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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 2: Close Read

For Teachers 6th Standards
The second lesson plan of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 1: Poem

For Teachers 6th Standards
While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry activity could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Analyze Author’s Techniques, Including Figurative Language

For Students 8th
Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "He Had His Dream" is the focus of a quick exercise. Pupils read the poem and answer four multiple choice questions and one short answer question about specific lines in the poem and the author's purpose....
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Dialect Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 8th - 9th
Explore different dialects with your English class. This handout contains four poems from Paul Laurence Dunbar. Use the poems to introduce your class to a new dialect. No exercises or activities are included. 
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Dayton Aviation National Historical Site

For Students 9th - 10th
Official website of the Dayton Aviation National Historic Park. Historic landmarks tell the stories of the lives of the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Paul Laurence Dunbar: Online Resources

For Students 9th - 10th
"The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with Paul Laurence Dunbar, including manuscripts, photographs, and books." This resource tool gathers links to digital materials available...
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Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 1906)

For Students 9th - 10th
This excellent site provides a biography, critical commentary on several poems, examples of Dunbar's illustrated work, images and the text of several poems.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: The American Experience in the 1900s

For Students 9th - 10th
This site presents a general picture of what life was like in the United States at the turn of the century. Content includes compelling images, information, and documents about American life.
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Primary
Duke University

Molly Green; In Dahomey (Historic American Sheet Music)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site shows the original sheet music for the first black musical, "In Dahomey," which was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Will Marion Cook.
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Website
Other

University of Dayton: Paul Laurence Dunbar Website

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about Paul Laurence Dunbar.
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Urbanization 1870 1900: Change Reflected in Thought and Writing

For Students 11th - 12th
American writers and intellectuals played an important role in articulating the changes taking place in Industrial America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Learn about some of the prominent writers, scientists, and philosophers at that...
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Website
Other

Wright State University: Digital Text: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 9th - 10th
Outstanding digital text collection. Begins with a biographical sketch and then gives numerous links to the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar.
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Activity
Curated OER

National Park Service: Dayton Aviation Heritage

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives a lot of information on the commemorative park dedicated to the Wright Brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Here you can read about this great author and find links taking you to the Dunbar House State Memorial, etc.
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each text is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see the...
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Website
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Self Image, Making of African American Identity: V. 2

For Students 9th - 10th
An editorial and four poems that explore African American strivings for self-esteem in the late-nineteenth century. All documents referenced within this resource attempt to shine a light on African American self-image and identity.
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Unit Plan
Cengage Learning

Paul Laurence Dunbar: Classroom Issues and Strategies

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Provides lesson ideas for investigating the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. It includes ideas on form, style, artistic appeal, comparison and contrast. There are also questions about the text provided.
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eBook
University of Michigan

American Verse Project: p.l. Dunbar: Sunshine and Shadow

For Students 9th - 10th
Online text of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow." Links to each of his texts for easy navigation.
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Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This Web English Teacher site compiled links to learn more about Paul Laurence Dunbar's work. Explore this informative resource to learn more about his poetry and life.
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eBook
Other

Wright State University: Howdy, Honey, Howdy

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Some of Dunbar's dialect poems, this volume from the Wright State University is illustrated with photographs seemingly taken for that purpose. Lots to talk about here, as the volume runs the gamut from the comical to the tragic.
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Faith Cure

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with the story"The Faith Cure" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Sympathy

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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eBook
Open Library of the Internet Archive

Open Library: Poems

For Students 9th - 10th
This ebook version of Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Poems" has been made available in multiple formats by the Open Library. Editions of the full novel, organized by year of publication, may be accessed here.
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Unknown Type
My Hero Project

My Hero: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use this resource to learn about what makes African-American writer, Paul Laurence Dunbar, heroic in the eyes of others. This article includes information on his life and poetry, as well as "related links" to further related information.
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Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 9th - 10th
This site focuses on Paul Laurence Dunbar including a biography that includes a poem in dialect "Negro Love Song" illustrating how well the author used this format. It also includes links to eight of his books.