Students analyze historical perspectives. In this Reconstruction lesson, students compare and contrast the Northern and Southern views on Reconstruction as they analyze letters from Robert E. Lee and read Confederate Military History.

Novice writers often struggle to determine what style of essay to write when given a prompt. This learning exercise helps to identify an appropriate form based on the language of the question. For example, key words like prove or justify...

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local...

Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.

There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...

A thorough unit on literary analysis and character development culminates in a final writing assessment. Prompted to compare the parent-child relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights, high...

A 16-page packet includes three activities for a unit study of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Before beginning the novel, class members identify the factors in their lives that helped create their frame of reference,...

Was Puritan society governed as more of a theocracy or democracy? After comparing and contrasting a series of primary source documents, middle and high schoolers form small groups and debate the question.

After your class reads Neat People vs. Sloppy People and Batting Clean-up and Striking Out, provide them with this resource. Use it as a quiz or a homework assignment to assess your class's understanding of the author's...

Sixth graders research treaties. In this treaties activity, 6th graders go online to build knowledge about treaties. Students read information and take quizzes. Students write a comparative essay about how the Aboriginal and...

As your historians examine the beginnings of WWI, ensure they are familiar with the Armenian Genocide. This basic introductory lesson plan utilizes teacher-led discussion, map analysis, and a Socratic seminar. Not much detail is offered...

Eleventh graders compare and contrast Supreme Court decisions dealing with the application of civil rights during times of war, with emphasis on discrimination and detention. Working in groups, 11th graders review cases and analyze how...

Difficulties with brain injuries still continue today. After reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, class members read a series of modern personal essays about brain injuries and choose an essay to compare...

After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...

Students write a compare and contrast essay. In this writing skills lesson, students learn about life in Japan through a video of a Japanese third grader. Students use notes written on the video to write a four-paragraph...

In this literature learning exercise, students respond to 26 short answer and essay questions about Cervantes's Don Quixote. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Students read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien and write a comparison of the two books. In this Tolkien novel analysis lesson, students read the novels and select characters, plot, theme, or other element to...

Practice makes perfect. A practice test designed for the ELA MCAS Assessment gives seventh grade learners the opportunity to answer reading comprehension questions and respond to essay prompts. Questions involve general fiction and...

Learners analyze patterns of organization used in writing to determine how and when comparisons and contrasts can be effectively utilized to identify similarities and differences or pros and cons.

Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their...

Class members research citizenship in Ancient Rome and in the United States and use the provided graphic organizers to compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens in these two democracies.

Students read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...

Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension...