Curated OER
Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Young scholars analyze Japanese tanka poetry. In this Japanese poetry lesson, students identify analyze the structure of tanka poetry. Young scholars complete the activities at the given links for the lesson and compose two tanka poems.
Curated OER
Pearl S. Buck: "On Discovering America"
Young scholars describe myths and realities of immigration. In this "On Discovering America" lesson, students compare and contrast the American view of immigrants in the 1930s and how the media portrayed immigrants in the 1930s using...
Curated OER
Picture Lincoln
Students analyze Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln and complete related activities. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students describe Abraham Lincoln as he is presented in Gardner's photograph. Students read a biography...
Curated OER
Preparing for Poetry: A Reader's First Steps
Students complete poetry analysis using William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" as a part of a study of figurative language. In this Shakespearean language lesson, students define literal and figurative language and practice paraphrasing and...
Curated OER
Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip
Young scholars review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes lesson, students define similes and identify examples. Young scholars read and analyze the similes used in poetry by...
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: Marco Polo in China
Learners trace Marco Polo's route into China and use the Internet to research major products fabricated in 13th century China. They discuss their findings and write a report on either: silk, porcelain, jade, lacquerware or tea.
Curated OER
The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Sudents compare specific excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage to first-hand accounts of Civil War battles, in text and images and list elements of Crane's style in The Red Badge of Courage that contribute to its realism.
Curated OER
You Kiss By the Book
Students explore Shakespeare's use of poetic conventions, examine the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet and gain experience in close readng and the interpretation of verse structure and imagery.
Curated OER
Traces: Historic Archaeology
Students list at least five different kinds of artifacts archaeologists have found in U.S. excavations. They cite artifacts when describing life at a particular archaeological site.
Curated OER
Shaping the View: Symmetry and Balance
Students examine how artists structure their compositions to convey a sense of symmetry and balance. They analyze various paintings, identify objects and figures in the paintings, conduct Internet research, and evaluate paintings.
Curated OER
Trekking to Timbuktu: Trade in Ancient West Africa
Middle schoolers research how trade in Timbuktu was affected by geography. Students conduct online research to determine the major trade routes, main products of trade, plus how and why trade spread across Africa.
Curated OER
What?s in a Picture? an Introduction To Subject in the Visual Art
Students identify clues that tell them about where, when, who and what they are seeing in art images. They work, step by step, through the layers of meaning, delving more deeply into these layers with each work as they progress through...
Curated OER
Using the newspaper to learn about state and local government
Students investigate the purposes of state and local government. They categorize newspaper articles into state and local issues. Pupils summarize nonfiction text. Students given an oral presentation on a news report to the class.
Curated OER
Identifying the Purposes of Local Government
Students work cooperatively in small groups to identify the purposes of local government. They review the five broad purposes of local government and match the services of government to the appropriate purpose.
Curated OER
Edward Lear, Limericks, and Nonsense: There Once Was?
Students explore limericks. In this poetry writing lesson, students listen to and read a variety of poems written by Edward Lear. Students count syllables and identify meter by clapping as they read aloud. Students complete a limerick...
Curated OER
The failure of Diplomacy, September-December 1941
Students investigate four main issues of concern between US and Japan prior to US involvement in World War II. In this role play activity, students will take the role of US and Japanese negotiators trying to find a diplomatic solution to...
Curated OER
Wilson and American Entry into World War I
High schoolers explore the events that led to American entry into World War I. In this American history lesson, students examine the policies of Woodrow Wilson at the dawn of the war, analyze challenges to the neutrality policy of the...
Curated OER
The Battle Over Reconstruction: The Politics of Reconstruction
High schoolers participate in a simulation as a Congress member to decide which policies to support in Reconstruction. In this Reconstruction era lesson, high schoolers read primary source documents to use as the basis for a mock debate....
Curated OER
The Battle Over Reconstruction: The Aftermath of Reconstruction
Students examine the Reconstruction Era. In this American history activity, students explore the condition of the United States following the Civil War as they read statistical data. Students analyze the Reconstruction policies to...
Curated OER
Picturing Freedom: Selma-to-Montgomery March, 1965
Students analyze primary sources to investigate the Civil Rights Movement. In this Civil Rights lesson, students explore the passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965 and how photojournalism impacted the passage of the legislation. Students...
Curated OER
Edward Lear, Limericks, and Nonsense: There Once Was...
Students recognize poetic devices including rhyme, syllabification, and meter. They identify the characteristics of a nonsense poem and of a limerick. They write their own limericks.
Curated OER
Trekking to Timbuktu: Restoring the Past
Students describe the environmental conditions that presently threaten Timbuktu. They explain what efforts are being made to restore the ancient mosques, describe the condition of the ancient manuscripts and tell what is being done to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Biographers
High schoolers research biographical facts about Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce and complete literary analysis activities. In this biographical lesson plan, students research basic biographical facts about Poe and Bierce. High...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil
Students use an online search engine (or a printed concordance) to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's response to fear and his descent into evil. They analyze the motives of Macbeth's increasingly desperate and evil actions.