Curated OER
The War of the Worlds
Read The War of the Worlds with your class. Then you can enhance the reading experience through the use of these worksheets. Keeping track of reading, recording reader response, and various activities pertaining to the book are included....
Newseum
Use ‘War of the Worlds’ to Teach Media Literacy
Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" is the focus of a instructional activity that looks at the importance of clarity in broadcasting. After listening to the radio broadcast, class members discuss the ethical...
Curated OER
Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...
Curated OER
Back to the Past
What was the Untied States like in 1938? What were the concerns of Americans in the post World War I era? What were their fears? What were their sources of news and entertainment? To understand the reaction to Orson Welles' radio...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
Curated OER
The War of the Worlds
Students discover the concept of media based on literature. In this War of the Worlds instructional activity, students read the novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and listen to the 1938 radio broadcast adaptation by Orson Welles....
Louisiana Department of Education
Out of the Dust
The Grapes of Wrath may be the most famous novel set during the Dust Bowl, but what other stories cover the same time? The unit focuses on the Karen Hesse novel Out of the Dust. Learners keep a timeline of the Dust Bowl, maintain a...
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Lord of the Flies
What do The Simpsons, Survivor, Sponge Bob Square Pants, and Nine Inch Nails all have in common? They all include allusions to Lord of the Flies. Strange but true! An 18-slide presentation introduces viewers to the...
Curated OER
Afraid! Who, Me?
Students confront fear through literature. In this literary elements instructional activity, students discuss fear and what they know about the horror genre of literature. Students then examine the painting "The Scream," by Edvard Munch...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Victory and the New Order in Europe
A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...
Curated OER
The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Louis Heilbroner
CliffsNotes provides a list of study questions to help your high schoolers grapple with The Worldly Philosophers. Some of them are simple and straight forward, while others offer an opportunity to dig in deeper! Consider printing this...
The New York Times
'The Century's Bitterest Journalistic Failure'? Considering Times Coverage of the Holocaust
Rich with primary sources and additional resources, this plan asks class members to think critically about newspaper coverage of the Holocaust. Focusing in particular on the analysis of the article "150th Anniversary: 1851-2001: Turning...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
War and Poetry
A band of brothers or the Devil's agents? Nobel warriors freeing the oppressed or mercenaries working for the military/industrial complex? Groups examine poems from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II to determine the poets'...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson...
PBS
Master of the Airwaves: How FDR Used Radio to Ease the Public’s Fears
The political and economic climate during the 1930's was uncertain and tumultuous. But Americans' minds and hearts were eased with the reassuring words of their president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and addresses over the radio. High...
University of California
Roots of the Cold War
When and how did the Cold War begin? To answer this question, you will not find a better-organized, in-depth, activity- and inquiry-based resource than this! Executing best teaching practices throughout, each portion of this inquiry...
Prestwick House
Lord of the Flies
Nothing about William Golding's Lord of the Flies is straightforward, but you can map out the characters and key details in a helpful crossword puzzle. Twenty-seven clues review the book in an engaging and fun way.
University of Pennsylvania
From the Dreyfus Affair to the World Today
Historical events do not occur in a vacuum. Such is the case of the Dreyfus Affair, where the connection between Captain Alfred Dreyfus, Emile Zola, and Hannah Arendt is fused by the events of the early 20th century. The informative...
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...
Washoe County School District
Eyewitness to the Holocaust
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...
Novelinks
The Book Thief: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
Direct readers' thinking with a DRTA activity that asks them to make predictions about The Book Thief based on an examination of the cover of Markus Zusak's novel and a reading of the prologue.
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: World War I, #2
In need of three good writing prompts focused on World War I? Learners respond to three prompts, each having them examine an aspect of World War I. They describe the role nationalism played in the war, the impact of the fall of the...
Worksheet Web
Analyzing the Text
Practice analyzing informational text with a reading passage that details the Great Depression. Scholars read about the impacts of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the Depression, then answer 10 true or false questions.
Curated OER
Learning From World War II and Connecting It to the Present
Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...