Learners investigate the horrors of World War II by participating in a role-playing activity.  In this holocaust lesson, students read handouts describing the atrocities committed against the Jews in Germany during the mass...

It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...

Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...

Strong opinions come from deeply held values. Young citizens explore the values that are most important to them in a class discussion and activity. As they prioritize a list of values cards that include freedom,...

Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...

The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

How do writers use words to protest injustice, challenge the status quo, and shape their own identities? Individuals watch and discuss a video, read author biographies, write poetry and journals, develop a slideshow, and complete a...

Whether their objective is independent living, going to college, or buying a car, pupils will participate in discussions and complete worksheets to gain an understanding of how short- and long-term goals play a large role in helping...

Students develop a sense of historical empathy as they discuss The Holocaust and roll play activities designed to highlight prejudice in today's society.  In this Holocaust history and The Diary of Anne Frank lesson, students...

As part of a study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members respond to, and craft, higher-level comprehension questions based on passages from the text. 

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...

Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...

Historical illustrations reveal more than what they are meant to portray. After reading Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, high schoolers view a series of illustrations, movie posters, photographs, and book covers that exemplify...

Students read Huckleberry Finn, analyze text for historical contexts, and write book report emphasizing historical elements, type report comparing and contrasting events in book to events of today, create Powerpoint presentation...

A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....

The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...

Using examples from Socrates to Johnny Carson, this slideshow presents your students with the history and definition of dramatic irony, satire, situational irony, and tragic irony. This presentation would be useful in a language arts...

If the Supreme Court is so supreme, why do all cases not just start there? High schoolers learn why every case does not start at the Supreme Court as well as the importance of hierarchy in the US judicial system in the 11th installment...

Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the American Revolution based on the novel, 'Johnny Tremain.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a timeline, write a report on a colonial craft, make a colonial flag, and create a...

Learners watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.

Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...