University of Iowa
Bringing History Home: My History at School
This unit introduces children to the concept of history as a story. By focusing on their experiences at school, students connect history concepts with personal experience and learn history using primary sources from their own lives. This...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Retro Report Collection
Retro Report is a nonprofit news organization that connects the past to our present. Their short videos provide both historical context and new perspectives. You can use the videos and lesson plans to inspire critical thinking and...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Welcome Home Balto Lesson Plan: Molly of Denali
This lesson, based on the animated story "Welcome Home Balto" from the PBS KIDS series MOLLY OF DENALI, helps children use visual imagery to enhance comprehension while listening to and reading informational texts. After Molly hears the...
PBS
Pbs: Culture Shock: Huck Finn in Context
This site features information on themes from Huck Finn. You will find activities and discussion questions to accompany the different sections.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Review Redux: Literary Criticism Through Reception Moments
Literature takes on a life of its own as students take a hands-on approach to exploring A Raisin in the Sun for cultural and historical context.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Declaration of Independence: Created Equal?
What does the Declaration of Independence mean with the phrase, "All men are created equal"? Students examine "equality", and what it means now and what it meant during the time of Thomas Jefferson, and "develop a rationale for...
Penguin Publishing
Penguin Random House: A Guide to "Othello" [Pdf]
Cross-curricular ideas, historical context, focus on language and other features make this 17 page .pdf document a help for anyone planning to teach Shakespeare's "Othello."
Other
A Midsummer Night's Dream Guide
This guide to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream began as the From Stage to Screen: Shakespeare and the World Wide Web project with the Moscow Alternative School Center in Idaho. This guide will walk you through the steps we took at...
Read Works
Read Works: Predicting 4th Grade Unit
[Free Registration/Login Required] A two-lesson plan unit focused on students making predictions using details from the text found in Marvin and the Meanest Girl by Suzy Kline, and making predictions within a historical context in the...
Library of Congress
Loc: Explorations in American Environmental History
These lessons introduce students to historical perspectives of nature and the environment, drawing on the American Memory collections, other digital resources, readings, and writing exercises. Students examine materials in a variety of...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Johnny Tremain
Come and discover more about the novel, "Johnny Tremain," by Esther Forbes. This site features a discussion guide, writing prompt, vocabulary builder, extension activity and more.