Facing History and Ourselves
Becoming Ourselves
Here's a great way to build community during the first days of the new school year. Participants read personal narratives, then craft and share their stories with others.
Curated OER
Maus: Problematic Situation Strategy
Do people really need “a newer, bigger Holocaust” in order to change? Or is it possible that by making text-to-self connections to the stories of others people that they can change? In order to connect to Art Spiegelman’s Maus, class...
Recorded Books
Teacher's Guide: The Pinballs
Dive your class into the novel The Pinballs by Betsy Byars with the support of this reading guide. Including short answer questions, a multiple choice comprehension quiz, and extension activities, a variety of materials are...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Innovation in America
Are American young people prepared to become tomorrow's leaders in technological innovation, or does an obsession with being cool sidetrack essential skills? That is the question freshmen and sophomores must address in a performance...
Curated OER
Guided Reading Lessons
Guided reading lessons can help students learn important strategies and appeciate literature.
Curated OER
Introducing the Memo
Examine the text structure of a memo with this worksheet. Eighth to twelfth graders decide if the purpose of a memo is to motivate an action or to provide information to the reader. They explore new vocabulary and make predictions prior...
Curated OER
Poetry As Oral Performance
Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...
K12 Reader
Import/Export
The reading passage here uses the example of the American colonies to introduce imports and exports. After reading the text, class members respond to five questions, which require pupils to find facts in the text and form opinions...
Curated OER
Blogging To Create A Community of Writers # 5 of 7
Here is lesson 5 from a 7 lesson unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past. They compose a...
Curated OER
Chapter 4: The Expansion of Greece
Looking for a comprehensive resource to accompany Western Civilizations, 16th edition? This site follows the text with online response tools such as chapter quizzes, interactive maps, focus questions, and flash cards. Chapter 4 focuses...
Curated OER
Chapter 6: Christianity and the Transformation of the Roman World
The history of the Christian faith makes up a fascinating element of western civilization, as demonstrated in this comprehensive online resource. A chapter quiz features short-answer questions based on the ministry of Jesus, the spread...
Curated OER
Western Civilizations, Chapter 9: The High Middle Ages: Religious and Intellectual Developments
If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to western civilizations, explore this online resource! Although designed for use with the Western Civilizations text, this site can be implemented in any course. A chapter quiz challenges...
Curated OER
Western Civilizations, Chapter 12: The Civilization of the Renaissance
If you can't take your western civilization class to the Renaissance Faire, try this online resource to give them an idea of this era and others! While designed to accompany the Western Civilizations text, this tool can be utilized...
Curated OER
Western Civilizations, Chapter 27: The Cold War: Global Politics, Economic Recovery, and Cultural Change
Keep your scholars organized using this study plan and progress report tool, one of many great learning strategies featured in this online western civilizations resource! Although designed for use alongside the Western Civilizations...
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Darcy's Proposal to Elizabeth
Why did Elizabeth refuse Darcy’s first proposal? Was it pride or prejudice? Readers of Austin’s classic struggle with the significance of Darcy’s proposal and Elizabeth’s refusal by crafting personal response journals and sharing these...
Curated OER
Pre-writing activities for improving students' connections to literature
Students, while reading a novel together in class, jot in their journals any connections to their own lives they can make between the text and self, text to text or text to the world. Various themes are connected to open more doors to...
Curated OER
Who Am I Without Him?
Students read and discuss the book, Who Am I Without Him? In this fluency lesson, students practice reading with expression and making text to self connections. Students practice writing expressively in their journals.
Curated OER
Archetypal Images and Polarities
Here is a rather esoteric resource that presents the archetypes found in “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” and would be appropriate for a college-level psychology or literature class, or as a teacher resource. Considered the “world’s oldest...
Curated OER
Night: Guided Imagery Activity
Prior to reading Night, class members engage in a guided imagery activity that helps them make text-to-self connections to Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences with his father in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Complete directions, as well...
Curated OER
Literary Response and Analysis Theme Literature
Analyze the central idea or literary theme found in a series of quotes from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. For literary analysis, learners paraphrase excerpts from the play and then identify the characters' motivations for their speech.
Have Fun Teaching
Identifying Author's Purpose
The multi-lesson, 47-page packet contains everything you need to ensure kids can recognize the clues provided to identify the type of text, the intended audience, and the author's purpose in writing the passage.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Declaration of Independence
Give budding historians a guided exploration of the Declaration of Independence, historic photos, videos, and more as they deepen their understanding of the American Revolution and the attitude of the colonists leading up to...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Theodore Roosevelt, Excerpt from “The Man in the Arena” Speech
Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena" speech not only provides individuals with a chance to develop their reading skills but also provides much food for thought about current political situations. Cynics, fops, and...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Illustrating Text
Ideas like this are highly effective for helping build better reading comprehension. The class listens to an excerpt from a grade-appropriate text, and they discuss what clues or words helped them visualize the scene. They then read a...