NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive essay...
Curated OER
Writers of the 19th Century
Students are introduced to women authors during the 19th century. In groups, they read about the criticism they faced during this time period by the public and literary community. Using the internet, they research one author to...
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Three lessons based on "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales offer scholars an opportunity to examine literary satire, medieval attitudes towards women, and the form and function of a frame story.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Societal Schisms and Divisions
The final lesson in the Crime and Punishment unit looks at the societal injustices depicted in Dostoyevsky's novel. Scholars examine the schisms between men and women, between wealth and poverty, between religion and skepticism, and...
Curated OER
Revolutions in Retrospect
Students analyze the social conditions of Victorian England and focus on the woman's place in Victorian society. In this Victorian England instructional activity, students read excerpts of Victorian writers and their take on the...
Curated OER
The Defeat of the ERA
Eleventh graders take a closer look at the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). In this women's rights lesson, 11th graders read the Equal Rights Amendment as well as the "Feminine Mystique" and selections by Gloria Steinam and Phyllis...
Curated OER
“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
Students examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
Curated OER
Herstory: Women portrayed in film
Students examine various videos and books about Harriet Tub man, Annie Oakley, and Wilma Rudolph. They conduct research, participate in games, and write stories involving these three women.
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write?
Pupils study Charles Dickens's Great Expectations to gain insight into a classical piece of fiction and to explain how writers respond to social conditions. They also consider how that response is important today.
Curated OER
Study Guide for the 2009 Doris Conant Lecturer on Women and Culture: Barbara Ehrenreich
Learners analyze the teachings of Barbara Ehrenreich about women and culture. In this women and culture lesson, students define "joy" and "collective joy." Learners do field research on these topics and write a field report and a letter...
Curated OER
Rebecca Brown's "Forgiveness" and Christine Delea's "CoCo Chanel in the Stairwell"
Students, after reading and analyzing Rebecca Brown's "Forgiveness" and Christine Delea's "CoCo Chanel in the Stairwell," explore and focus on the author's tone and genre analysis. They interpret different rhetorical situations as they...
Curated OER
Bronte and Rhys' Portrayal of Bertha
Students, while reading and discussing the two texts by Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys, compare/contrast the two main characters and juxtapose them as the same character told from two different points of view. They gain insight of how to...
Curated OER
Story vs. Plot
Students, after reading and discussing the two texts by Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People" and "Greenleaf," analyze the plot, tone, characters, themes and setting in each story. They write their own short stories dealing with a...
Curated OER
Lady Sings the Blues
Students explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music instructional activity, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie...
Curated OER
Nadine Gordimer's Town and Country Lovers
Students are introduced to Nadine Gordimer's Town and Country Lovers in the context of the acts of apartheid. They analyze Gordimer's depiction of racist legislation at its most intimate levels. Students assess how to weave a political...
Annenberg Foundation
Social Realism
Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...
University of Virginia
Uncle Tom's Cabin: Reading the Novel
Teach the importance of context and perspective with a unit focused on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first lesson considers the role of female characters and readers, including the gender expectations of the time. The...
Curated OER
Literature: Isabel Allende
Students 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.
Soft Schools
Interpreting Metaphors in Shakespeare
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Shakespeare provides the examples on this activity that asks readers to identify the two things being compared and to explain the characteristics the two share.
Thoughtful Education Press
Personal Narratives: Learning from Lessons Life Teaches Us
"First Appearance," Mark Twain's tale about overcoming stage fright, serves as a model of a personal narrative and gets young writers thinking about milestones in their own lives. After examining student models and considering the...
Alabama Learning Exchange
"The Inside Search" from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Hurston
Who is Zora Neale Hurston? Read the autobiography the best known female writer from the Harlem Renaissance. After reading the novel Dust Tracks on a Road, have your class complete this packet. There are 12 multiple-choice questions...
Crafting Freedom
F.E.W. Harper: Uplifted from the Shadows
Young historians discover the life of an incredible African American woman who, as an anti-slavery lecturer prior to the Civil War, defied stereotypes of what women could accomplish. Pupils explore the concept of stereotyping, read...
Curated OER
Poetry Workshop: Fixed Form Poems
Encourage the poetic genius in your young creative writers with a poetry workshop. Fix form poems (cinquains acrostic poems, octopoems, hello/goodbye poems) provide a framework and encourage vocabulary development as well as an awareness...
Curated OER
Hemingway's Short Stories - Essay Questions
Ernest Hemingway is one of America's great writers. After reading one (or several) of his short stories, visit this list of 24 questions relating to at least 10 of his short stories. Some of the questions are basic recall questions, and...