+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Poetry of Liberation

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Becoming Visible

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Migrant Struggle

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Modernist Portraits

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Rhythms in Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Rhyme, rhythm, free verse, imagery: Do these words describe poetry, or jazz music? The answer is both! A resource explores these similarities as scholars watch a video, engage in discussion, read author biographies, write poetry and...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Social Realism

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Masculine Heroes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Spirit of Nationalism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...
+
Lesson Plan
Digital Public Library of America

Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Utopian Promise

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...
+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Exploring Borderlands

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
+
Handout
San Antonio Independent School District

Breaking Down the Declaration of Independence

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Are learners heavy sighing at the idea of reading a primary source, written in a language that is difficult to understand and in cursive? Look no further, because the resource breaks down the Declaration of Independence in an...
+
Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

How the First State Constitutions Helped Build the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Did you know that the United States Constitution was adopted after many state constitutions were already in place? Young scholars examine facts about the influence of states through an informative and interesting resource. Groups then...
+
Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Harriet Tubman and the End of Slavery

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Harriet Tubman saved hundreds from slavery through what was called the Underground Railroad. Teach learners about her amazing accomplishments through the article that uses effective direct instruction. After reading, scholars break into...
+
Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates — Springboard to the White House

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...
+
Activity
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Sam Houston: A Study in Leadership

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Learners read a short excerpt from a speech by Sam Houston and answer corresponding questions as well as engage in additional activities, including writing a persuasive essay and discussing topics in small groups. The resource helps lay...
+
Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

If Men Were Angels: Teaching the Constitution With the Federalist Papers

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...
+
Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

The Story of the Federal Reserve: Middle School Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
After reading the charming cartoon about the United States Federal Reserve, pupils often need to complete activities to retain their learning. The resource does a wonderful job of using class discussion and various written exercises to...
+
eBook
Federal Reserve Bank

The Story of the Federal Reserve System

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Prevent the Federal Reserve System from becoming a dry topic for your middle and high schoolers by using an informative, engaging resource! The cartoon takes your class on a journey with aliens from the planet of Novus to observe the...
+
eBook
Federal Reserve Bank

Once Upon a Dime

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
The story of "Once Upon a Dime" starts like any other fairy tale, but it quickly becomes a story about the value of money and the economic system commonly used before it. Presented as a cartoon, the resource consists of dialogue between...
+
Lesson Plan
US Holocaust Museum

Time Capsule in a Milk Can

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Imagine dumping out a milk can and finding letters from one of the darkest moments in history! Scholars use Holocaust Reading Passages and research to discover how people recorded and hid history during the events of World War II. They...
+
Interactive
Mr. Nussbaum

Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 2)

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...
+
Interactive
Mr. Nussbaum

Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 3)

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
How did Abraham Lincoln begin to change the minds of American citizens? Join him in his quest with a reading passage about Lincoln's experiences as a congressman and public denouncement of slavery. The resource contains reading...