Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Commemoration of the Gettysburg Battlefield

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson engages students in projects centered around the Gettysburg Address. Students will study primary sources and make group presentations to share their learning. Then students will assume the roles of "experts", hypothesize...
Unit Plan
Washington State University

Washington State University: Timeline of American Literature 1700 1749

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A time line of social, political, and literary history of the period from 1700-1749, the end of the Puritan period. Contains information about Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and Sarah Kemble Knight, Puritan writers of the time.
Primary
University of North Carolina

Documenting the American South: John Hill Hewitt, "War"

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This gives the history of the Civil War from its beginning to the Battle of Richmond in poetic verse written by John Hill Hewitt (1801-1890 CE). The introduction firmly establishes the sourthern sympathies of the writer.
Activity
Washington State University

Washington State University: Literary Movements: Captivity Narratives

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site contains definitions and analysis of American captivity narratives. Describes the conventions, rhetorical purposes, and themes of the captivity narrative genre. Lists example captivity narratives.
Primary
Other

Letter From Birminghham Jail [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This letter shares Martin Luther King's reflections about his involvement in peaceful demonstrations. The letter provides historical information about the plight of African Americans throughout history and why he and others are so...
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel: "The Perils of Indifference"

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the audio and text of Elie Wiesel's speech "The Perils of Indifference" delivered on April 12, 1999, Washington, D.C. He discusses his experience in German concentration camps during the Holocaust and the dangers on indifference.
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Alexander H. Stephens: Cornerstone Confederate Speech

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the text of the Cornerstone speech for the Confederacy which was delivered by Alexander H. Stephens on March 21, 1861, in Savannah, Georgia.
Unit Plan
Washington State University

Washington State University: Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A timeline of the social, political, historical, and literary history of America from the 1500s to the 1920s. It offers links to primary sources including historical and literary works including the original U.S. Constitution. RL.11-12.9...
Article
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: American Literature by Morris Dickstein

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This article by Morris Dickstein traces the history of American poetry, drama, fiction, and social and literary criticism from the early 17th century to the late 20th century. It includes a section for each century providing historical...
Lesson Plan
University of Maryland

Voices of Democracy: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, "Inaugural Address" January 1961

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Teachers can use this instructional activity to teach Language Arts standards, as well as Social Studies standards. This lesson plan includes...
Primary
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Gettysburg Address" by President Abraham Lincoln

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This speech was given in 1863 after the Union and Confederate armies had been at war for more than three years and several hundred thousand Americans had already died. Thousands of Union soldiers died at the Battle of Gettysburg alone. A...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech to over 250,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In this speech, King discusses racial...
Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Charles Reznikoff Modern American Poetry Links

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides links to information regarding Charles Reznikoff (1894-1976 CE). Information linked includes biographical essays and interviews with the poet.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Letter From Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
While in jail, King responded in a letter written on the margins of a newspaper, because it was the only paper available. King gave the letter to his lawyers, who published what is now known as the famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail."...
Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Crime & Punishment

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Religion: Frederick Douglass

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Website
Cengage Learning

Heath Online Instructor's Guide: James Wright (1927 1980)

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Contains useful information for teaching the Ohio poet James Wright. Includes sections called "Classroom Issues and Strategies," "Major Themes, Historical Perspectives, and Personal Issues," "Significant Form, Style, or Artistic...
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Anne Bradstreet

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Biographical information and details about the themes and style of Bradstreet's poetry. Includes quotations from her poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband."
Activity
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Schooling and Culture Flourish

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Background information about the social, literary, and intellectual history of the Colonial period. Includes biographical links to Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather.
Activity
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Press Asserts Its Freedom

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The role of the free press in Colonial American literary and political history. Includes links to Alexander Hamilton and charters involving free press.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Faulkner's as I Lay Dying: Form of a Funeral

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
William Faulkner's self-proclaimed masterpiece, As I Lay Dying, originally published in 1930, is a fascinating exploration of the many voices found in a Southern family and community. Students will explore the use of multiple voices in...
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Outline of American Literature 1991

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This website provides an outline of American literature beginning in 1776.
Primary
This Nation

This Nation: Gettysburg Address

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
ThisNation site provides the full text of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address that was given on November 19, 1863. (A printer friendly version)
Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Presidents: Lincoln's Last Speech

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This American History site provides the text of Abraham Lincoln's last speech given on April 11, 1865.