K20 LEARN
No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
K20 LEARN
Making Sense of MLA: Citing Sources and MLA Formatting
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Sheet is about giving credit where credit is due. And while there are different style sheets, the one most often used in Language Arts is the MLA. In this lesson, high school scholars learn how...
K20 LEARN
Just Say No!: Exploring Temptation Through The Lotus Eaters
Teenagers face many temptations, and just saying "No!" can be very difficult. Here's a lesson that provides some help. Learners use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast excerpts from The Odyssey, Tennyson's "The Lotus-Eaters," and the...
K20 LEARN
The Anatomy Of A Story: Story Structure
Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...
K20 LEARN
The History of Spoken Word Poetry: Historical and Cultural Perspectives In Literature
Spoken word poetry, more than almost any other form, reveals the historical and cultural perspective of the poet. High schoolers listen to various spoken word poems, select one to research in-depth, and then apply what they have learned...
K20 LEARN
Mood and Tone at Owl Creek Bridge: Mood and Tone
Two versions of movie trailers for the film Mary Poppins launch a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious lesson about how mood and tone impact a reader's experience of work. Using the provided list, readers identify the words that create the...
K20 LEARN
Memory Haiku: The Great Gatsby and the Sense of Smell
Scholars learn how smells evoke early childhood memories and apply that knowledge to a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. After finding a passage from the novel that references smells, they craft a haiku and a...
K20 LEARN
It Wasn't Me: "The Crucible"
Scholars complete their study of the collective fear in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" by conducting a mock trial to determine how many witches are in the class. Groups then analyze sections of the play for the literary devices used and...
K20 LEARN
It’s My Party and I’ll Hear What I Want To: Gatsby’s Party Playlists, The Great Gatsby and the Sense of Sound
Young scholars consider how film soundtracks can help support not only the mood but also the tone of a scene. After viewing two very different trailers for the same film, class members create their own soundtracks for two party scenes...
K20 LEARN
Motivations In "The Gift Of The Magi": Motivation In Characters
O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page...
K20 LEARN
Locating Archetypes in Pop Culture, Literature, and Life
Archetypes help readers connect literature to the world around them. A lesson plan uses elements of pop culture to teach about archetypal traits of common characters and discuss issues of perception and other literary devices. At the...
K20 LEARN
The Consequences of Time Travel: Analyzing Short Stories
Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder" is the anchor text in a lesson that asks high schoolers to find examples of cause, effect, and foreshadowing in the tale. They then create a brochure advertising trips with Time Travel, Inc.
K20 LEARN
Taking a Bite! Exploring Cultural Identity Through Food
High schoolers are asked to consider the connections between food, culture, and identity. They read articles and share what they learned in a jigsaw activity, read a short story, and make a claim about the story's theme, backing up their...
K20 LEARN
You Think You Have Problems: Perspective in Multi-Genre Literature
Young scholars are asked to reflect on how personal experiences might influence points of view and perspectives. They read poems and biographies of the poets and then match the poem to the poet. To justify their matches, learners...
Smithsonian Institution
Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth
There is a grain of truth in myths. Young historians investigate the truths surrounding the popular beliefs about the First Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After reading the information in a study guide, they use what they...
Curated OER
Changemakers Lesson Plans
An astronaut, a fashion designer, a Secretary of the Interior, an actor, and an Olympic Gold Medal winner! Teens and tweens have an opportunity to be changemakers as they research modern Native Americans and their many accomplishments...
Curated OER
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Lesson Plan
Indigenous Land Guardianship, Settler Colonialism, Racial Capitalism. While the terms may be new to some, they feature in a lesson plan designed for Indigenous Peoples' Day. Young scholars investigate four concepts: Land...
Penguin Books
A Guide to the Works of Jacqueline Woodson
The works of Jacqueline Woodson introduce readers to diverse characters and themes. A guide covers many of the author's best-known books such as Brown Girl Dreaming and Locomotion. Dive & Discuss and Explore & Extend activities...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to the Works of Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...
K20 LEARN
Transcending Boundaries - The Kiowa Six: The Legacy and Contributions of Six Kiowa Artists
The Kiowa Six, a group of Kiowa artists, are featured in the lesson that asks young historians to consider the importance of art in representing a culture and contributing to a group's legacy. After examining paintings by the group and...
Global Oneness Project
The Value of Sports: Unifying a Community
The Global Oneness Project presents a lesson about the power of sport to bring a community together. After watching the documentary film, I am Yup'ik, class members use the provided discussion questions to reflect on the importance of...
K20 LEARN
Whose Manifest Destiny? Westward Expansion
Your land is my land! Young historians investigate the concept of Manifest Destiny used by the United States government to justify western expansion. Jigsaw groups read primary source documents to gain an understanding of the movement...
K20 LEARN
The Spiro Mounds Builders: Oklahoma History
Long before European settlers arrived on the shores of what is now the United States, pre-contact Native American cultures thrived. Young scholars investigate the Spiro Mounds Builders' history and learn how archaeologists put together...
Global Oneness Project
Today’s Native America
The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page packet,...