How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

Paul Fisher, the main character in Tangerine, comes to see that it's the choices in life that lead to the consequences that make all the difference. A unit study of Bloor's young adult novel leads readers down this same path. 

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

Do you know why woodpeckers have red heads? Why the possum has no hair on its tail? Why a cat has nine lives? Find out by downloading this resource that uses Zora Neale Hurston's collection Mules and Men as the basis of a study of...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

After reading an excerpt from Amelia Earhart's autobiography, The Fun of It, learners explore various nonfiction resources about her life and write a short newspaper article on a specific event. They then develop a longer piece of...

Students write a paragraph, make lists, draw, and brainstorm things about themselves, their goals, and their past. In this all about me lesson plan, students recall information about themselves, and interview others in order to write...

Students practice biographical and autobiographical forms of writing: autobiography, biopoem, character traits, classmate biography.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn the difference between biography and autobiography with these resources. PowerPoint lessons, biographical paragraphs, and autobiographical paragraphs are provided.

Explores Canadian poetry that reveals personal insights and reflections on the larger Canadian identity, and presents learning activities where students do research and write poems.

This article provides extensive excerpts from "The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass." This is a lot of information about the great abolitionist and orator written by himself.

Enhance your reading of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" by Ernest Gaines with the help of an author biography, novel introduction, vocabulary lists, and reading-response exercises. After completing the novel, write about the...

The Autobiography of Malcolm X traces the life of one of the most influential, controversial, and thoughtful people of the 20th century. Selected (10) reading passages (grades 8-11) to pair with the "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by...

This reading guide provides a critical introduction to Kincaid's novel, background information about the author, and a number of discussion questions suitable for reading groups or class discussion.

This is a brief biography of businessman, politician, scientist, and author Benjamin Franklin. Click "Benjamin Franklin Activities" for related materials.

Zora Neale Hurston is featured in this biography highlighting her literary contributions which focused on African Americans as whole people, celebrating their heritage, in an era when black authors tended to write about their...

Learn about quoting accurately and making inferences on this site. A link provides a model with text and supported inferences.

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to describe the structural and substantive differences between an autobiography or diary and a fictional adaptation of it.

Harriet Jacobs escaped from slavery and wrote a book about her life experience. Her autobiography was written in 1861 with the help of an abolitionist.

This learning module provides remediation with identifying genre of books and various texts. Practice with capitalizing nouns is provided with through worksheets, an online site, and a video tutorial. .

A brief summary of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Also includes an on-line text of the work as well as links to other informational websites.

Use this informative site to learn more about the book "Holes," by Louis Sachar. This educational resource gives descriptive activities for this book.

A brief summary of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Also includes an on-line text of the work as well as links to other informational websites.