots of 1919.