Curated OER
The Supreme Court: The Judicial Power of the United States
Students investigate some basic facts about the Supreme Court by examining the United States Constitution and one of the landmark cases decided by that court. The operation of the Supreme Court forms the focus of the lesson.
Curated OER
Allegory in Painting
Students examine how allegory is defined and used in the visual arts. They create a list of the arts, and list the objects, symbols, and figures that suggest each art category, analyze various paintings, and identify the allegorical...
Curated OER
Knowledge or Instinct? Jack London's "To Build a Fire"
Students closely read " To Build a Fire," to explore the use of narrative point of view and debate the distinction between knowledge and instinct. The elements of literary naturalism and how they relate to Jack London's work is examined...
Curated OER
Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat"
Young scholars examine the relationship of man and nature as portrayed in Stephen Crane's, The Open Boat." The third person, omniscient point of view, the depth of character analysis found in the story, and the emotions evoked by the...
Curated OER
Witnesses to Joan of Arc and The Hundred Years' War
High schoolers trace Joan of Ar's history from early childhood through her death and on to her nullification trial. Joan's place in the history of the Hundred Years' War, what motivated her, enabled her, and brought about her demise is...
Curated OER
Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context
High schoolers complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.
Curated OER
After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
Students investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Mark Twain and American Humor
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...
Curated OER
How and Why Has the White House Changed?
Students examine changes the White House has undergone in the past two centuries. They view and discuss online images and designs, compare diagrams, read information from various websites, and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
President Madison's 1812 War Message: Answers Lead to More Questions
Students investigate President Madison's case for declaring war against Great Britain. Students assume the roles of newspaper reporters and cite key points in Madison's argument for declaring war, and hypothesize about primary documents...
Curated OER
President Madison's 1812 War Message: A Brief Overview
Students investigate President Madison's War Message. Students read the message and discuss any information they may have misunderstood. Students hypothesize about what kinds of documents might help them find answers to their questions.
Curated OER
The Panic of 1837 and the Presidency of Martin Van Buren
High schoolers analyze period political cartoons and the causes of the economic downturn that began in1836. President Martin Van Buren's response as president and the reaction to his measures form the focus of this lesson.
Curated OER
Realistic Impressions: Investigating Movements in the Visual Arts
Students explore the idea of movements in the visual arts and differentiate between some of the most well known movements in Western art. The lesson plan focuses on what makes a painting an example of a particular movement.
Curated OER
Repeat After Me: Repetition in the Visual Arts
Young scholars explore one of the techniques artists often use to highlight important elements within a painting's composition and to move a viewer's eye around the canvass from highpoint to highpoint.
Curated OER
Follow the Leader: Line in the Visual Arts
Students explore line in painting and drawing and examine how it is defined in the visual arts. Recognizing line in the composition of a number of art works and how it affects these works of art is the focus of this lesson.
Curated OER
Preparing for Poetry: A Reader's First Steps
Students examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual evidence.
Curated OER
Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade
Students examine the trade network in Old Babylonia. They analyze maps, explore various websites, develop a list of goods imported to and exported from Babylonia, and write an essay.
Curated OER
An Introduction to the Relationship Between Composition and Content in the Visual Arts
Students investigate how artists create a story that provides a message or provokes emotions in a single image. The ways in which the composition of a painting contributes to telling the story or conveying the message is examined in this...
Curated OER
Australian Aboriginal Art and Storytelling
Young explorers investigate Australian Aboriginal culture by listening to traditional Dreamtime stories and examining dot paintings created by Aboriginal artists. In addition, they locate the country on maps, discuss the geography of...
Curated OER
The Path of the Black Death
High schoolers analyze maps, firsthand accounts, and archival documents to trace the path and aftermath of the Black Death. Connections between the plague and changes adopted by the ruling class are explored in this lesson.
Curated OER
The Constitutional Convention: Four Founding Fathers You May Never Have Met
Middle schoolers study the biographies of Ellsworth, Hamilton, Paterson, and Randolph. They study roles of these men during the Constitutional Convention.
Curated OER
The Royal Art of Benin
Young scholars investigate how the king of Benin used brass plaques to project an image of power to the people of Benin. They locate Benin on a map, explore various websites, and create a paper wall plaque that conveys symbols of power.
Curated OER
La Vie en Cave!
Students investigate the cave paintings of France. They explore various websites, recite and discuss french vocabulary terms, create a painted cave wall, and view and discuss images of French cave paintings.
Curated OER
Was There an Industrial Revolution? New Workplace, New Technology, New Consumers
Students examine the changes in the U.S. in the period of industrialization before the Civil War. They analyze census data, list/describe inventions and innovations, explore various websites, conduct a Factory Simulation activity, and...