Curated OER
Science Fiction
Students complete compare and contrast activities for two stories about racism and tolerance in the science fiction genre. In this literary analysis lesson, students read a Ray Bradbury short story and Walter Mosley poem, watch a related...
Curated OER
Of Mice and Men
Eighth graders successfully create a newspaper that reflects the Great Depression Era using texts and clues from the literary work Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Something Permanent by Cynthia Rylant and Walker Evans.
Curated OER
'Song of the South' a racist tune?
Students read the information about the movie "Song of the South" and watch some of the clips. They write their reaction to the proposal to re-release the movie. Students consider whether it would matter if the studio adds an...
Novelinks
The Cay: Biopoem
Theodore Taylor's The Cay provides the text for an assignment that asks each reader to craft a biopoem for one of the characters.
City University of New York
African Americans and the Populist Movement
Why did the Populist Party fail to ally itself with African American farmers? To answer this essential question, class members investigate the Populist Era (188-1900) and read an article written by Tom Watson, a Populist leader.
California Education Partners
Women
Alice Walker's poem "Women" provides ninth graders the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify how a writer's choice of syntax and diction contribute to the development of the theme of the work.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 4: Proverbs
"Eneke the bird says since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching." As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen's essay, "The Tropical Landscapes...
Smithsonian Institution
Us vs. Them: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Immigration issues are nothing new. An interesting lesson focuses on the racially motivated Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and its impact on the Chinese American community. Scholars read articles, analyze political cartoons, and...
Curated OER
Maus: Cubing Questioning Strategy
Maus is the text for a postreading activity that has class members using a cubing strategy to analyze, in depth, topics (racism, past and present, forgetting/remembering the Holocaust, representing the Holocaust) associated with Art...
Scholastic
Connecting with Ruby Bridges
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...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Ray Charles
Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...
Great Books Foundation
I Shall Not Beg for My Rights
An excerpt from Henry MacNeal Turner's address to the Georgia legislature provides class members with an opportunity to develop their literary analysis skills. Prompted by the provided factual, evaluative, and interpretive questions,...
Teaching for Change
Selma in Pictures: Socratic Seminar
Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson plan that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars...
DocsTeach
Assimilation of American Indians
Imagine being forced to give up your culture and then being graded on how well you complied with orders to do so. Documents show young historians the price indigenous peoples paid as a result of the Dawes Act, which was essentially a...
Newseum
'The Press and the Civil Rights Movement' Video Lesson
Scholars watch a video featuring journalists who covered the civil rights movement, then respond to questions on a viewing guide. The video features interviews with participants and original news footage from the 1950s and 1960s. In...
DocsTeach
School Desegregation Court Cases: Mendez v. Westminster and Brown v. Board
Separate is not equal! Young historians analyze the petition from the U.S. Supreme Court case Mendez v. Westminster filed in 1945 and examine background material about the case. They then compare it to the more famous Brown v. Board of...
Anti-Defamation League
Indian/Native American Boarding Schools: Their History, Harm and Impact
Encultureate, assimilate, or eliminate? The 2021 discovery of a mass grave of over 200 children on the site of a former Canadian Indian Boarding school led to the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. High schoolers...
C3 Teachers
Anna - One Woman’s Quest for Freedom: What Did Freedom Mean for Anna?
The 2018 film Anna, One Woman's Quest for Freedom in Early Washington, D.C., offers high schoolers an opportunity to examine the sacrifices one woman endured to gain her freedom from slavery.
Anti-Defamation League
Slurs, Offensive Jokes and How to Respond
How to respond to slurs and offensive jokes is the topic of a instructional activity designed for middle and high schoolers. After journaling about their experiences with slurs and nasty jokes, participants read an article about a...
Curated OER
The Fight to End "Separate but Equal" in American Schools
Students study the court cases related to Brown v. Board of Education and the "separate but equal" standard established by Plessy v. Ferguson. They create an informational display that can be used to teach others the particulars of the...
Curated OER
Exploring Race Through Literature
Provide your class with an opportunity to examine race through a variety of literary works. They read and analyze a chosen poem, interview, speech, or story describing race in America. They then use key words from the original work to...
Reed Novel Studies
The Slave Dancer: Novel Study
What are the effects of a good literary cliffhanger? Using the novel study for Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer, pupils consider why the author chose to end the first chapter with suspense. They also answer text-based questions, practice new...
Reed Novel Studies
To Kill a Mockingbird: Novel Study
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American fiction writer whose biggest claim to fame was the creation of Tarzan. Using the novel study for Harper Lee's beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, pupils research and list facts about him or another...