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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Literature of Democracy

For Teachers 12th
Read excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's speech "American Scholar" to address and analyze passages from American literary works. Seniors will discuss three quotations from the text and read excerpts from the address. They then work in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early American English Lit Writing Assignment (Senior, Literature)

For Teachers 10th - 12th
To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"What is an American?"

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders ponder about what it means to be an "American." They discuss the impact of an author's word choice and sentence structure on text. They identify some major themes and development of the Letters... Compose paragraphs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 1: Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
I love Faulkner, his experimental style and stream of consciousness are so exciting. Your learners can analyze William Faulkner and his novel, The Sound and the Fury by defining his place in American literary history and exploring his...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
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Study Guide
Spark Notes

The American by Henry James : Study Guide - Mini Essays

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
In this online interactive literature instructional activity, students respond to 11 short answer and essay questions about Henry James's The American. Students may check some of their answers online.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jewish Assimilation In Contemporary American Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students form groups to help each other read, analyze, and conduct research on important background information about Jews and their assimilation into modern American society. They write their own stories of assimilation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jewish Assimiliation in Contemporary American Literature

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Students read a collection of stories and watch videos to learn about the Jewish assimilation in American literature. In this American literature lesson plan, students watch videos about Judaism, read stories from a contemporary Jewish...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gatsby and the American Twenties Newspaper

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research 1920's US History.  In this historical literature lesson, students use the novel The Great Gatsby as a tool to examine the era.  They work in individually to create newspaper articles based on different historical and...
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Study Guide
SparkNotes

American Dream by Edward Albee: Study Guide - Mini Essays

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this online interactive literature worksheet, students respond to 8 short answer and essay questions about Edward Albee's American Dream. Students may check some of their answers online.
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Lesson Plan
1
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

What Ben Read

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

James Welch's Fools Crow

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...
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Study Guide
Spark Notes

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X Alex Haley

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
For this online interactive literature learning exercise, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Students may check some of their answers online.
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Study Guide
Spark Notes

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass: Study Guide - Mini Essays

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
In this online interactive literature worksheet, students respond to 8 short answer and essay questions about Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. Students may check some of their answers online.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Constructing Narrative from the Migrant Experience in Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.
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Lesson Plan
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Dream of a Nation

Writing Interdisciplinary Essay

For Teachers 12th Standards
The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a classic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students write a paper in which they analyze a quotation or symbol from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  In this American literature lesson, students choose a famous quotation or symbol from the novel and analyze the importance and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Eighty Yard Run

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and explore the themes of the book The Eighty Yard Run. In this literature lesson, students discuss their observations and predictions. Students develop their own story which is similar to that of The Eighty Yard Run.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Crucible Test

For Students 12th - Higher Ed
In this literature analysis worksheet, students write a paragraph using quotes and specific examples as an essay test of The Crucible.
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne

For Students 11th Standards
Is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman? To conclude a unit study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter class members craft an argument essay in which they use the standards listed in Proverbs 31 from the Bible to judge Hester's virtues.

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