Curated OER
Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?
Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...
Curated OER
Foreshadowing and Prediction: W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw"
W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...
Maryland Department of Education
Our Children Can Soar
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson plan on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
Curated OER
Create a Walking Tour of San Francisco's Chinatown
Take a tour of Chinatown as it was in the 1800's. Analyzing primary source images and documents, learners will gain a better understanding of the myths and misconceptions of Chinese immigrants during the 1800's. They create a pamphlet to...
Curated OER
A New Point of View
Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, Jobs and Your Rights
Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...
California Education Partners
Gettysburg Address
Looking for an assessment that reveals how well readers understand complex text? Check out an assessment module based on "The Gettysburg Address." Pupils are asked to craft an essay that demonstrates their understanding not only of the...
California Education Partners
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
A three-part assessment tests scholars' reading and writing capabilities. Young readers listen to and read an excerpt from Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. After drawing pictures of what is memorable, learners discuss their notes...
California Education Partners
My Five Senses by Aliki
An assessment designed to examine scholars' reading comprehension skills takes place over three days. Starting with a read-aloud of My Five Senses by Aliki, learners then take notes and discuss their most memorable moments with a peer....
Curated OER
Wagons West!
Through learning about the Oregon Trail and Nebraska, learners evaluate the elements of historical fiction. Coming with a comprehensive bibliography, this lesson has your class learn about settlers traveling along the Oregon Trail,...
EngageNY
Reviewing Visual Elements of a Graphic Novel: Max Axiom
Pass the tea! Using the resource, scholars participate in a Tea Party protocol to analyze text and images about inventions that helped meet societal demands. After sharing their observations with each other, they discuss visual elements...
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...
Curated OER
Regarding the Fountain: Questioning Strategy—Cubing
Look deeper into the text with a reading strategy based on asking critical thinking questions. While reading Reading the Fountain by Kate Klise, learners think of questions that help them describe, compare, associate, analyze, apply, and...
National History Day
Leland Linman’s War: A Look at Soldiers’ Daily Lives in World War I
Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...
Curated OER
Wagons West!
The first pioneers faced many obstacles on their journey west. Middle schoolers read different historical fiction texts (ideas are provided), make connections, and complete a detailed packet (included). Reading guides, journal ideas, and...
Prestwick House
Introducing Literary Theory – A Unit Wrap-Up
Literary theories are lenses through which a text may be analyzed. The question in this lesson plan is how a particular literary lens can influence the reader's view of the text.
Curated OER
William Apess and the Mashpee "Revolt" of 1833
Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...
Curated OER
Defining Love
After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...
Curated OER
Art of Illustration: N.C. Wyeth and Literacy
High school artists observe and research the illustrations and techniques of N.C. Wyeth. They read (and reread) stories and illustrate the texts using methods inspired by Wyeth's practice. Includes detailed instructional plan and useful...
Aspen Institute
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
Included here are step-by-step instructions for conducting a close reading of The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman. After an individual and class reading, class members read carefully through the text excerpt,...
Spartan Guides
Infographics Lesson
An infographic is fantastic way for learners to illustrate their understanding of content, express themselves creatively, and teach others in a manner that is both engaging and informative. While originally designed for a lesson on...
Curated OER
O Captain! My Captain - Part 3
Heroic Trading Cards? Using a suggested list, class members use the Internet to find information about a memorable leader, select and transfer images, and craft a trading card celebrating their leader’s qualities and accomplishments. A...