National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms and the...
Anti-Defamation League
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought, Unbossed and Unforgotten
A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Jan Brett
Prepare to teach Jan Brett stories by taking a look at this teacher resource, which includes text-based questions, writing assignments, discussion ideas, and vocabulary practice for 18 different stories.
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
English Resources
Buddy by Nigel Hinton
The lessons that come from reading the novel Buddy by Nigel Hinton might be masked by how much you have just enjoyed the story, but don’t let an opportunity for learning pass you by. Let this learning scheme bring clarity to the ideas...
Curated OER
Focus on Figurative Language
Using the poems "First Snow" by Ted Kooser and "Eating Alone" by Yi-Young Lee (or other suggested poems by Robert Frost or Sara Teasdale), middle schoolers search for examples of figurative language. Guide your learners by discussing...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 10: Character Development
Make a study of Timothy and his development as a character over the course of the first half or so of The Cay. This idea focuses in particular on chapters 10 through 12. Learners start out by working on double-entry journals created in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Crossing the River
Learners analyze the multiple voices in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. For this multiple voices lesson plan, students explore the use of symbolism with the narrative voices of the text. Learners write a detailed profile of one...
Curated OER
Design Your Perfect Career
Learners incorporate the design process to create their own perfect job or career. For this career design lesson, students develop questions to research for a future career choice. Learners brainstorm about their personal skills to use...
Federal Reserve Bank
Ben Franklin: Highlighting the Printer
By studying Benjamin Franklin's work as a printer, your class will have a fantastic opportunity to learn about the economic concepts of entrepreneurship, human capital, and investment.
EngageNY
Introducing Module 4B: “Water Is Life”
Learners take a gallery walk around the classroom to view various images and quotes. As they walk, they write down what they notice and wonder about what they see. After discussing their notice and wonder notes, they read the...
Curated OER
W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Students identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" lesson, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is chosen as the winner based on...
Curated OER
When Getting There is More Than Half the Battle
Students investigate the 'Design for the Other 90%' exhibition about low-cost solutions to give the "other 90% of the world's population" access to services and amenities many of us take for granted. In this technology design lesson,...
Curated OER
Archaeological Study
Learners analyze the difference between archaeology and anthropology while studying the evolution of different products. In this archaeology and anthropology lesson, students trace the progression of a certain tool or product and come up...
Curated OER
Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Students analyze Japanese tanka poetry. In this Japanese poetry lesson, students identify analyze the structure of tanka poetry. Students complete the activities at the given links for the lesson and compose two tanka poems.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 17: Obituary
The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...
Curated OER
Art and Literacy, grades 3-6, Reading Comprehension Category: Critical Stance
Learners compare two very different works of art and two poems, and verbally list similarities and differences they perceive in the works of art and the poems; students then select poem that best correlates with a work of art.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
Speak Truth to Power
Dalai Lama: Free Expression and Religion
How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic novel to...
Brethren High School
Romanticism Through the Eyes of Art, Poetry, and Technology
Use this simple collaborative activity to introduce the definition, art, and poetry of romanticism. Educators will have to provide the poetry, images of the art, and the survey for the learners, but by using this resource, they won't...
Illinois State University
Tragedy, Triumph, or Trespass?
Did westward expansion really live up to the dream of adventurers for a new life and opportunities for land and resources? While designed for a flipped classroom, try using this resource to evaluate primary sources alongside your class!...