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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anonymous Patriots: Songs of the Revolution

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early American English Lit Writing Assignment (Senior, Literature)

For Teachers 10th - 12th
To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature and Thought of the American Colonies

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders analyze works by John Donne and Thomas Heriot. In this Colonial America lesson, 11th graders examine pieces of literature, documents, and video clips to identify the issues regarding religion in the colonies. Student...
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Handout
Bibliomania

Bibliomania: English in Virginia

For Students 9th - 10th
This Bibliomania site surveys the literary history of the English in colonial Virginia. Includes analysis of the work of Captain John Smith, William Strachey, and George Sandys. Links to other notes about early American literature.
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Unit Plan
Other

Uua: Louisa May Alcott

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed biography of Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888 CE) from the Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography. Contains a couple of pictures as well.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Utopian Promise: Edward Taylor

For Students 9th - 10th
Born in England, emigrant Edward Taylor was a Harvard educated minister, writer, and poet of orthodox Puritan theology. Click on "Edward Taylor Activities" for related materials.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Puritan and Quaker Utopian Promise

For Students 9th - 10th
This unit explores the documented perceptions of Native Americans, religious faiths, physical challenges of new lands and how the combination of immigrants and Native Americans shaped the New World. Click on "Activities" for related...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Phillis Wheatley, an African-American slave, is featured for her neoclassical poetry of pre-nineteenth century America. Click on "Phillis Wheatley Activities" for more resources.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Slavery and Freedom: Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
This biography focuses on the abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, infamous for her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and author of many other influential published works in the nineteenth century. See "Harriet Beecher Stowe Activities" for...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Race and Identity in Antebellum America

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This unit features authors of Antebellum America and how they portray the American identity through their literature. Click on the tabs to explore the various resources available to enhance this unit.
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Website
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biography of early American poet Wheatley, including helpful links and other additional titles about her.
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Unit Plan
C-SPAN

American Writers: Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
An informational site on Harriet Beecher Stowe. Includes general information about her life, works, and writings, including Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also includes links to other sites.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Regional Realism: Sarah Orne Jewett

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a brief biography of Sarah Orne Jewett, known for her realistic writings of life in Maine during the nineteenth century. See "Sarah Orne Jewett Activities" for more resources.
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Activity
Washington State University

Washington State University: American Literature

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A comprehensive site devoted to American literature compiled by a professor of English at Washington State University. Includes an alphabetical index of American authors, with links to biographical information, works online, critical...
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Article
Other

Other Voices: The Psychology of Uncertainty: Rudolph Fisher's "The Conjure Man D

For Students 9th - 10th
An analysis by Adrienne Gosselin taken from an online Journal of Rudolph Fisher's "The Conjure-Man Dies." With endnotes and bibliographical references.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
This on-line encyclopedia article gives information about Phillis Wheatley, the Boston slave who surprised colonial America with her poetry. She was the first African-American woman to have her work published.