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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Utopian Visions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine Sir Thomas More's Utopian vision. In this philosophy lesson, students read Utopia and determine the pros and cons of Utopian societies. Students then create and present monologues of residents of the Utopia.
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Antebellum Communal Experiments

For Students 11th - 12th
Read this section of a chapter on "Antebellum Idealism and Reform Impulses" to identify similarities and differences among utopian groups of the antebellum era and explain how religious utopian communities differed from nonreligious ones.
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Website
Other

The Shaker Workshops: Who Are the Shakers?

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides links to a number of articles and essays on the history of the Shakers, their way of life, and their furniture making.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: The Shakers Timeline

For Students 9th - 10th
A good timeline showing the major events in the history of the religious group plus it also places them in the context of events around the world.