Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Curated OER
Can Peace Prevail?
Students examine terrorist attacks in Amman, Jordan, and consider how events like these affect the global war against terrorism. They write reflective pieces exploring their own opinions about terrorism and the state of current affairs...
Curated OER
The Poet's Message-"The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes
Students analyze the poem, "The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes to gain a greater experience of how poets use language to create meaning, influence thinking and thus become pioneers of change in American society. They work on the...
Curated OER
A Fish Tale
Students brainstorm a list of famous events that took place on the sea. They write a poem or short story from the fish's perspective about the famous event they have chosen. Students share their work with the class.
Curated OER
Literature and History of the Holocaust
Students examine quotes and text passages related to the Holocaust. They generate a list of questions about the Holocaust and analyze a piece of writing based on the authorship of the work. They infer the meaning of a poem and determine...
Curated OER
Pilkey Author Study
Third graders read and hear stories by the author, Dav Pilkey and research the list of books written by this author. They become illustrators to the novel "Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel," then they create a timeline of their lives...
Curated OER
Write a Song About American History
Students explore the historic background of the song, The Battle of New Orleans. Working in pairs, students research other historic events and write their own songs based on them.
Curated OER
Jacob Have I Loved
Eighth graders, while being introduced to Katherine Paterson's novel, Jacob Have I Loved, bring to class three facts about Pearl Harbor. They place the facts they brought to class on a display board. At the conclusion of the teachers...
Curated OER
The Truth Shall Set Them Free?
Pupils consider the notion and purpose of truth commissions, They work in groups to predict the commission's effectiveness in its efforts to promote peace and reconciliation among Liberians. Finally, students create found poems that...
Curated OER
"The Leader"-- Reading Comprehension
In this poetry comprehension worksheet, students read a poem about leadership qualities called "The Leader". Students answer 4 essay questions about the poem.
Curated OER
The National Pastime
Students examine the impact baseball had politically and culturally upon the nation and the world from 1940-1950. Students study about, discuss, and take notes about historically significant events and baseball players' contributions...
Curated OER
Darfur Now Lesson Four: The Messages of Darfur Now
Young scholars explore the work in individuals that are part of Darfur Now. In this human rights lesson, students also analyze the message of Weisel's Not on Our Watch. Young scholars create found poems pertaining to social...
Curated OER
Requiem The Song of the Murdered Jewish People
Students read poem The Song of the Murdered Jewish People, listen to Requiem based on poem, work on reading poem as music plays, discuss reasons for composer's musical choices, and investigate possibilities of performing a reading for an...
Curated OER
The Big Lie
Fifth graders create poems and other forms of writing.Then working in groups they share writing with each other. The opinions would be gathered and students would revise writing according to the comments.
Curated OER
Urban Concentration and Racial Violence
Students research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a newspaper's front...
Curated OER
Book Week
Students discuss favorite books. They listen to the teacher tell how Book Week started. Students participate in a variety of activities designed to help them focus on books and reading. Some may create covers for the older books,...
Curated OER
Parallel Studies in American/Afro-American Literature, Part II -- Black and White Images in Alienation
Students begin the lesson with a review of the elements of poetry. Individually, they read a variety of poems and literature one white and one black author focusing on decay, sterility and alienation. They identify these images within...
Curated OER
Letters From Rifka
Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...
Curated OER
WHAT SHOULD ARJUNA DO?
Pupils become familiar with the Bhagavad Gita, recognize the various arguments Lord Krishna gave for doing one's dharma, explore the idea of karma yoga, acting with holy indifference.
Central Oregon Community College
Things Fall Apart Study Guide
“There is no story that is not true.” And Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, uses proverbs (“. . .the palm-oil with which words are eaten”), a compelling tragic hero, and historic events, to engage readers in the truth of his story of...
Curated OER
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Still Teaching Lessons To This Generation
Discuss Laurence Yep's novella, Hiroshima, to inspire future historical fiction writers.
Washington University in St. Louis
Teaching Jazz as American Culture
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
Curated OER
Capitalization
In this grammar activity, learners proofread, edit, and correct all the capitalization mistakes found in ten sentences. Students share their findings with their classmates.