In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This colored view is the focus of a close reading activity that asks readers of The Great Gatsby to examine the way...

Here's a fresh twist on a comprehension quiz. Readers of The Great Gatsby use their answers to questions about the story to complete a crossword puzzle.

What were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....

Time for intermission! Scholars take an intermission break from learning in the unit to work on a mid-unit assessment independently. Readers answer questions about Lyndon Johnson's Speech "The Great Society" to demonstrate the knowledge...

Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...

Learners read the book, The Great Migration by National Geographic, then complete this set of related worksheets. They review vocabulary, complete five short answer questions, discuss push and pull factors for the migration, then write a...

Students formulate what tensions about wealth and status are revealed in The Great Gatsby. Apply how these tensions are reflected in Nick Carraway's struggle to belong. Write a "credo" for the "secret society" implied in The Great Gatsby.

In this 1960s American history worksheet, students identify the 7 terms that best match 7 descriptions, eliminate 3 false statements, and identify 2 historical themes pertaining to Kennedy's new frontier and Johnson's Great Society.

Students identify principal causes of the Great Depression. They analyze causes including a decline in worldwide trade, the stock market crash, and bank failures and explain the legacy of the Depression in American society.

Wouldn't it be great to live an a community without pain, without danger? Such a society is the goal of the community in The Giver. Using Lois Lowry's dystopian novel as the core text, class members read primary source materials...

Students research 1920's US History.  In this historical literature lesson, students use the novel The Great Gatsby as a tool to examine the era.  They work in individually to create newspaper articles based on different...

Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...

Enhance your unit on The Scarlet Letter with a thorough and applicable lesson. Learners use the anchor text in this unit plan that asks them to consider the Transcendental concepts intertwined within Nathaniel...

Learners explore conservation of the Great Lakes. In this geography and ecology lesson, students identify the Great Lakes on a map and view a video depicting the history and importance of these lakes. Learners work in groups to research...

Can utopia be achieved? Included here are three literature worksheets to pair with Lois Lowry's The Giver. Pupils work in groups to come up with solutions to society's issues, individuals back up a statement related to a topic in the...

How did Henry Ford change the world? One word: automobile. After reading a two-page passage about Henry Ford's contributions to society with the invention of the automobile, readers respond to a series of 10 reading comprehension...

J.K. Rowling's world of wizards and magic focuses on some topics that relate to our own society, especially in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Have kids complete a KWHL chart (what they know, what they want to know, how...

Scholars investigate the Holocaust through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor. They analyze and research a firsthand account of events inside the gas chambers moments before hundreds died. Using Holocaust Reading Passages and...

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

How do poets convey emotion and represent their views of life? Pupils learn more about Whitman and Dickinson through the unit and analyze their bold reinvention of craft and style for poets to come. Looking at classic pieces such as...

The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....

Known as one of the most iconic advertisements of the 20th century, Macintosh's "1984" commercial has become more of a social statement. Present the ad to a new audience of viewers with a lesson focused on identifying dystopian...

“. . . one of the great challenges to humanity is acknowledging and overcoming a natural tendency to think less of and discriminate against people who are different from us . . .” Launch an examination of competition and cooperation, of...