Curated OER
Mystery in History
Fifth graders research United States history by exploring Roanoke Island. In this colony lesson, 5th graders identify North Carolina geography and the lost colony of Roanoke Island. Students complete a worksheet displaying the facts and...
Curated OER
And You Were (Almost) There
Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.
Curated OER
American Frontiers
High schoolers study the settlement of the American frontier through literature. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss works by James Fenimore Cooper, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Hamlin Garland. High...
Curated OER
Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
Twenty questions challenge the reader of A Tale of Two Cities. Moving beyond mere reading comprehension, this quiz looks at biographical information and writing style as well as plot structure and action. Use at the end of the novel as a...
PB Works
George Washington’s Socks: Short-Answer Questions Chapters 1-9
Build a literature unit around the book George Washington's Socks with this series of short answer questions. Broken up in two- and three-chapter increments, these reading comprehension questions allow young readers to demonstrate...
Curated OER
Separating Fact From Fiction In Historical Fiction
In this language arts worksheet, students look for the facts and fiction in the novel Number The Stars. They separate them into the two different columns.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Would you fit in with the Cherokees?
Students use this activity as an introduction to the unit on Cherokee Native Americans. They discuss and research Cherokee dress and homes and identify difference between the Cherokee and the individuals in the class.
Curated OER
Fact, Fiction, or Bad Memory
Students identify bias in how the events of the Boston Massacre were reported. They attempt to determine who is to blame for the Boston Massacre by determining the reliability the of sources.
Curated OER
Visions in the Dust: A Child's Perspective of the Dust Bowl
Young scholars examine primary source material of the Depression to correlate the fictional text "Out of the Dust" with actual visual, auditory, and manuscript accounts as found in the American Memory collections.
Curated OER
The Lines in Timelines
Students are introduced to the concept of sequence by creating their own personal timeline. As a class, they put the events of the last week of their lives into the correct order and determine what information should be used for their...
Curated OER
The Cay
Designed for teachers who use Theodore Taylor's The Cay, this 11-page packet includes a synopsis of the story, chapter-based quizzes, and an answer key.
Curated OER
"I Cannot Tell a Lie"
Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"
Curated OER
"You Shall Do Your Best Endeavor" - Working With Primary Documents
Students read and interpret primary source documents regarding historic Jamestown. In small groups, they read the primary documents, answer questions, and view online maps of Jamestown Island and Virginia.
Curated OER
Listen to the Voices of the Holocaust
Connect fiction and nonfiction narratives about the Holocaust to show universal themes of human strength and endurance.
Curated OER
The Holocaust in Literature: Fiction and Non-Fiction
Using literature is an effective way to address the Holocaust with your students.
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: Mixing Words and Pictures
Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy lesson focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then discusses how...
Curated OER
The Land of Immigrants
Students access information and data about US immigration using the Internet and other sources. They identify from research data the countries from which the largest number of immigrants to the US come from and create a database of these...
Curated OER
The Crucible: Hysteria, Witches and Death
Eleventh graders explore the historical events of the Salem witch trials. After completing research and reading a play on the witch trials, 11th graders compare and contrast the historical facts to the fictional play. In groups, students...
Curated OER
Men of Steel
Students explore early 20th century steel making. In this U.S. history steel making instructional activity, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Students...
National Council of Teachers of English
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction
With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...
Curated OER
Primary Sources and Protagonists: A Native American Literature Unit
Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...
Curated OER
Trek Across America
Bring a time machine into your classroom with this writing lesson, in which young writers project themselves back in time and have a variety of choices from that point forward. They either write a conversation with a historical figure,...
Curated OER
What Makes Time Tick, or Has the Industrial Revolution Really Made Clocks Go Faster?
Students explore the concept of time both historically and in their own lives. Students count the number of times they refer to a clock and the number of scheduled and unscheduled activities in their lives. Students discuss how the...
West Jefferson High School
The Novel — Honor
For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at...