While many young historians would say the United States' form of democracy is the longest living, the confederacy established by Hiawatha and the Haudenosaunee is America's precursor. The activity set, complete with a beautifully...

Origin stories aren't just for comic books. Learners explore the Inca origin story and compare it to other familiar creation myths with an installment of the Native American Stories series. An easy-to-use lesson plan includes an...

Most learners likely are not familiar with Statis Myrivilis or his anti-war writings, but his works spur scholars to debate over the role of protest literature in wartime. While the video does situate Myrivilis within the context of the...

While many can identify Ernest Hemingway's famous works, they may be unaware of his service during World War I and how that affected his literary contributions. An video details Hemingway's service in World War I and explains events and...

A mysterious woman. A humble sharing of a meal. A generous gift. The universal value of generosity is threaded throughout a core Choctaw legend on why the tribe began to grow corn. Using part of the Native American Sacred Stories series,...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

Discuss classical appeals of rhetoric through the speeches of Winston Churchill and FDR. Learners read, annotate, and analyze the speeches by the men before using a graphic organizer to track the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. 

Using Visual Thesaurus software, class members participate in a computer-based spelling bee. Then they work in groups to analyze the words and use deductive reasoning to infer spelling patterns. They then present one of their "rules" to...

Martin Luther King Jr's " I Have a Dream" speech and Atticus Finch's closing argument during the trial of Tom Robinson both address the societal need to overcome racism. After examining the rhetorical devices and figurative language used...

Prepare high school seniors for the job search process with a lesson that teaches them how to craft four different types of business letters: the cover letter, the informational interview request, a reference request, and a thank you...

The novels of John Green cover the gamut of teenager emotions. A guide to his works provides classroom lesson plans for the novels Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, The Fault in Our Stars, and Paper Towns. Each activity...

Was he driven by an inappropriate relationship with his English mother? Or was he just an incompetent, but well-intentioned, monarch? The Kaiser's tough upbringing and how it may have influenced his decisions in the Great War are...

A woman, frequently bitten by mosquitoes, comes to you for medical treatment. She has a fever, swollen ankle, and hard, elephant-like skin. What could be wrong? These questions facing aid workers around the world. A simulation activity...

An eye infection can be a nuisance in the developed world; in some places in Africa and South America, these infections cause blindness. While aid workers have drugs and preventative solutions, they are sometimes stopped from delivering...

How does a former president play a role in defending democracy? Around the world, many groups protest fair and free elections. By challenging issues such as complicated ballots and voter intimidation, the Carter Center works tirelessly...

What should a president do when enemies take Americans hostage in a foreign revolution? Learners take a look at the dilemma through the eyes of Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. Primary sources, analysis worksheets, and...

Now a legend, Manfred von Richtofen was the original Flying Ace. The Red Baron eventually was shot down by the Allies, but not before the German pilot revolutionized warfare with his circus-like stunts. An informative video biography...

French commander Ferdinand Foch's early decisions led to some of worst of World War I's bloodshed. He also forecast that the Treaty of Versailles only postponed the inevitable World War II. A detailed video biography gives scholars the...

At the start of World War I, German naval leader Maximilian von Spee was isolated in the Pacific Ocean. He led his squadron on a daring mission to save themselves, ending in the first defeat of a British naval squadron in a century....

Most learners are already familiar with the horror wreaked by Adolf Hitler during World War II, but few may understand the impact the Great War had on him. Hitler felt his time at the front for Germany during the Great War were some of...

Was he a ruthless leader and failed military commander? Or a political martyr and king? Historians continue to debate the legacy of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was the last of the Romanov line to rule Russia. An interesting video...