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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mark Twain: Straddling the Civil War

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mark Twain and the American West

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students analyze Mark Twain's "Western" voice. In this literature instructional activity, students read Roughing It by Twain and watch "The West." Students examine Twain's history and compare it to the history of America's developing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Report From the 21st Century - Mark Twain

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students look at Twain, the humorist - considered America's favorite storyteller and the funniest man in the world at the time. Students stretch the truth about a personal experience, and consider how delivery affects impact.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students explore the story "The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Students are introduced to the life of the author, read the story, and respond to prompting questions about the text. The story is included in this lesson.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Mark Twain and American Humor

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson leads high school students through a greater understanding of the conventions of the literary device of "Humor," through a study of Mark Twain and the story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." A three-part...
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Website
University of California

The Bancroft Library: Mark Twain at Large

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides extensive information on the author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and his travels here and abroad. The site is broken up into sections that are easily accessed from the first page. This site is full of wonderful...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Portraits: Written and Visual

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A wonderful resource on the lives and work of American authors, Louisa May Alcott and Samuel Clemens. You will get a unique look at them through the study of their portrait and their writing. Includes two great lesson plans.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: On Stage at the Kennedy Center: 2001 Mark Twain Prize: Twain and R

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Use this instructional activity to study the lives of Mark Twain and Will Rogers. Analyze the writing styles of both authors, and identify the men as humorists who reflected and changed American culture.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: New Perspectives on the West

For Students 9th - 10th
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Mark Twain's Interactive Scrapbook

For Students 9th - 10th
At this website, venture through the chapters of an interactive scrapbook detailing the life and writings of Samuel Clemens, or Mark Twain. Includes several photographs, quotes, and audio clips. This scrapbook is part of a larger PBS...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Ken Burns: American Lives: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
In his time, Mark Twain was considered the funniest man on earth. Yet he was also an unflinching critic of human nature, using his humor to attack hypocrisy, greed and racism. In this series, Ken Burns has created an illuminating...
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Primary
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: Authors: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
This site focuses on Mark Twain including a link to his biography and links to the full text of six of his novels, three works of nonfiction, and 26 short stories. These include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Huck Finn in Context: A Teaching Guide

For Teachers 9th - 10th
From the PBS series, "Culture Shock," this teaching guide deals with the controversies that have surrounded the teaching of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The guide is designed to help teachers find reasonable...
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Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Glencoe Literature Library: "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" Study Guide [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Great reading guide for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain. Provides pre-reading material, including an author bio, book introduction, background articles, and journaling activities, as well as charting and brainstorming ideas...
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Activity
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: Mark Twain, a Special Report

For Students 9th - 10th
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, a daily news broadcast on PBS, offers a special report on Mark Twain and his missing manuscript, "A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage." A timeline of Mark Twain's life is also provided.
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eBook
Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg: Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
This ebook shares the memoir of Mark Twain. The memoir provides insights into the author's experiences when he worked as a piliot on a steamboat that traveled along the Mississippi River. The author begin with a history of the...
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PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Mark Twain/samuel Clemens

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a mixed media biography of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens. It includes an excellent PowerPoint presentation, "Mark Twain: Life, Works, and Quotations," a list of bibliographical information, a short YouTube video, a list of his most...
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Activity
University of North Carolina

Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi

For Students 9th - 10th
Here, read Mark Twain's (1835-1910 CE) book, "Life on the Mississippi," which was originally published in 1883. Download two HTML versions of the text: one providing links to images in the original text and one with images included.
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Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: A Literature of Democracy [Pdf]

For Teachers 11th
In this instructional activity, 11th graders explore the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his call for literature that was uniquely American. They then consider how Emerson would have responded to writings by Henry Thoreau, Frederick...
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Unit Plan
The Best Notes

The Best Notes: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an online study guide for the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.
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Website
PBS

New Perspectives on the West: Samuel Clemens

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS site provides a very good biography of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain (1835-1910) with emphasis put on the time he spent in the west. Also includes a photo.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Culture Shock: Huck Finn in Context

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site features information on themes from Huck Finn. You will find activities and discussion questions to accompany the different sections.
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Unit Plan
Universal Teacher

Moore's Teacher Resources: Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer

For Students 9th - 10th
A great site from the UK. Includes plot analysis, characters, thematic elements, and cultural analysis of the novel.
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Website
Authors Calendar

Author's Calendar: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a biography of Mark Twain which includes the origin of his pseudonym. Quotes from several of his books are included.