Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...

Learners watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.

What do Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman have in common? They're all characters from beloved holiday movies that viewers revisit in the play Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). Scholars conduct research...

High school pupils research online to complete a family tree and explore their ancestry. They view a sketch of a family tree, and brainstorm questions to ask their parents about their heritage. They also diagram their own family tree. In...

What does social security reveal about the political and social culture of the 1930s? After beginning with a brief introductory video on the impact of the Great Depression and how various Americans, such as Huey Long and Francis...

According to some estimates, there are more guns than people in the United States. Learners decide if America should enact more gun control laws. They analyze information about gun deaths in the United States by year, read about the...

Students read an essay about folklife and record their thoughts in journals. After discussing the terms associated with the topic, they complete worksheets on types of folklife, pop, elite, and folk cultures. Depending on the age group,...

Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...

Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...

Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...

High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Riddle me this! What do kennings, caesura, and alliteration have to do with the Nowell Codex? Introduce class members to Anglo-Saxon poetry and prepare readers for a study of Beowulf with a series of activities that...

Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...

What constitutes an effective apology? After considering a series of scenarios, class members develop criteria for an effective apology and then use these indicators to evaluate Canada's Prime Minister Harper's apology to former...

Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson about evaluating digital sources. The lesson starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and several...

Where to begin? With the vocational education that provides the skills necessary to gain economic security or with a Liberal Arts education? As part of a study of leaders of the civil rights movement, class members compare and...

This document provides useful information for a unit on democracy in China. While it does not include detailed activities, it does have a list of democratic principles, and important facts about China that facilitate understanding of its...

Middle schoolers study basic Buddhist concepts by reading Jataka tales in this unit. They write personal response and identify connections to Buddhist literature and culture.

High schoolers are able to characterize arsenic and determine its potential health threats in writing. They are able to compare and contrast arsenic to other water pollutants using Venn diagrams. Students are able to demonstrate essay...

From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...

Accompany instruction and the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos with a loaf of Pan de los Muertos. Here, scholars measure ingredients precisely to create tasty bread, write a remembrance for someone who has...

After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social...

A must-have resource for classes that engage in debate, this packet contains 20 detailed plans for debate games and activities. Everything from how to select evidence to support a position, to structuring a debate on which candy bar is...