Prestwick House
The Poetry of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members analyze the...
Albert Shanker Institute
Dream Under Development
As part of their study of the 1963 March on Washington, class members do a side-by-side comparison of the original text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" with a transcript of the speech he delivered. The take away from the...
Main Memory Network
Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and Whitman's "Song of Myself"
Although the work Americans do has changed over time, the plight of the American worker has largely remained the same. Facilitate a class discussion aboutAmerican workers using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 9: Debating Imperialism
To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with the...
Curated OER
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: The Reality behind the Song
Students study how Frederick Douglass uses language to describe a realistic picture of slavery in his writings which are primary source documents. They examine his use of word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals and use slave...
Curated OER
Can We Be Both Conservationists and Consumers?
Students explore their role as consumers and conservationists and what roles they play in today's economic climate. They explore resource allocation issues. Students analyze data and draw comparisons between historical and present-day...
Curated OER
Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
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...
Close Up Foundation
Teach the Vote
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.
National Endowment for the Humanities
García Márquez’s Nobel Prize Speech: “The Solitude of Latin America”
To conclude a study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, class members analyze Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech. After a whole-class discussion of the main ideas in the speech, individuals draft a...
C-SPAN
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail
Timing is everything. Introduce young historians to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" with a resource that underscores the significance of the timing of the Good Friday Birmingham march, King's subsequent...
Curated OER
Putting it Together: Analyzing and Producing Persuasive Text
Young orators demonstrate what they have learned about persuasion and persuasive devices throughout the unit by analyzing a persuasive speech and then crafting their persuasive essays. Class members engage in a role-play exercise, use...
PBS
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as Visual Text
Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Leadership and a Global Stage
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is, among other things, the study of a ruler's ambitions. Young scholars watch videos, read articles, and keep a Commonplace Book while studying the play. At the end of Act III, pupils stage the play that...
Curated OER
Slavery and the Legal Status of Free Blacks
Young scholars examine the status of free blacks in Illinois and slavery in the U.S. They read and analyze primary source documents, answer and discuss questions, participate in a group discussion, and present the group's findings to the...
Curated OER
I Hear Poetry
Students practice analysis of poetry by analyzing song lyrics using a worksheet to guide the analysis process. They work in small groups to assess the stylistic and literary devices used in the song lyrics then they find a published...
Curated OER
Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Students evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an essay...
Curated OER
Renaissance Realities
Students analyze passages by Niccolo Machiavelli and Francis Bacon as an analysis of Renaissance ideas in contemporary situations. In this Renaissance writings lesson, students read excerpts from Machiavelli's The Prince and multiple...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
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...
Curated OER
Thoreau's Writing Style
Students analyze Thoreau's writing style. In this writing style lesson, students describe Thoreau's literary style and use the devices he employs in a response to one of his essays.
Curated OER
Food Web in the Bay
Sixth graders study the food web in a bay. In this food web lesson, 6th graders investigate the SAV- submerged aquatic vegetation of a bay including their predators, and how the organisms eat, have proper living space and water. They...
Curated OER
The Nifty Fifty- Facts and Figures
Students explore an assigned state. In this United States geography lesson, students identify facts and figures related to a particular state. Students use the Internet for research and create a PowerPoint presentation displaying these...
Curated OER
Geometric Figures
Young scholars compare, classify and calculate the area of geometric figures such as rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
Curated OER
Rattling Review
Second graders watch a PowerPoint presentation, and distinguish between facts and myths about snakes. In this snakes lesson, 2nd graders discuss and review facts about snakes and summarize what they have inferred from the PowerPoint...