Macmillan Education
Christmas: #SadTree
Christmas trees can be as large and elaborate as the tree in Rockefeller Center, or as small and understated as Charlie Brown's tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas. But where did the tradition of Christmas trees come from? An engaging...
Curated OER
Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context
Students complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Eight lessons and worksheets comprise a curriculum guide for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Class members create a timeline that includes world-historical events as well as events in the novel. They analyze the speaking styles of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Language Analysis Based on Stave 1
Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Theme Analysis in A Christmas Carol
Why does Charles Dickens have Ebenezer go from scrooge to light-hearted and generous? From "Bah, humbug!" to "God Bless Us, Every One!" After rereading Dickens' preface to A Christmas Carol, learners analyze quotations from the tale that...
K20 LEARN
Things Are Lit at Thornfield: Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre offers scholars an opportunity to practice reading comprehension skills. Pairs are assigned a word from the text, use their prior knowledge, and consider the context, connotation, and denotation of the word to posit a...
Curated OER
Children of Yesteryear
Give your early adolescents some food for thought: How would life be different if we lived in the 1800s? They explore differences in clothing, entertainment, communication, and access to materials. By observing art by Canadian painter...
Curated OER
Victorian Music
In this music worksheet set, students read about music, orchestras, and Christmas during the Victorian era. They discuss Victorian music halls, read examples of street music, list the parts of an orchestra, and compose an original...
Orlando Shakes
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Study Guide
Can science ever go too far? Learners explore this topic with the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde study guide. They read about the connection between scientific experimentation in fiction and real life and then compare a scene from the novella...
Curated OER
Victorian Homes Lesson
Students investigate British Society in the 19th century by examining Victorian style homes. In this world history lesson, students observe photographs of both rich and poor Victorian homes and discuss the main differences between the...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations can prove to be a challenge for instructors who choose to use Dickens's novel as required reading. Here's a curriculum guide that includes lessons that address some of these challenges. The first lesson in critical...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
An 18-page curriculum guide for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice consists of five lessons. The first plan asks readers to compare the manners, social behaviors, and class issues in Austen's novel to today's. Next, pupils examine a...
Curated OER
Eyes From The Past
Students study the Classical Victorian style of portraiture by looking a variety of examples. They analyze the characteristics of the paintings as they relate to the time period.
Curated OER
Etiquette Lessons for Students
Students explore the meaning of good manners and proper etiquette. In this behavior lesson, students read an article that explains manners in the social setting and workplace, then complete several activities that reinforce the...
Curated OER
Introducing Jane Eyre
"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...
Curated OER
Introducing Jane Eyre: An Unlikely Victorian Heroine
Students investigate the expectations and limitations placed on Victorian women and evaluate Charlotte Bronte's position and desire for literary achievement in using the male pseudonym, Currer Bell.
Teaching Ideas
Florence Nightingale Fact Cards
When you hear the name Florence Nightingale, what comes to your mind? Wartime nurse? The International Red Cross? Florence Nightingale's many contributions to the Crimean war effort, the welfare of injured soldiers, and the future of...
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...
Curated OER
Victorian Celebrations
Fifth graders investigate the Victorian era by participating in Victorian style activities. In this World History lesson, 5th graders read about the traditions and customs of men and woman from the Victorian era and how the...
Curated OER
Design Your Life
Students use three different pieces of art and identify the power struggles that are being represented. In groups, they use the Internet to research the distribution of wealth throughout Canada during the Victorian time period. They...
Curated OER
House Keys: The Architectural Features of Victorian Homes and Buildings
Students analyze Victorian architectural patterns wit regard to materials, doorways, windows, towers, bays, roofs, and decoration. Students discern varying architectural traits by studying Victorian era pictures and drawings and using a...
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
Curated OER
Flower Symbolism
Fourth graders identify flowers as symbols in art forms. They focus on the Victorian era and create their own flower design for use in visual art or literary forms.
Curated OER
Eyes From the Past
Learners view examples of classical Victorian artwork. Using a painting, they discuss their own opinions about what they believe the artwork is trying to tell them. In groups, they compare and contrast the artwork of Robert Harris and...