National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801
While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...
Carnegie Library
Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson plan. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers.
Curated OER
Children of War
Take a closer look at the impact of war in this language arts and social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use primary sources to conduct research as they relate to the effects of war on children. They compare and contrast the effects of...
Curated OER
Drama with Children 2
Students participate in a variety of activities designed to integrate drama into the classroom. They play charades, mime, practice visualization, active and passive improvisation, develop characters using puppets, etc.
August House
Go to Sleep, Gecko
Use this multidisciplinary lesson to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A Balinese...
Curated OER
Civil War Letters
Young scholars put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War lesson plan, students examine letters from the time period written by soldiers, edit the letters for grammatical errors, and then present the...
Curated OER
Teaching the Holocaust through Literature
Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...
Curated OER
Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...
Shmoop
ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1
Do your pupils know what a primary source is? How about a secondary source? Provide them with the information here about different types of documents and then test their knowledge with a brief quiz. The quiz is made up of two documents....
Curated OER
Shared Reading: A Lesson Plan to Introduce Patriotism in the Classroom
Students learn why we say the Pledge of Allegiance through shared reading. In this shared reading lesson plan, students are shown the Pledge of Allegiance in 3 different forms. While they are exploring the pledge, the teacher explains...
Curated OER
I Am Special, You Are Special Too #2
After being read a story, the students attempt to identify one individual difference, and one thing about themselves that is similar to other students in the class and one thing that makes them special. For the art lesson, students...
Curated OER
Othello's Predecessors: Moors in Renaissance Popular Literature
Students gather textual citations from Othello, discuss stereotypes that they hold, examine primary source materials, and write character profiles.
Curated OER
Choose Your Path
Students identify the plot and theme of cartoons. In groups, they discuss and compare the written and movie versions of popular fairy tales. Individually, they write their own fairy tale and share them with the class. They write their...
Curated OER
Little Cloud
Students create "little clouds" after reading the story "The Little Cloud" by Eric Carle in this cross-curricular Art and Language Arts instructional activity for the early-elementary classroom. The author suggests using this with a...
Curated OER
Persuasive Speech
Tenth graders participate in a instructional activity that is focused on the concept of writing persuasive speechs. They conduct research from a variety of sources in order to gather information to write well informed speeches.
Curated OER
Patriotic Arts: Influencing Canadians At War
Students study how war has shaped Canadian life, patriotism, propaganda, and music. They research primary source documents, novels, videos, and songs before celebrating Remembrance Day.
ReadWriteThink
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
Teacher Created Materials
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Bring Julius Caesar to life with a reader's theatre approach that engages the entire class. The opening exercises model the importance of reading with expression while choral reading exercises permit class members to practice their...
Curated OER
James Whitcomb Riley
Students describe James Whitcomb Riley's poems and identify the themes they portray. In this poetry lesson plan, students read the history of James Whitcomb Riley and read some of his poems.
Curated OER
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Students read "the Very Hungry Caerpiller" by Eric Carle and create their own caterpillers using the same art techniques found in the book in this excellent early elementary lesson plan. Included with the lesson plan is a vocabulary list...
Curated OER
Rainforest
Students create a rainforest poster and move to music learning about the rainforest. In this rainforest lesson plan, students express themselves in a variety of ways using their knowledge of the rainforest. Activities include creating a...
Curated OER
Little Green
Students explore how to make the color green by mixing the two primary colors, blue and yellow.
Curated OER
Dateline: 442 BC Antigone
High schoolers create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.
Curated OER
Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...