Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...

Students discuss famous examples of historical fiction as a genre and why it is used so often. They create an original piece of historical fiction by developing a character who is an immigrant to the United States. They are assessed...

Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...

The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson plan about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...

First graders analyze historical materials and create questions about Dwight D. Eisenhower.  In this question writing lesson, 1st graders ask and answer questions about the life of Eisenhower. Students write about photographs they...

Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...

Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...

Students identify and interpret the life of a drummer boy during the Civil War as well as about a reenactment. Students listen to a fictionalized story or a Civil War reenactor and compare ot with the life of the drummer boy the story...

Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...

What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Tenth graders read "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. In groups, they research the life and works of Morrison and read a speech by Sojouner Truth. Using the novel, they discuss the experiences of slaves and the effect of slavery on their...

Third graders explore the significance of historical landmarks. In this lesson, 3rd graders participate in a class discussion on Kansas landmarks, then complete several activities the reinforce the class discussion, such as writing a story.

Students compare and contrast the society in Orwell's 1984 with modern society. In this 1984 lesson, students research the historical climate in which Orwell wrote the novel. Students create a comparison chart of privacy issues in the...

Learners investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...

Young scholars explore daily life and its influences in the late 1700s for two families in different colonies- Delaware and Massachusetts by becoming historical detectives. After gathering information from artifacts to make inferences...

Students identify the significance of the author's experiences on his written work; describe the hardships faced by slaves and plantation owners once the caves were set free; explain the role of the Seceses and why they were a threat to...

Planning a novel study of Lois Lowry's Number the Stars? Then look no further. A 16-lesson unit guides students through a reading of this awarding-winning novel. Complete with a synopsis of the novel, analysis of its literary themes,...

Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"

Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.

Young scholars read historical artifacts about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and analyze the choices made during the time. In this March on Washington lesson, students read Martin's Big Words and the 'Step Back in Time'...

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...