Curated OER
Levittown, White Picket Paradise?
Students study the origins and happenings of Levittown, Pennsylvania. In this Pennsylvania history lesson plan, students use primary and secondary sources to research the beginnings of Levittown, PA. As a culminating activity, students...
Small Planet Communications
Civil War
Young scholars discuss political, social, and personal issues relating to the Civil War from various perspectives using internet sources. Students write various selections from Civil War characters' point of view.
Curated OER
Chivalry
Eighth graders explore manners by writing short stories. In this chivalry code lesson, 8th graders identify the traits of chivalry and explore the history of chivalry in England. Students complete a chivalry worksheet and write a...
Curated OER
An Immigrant's Journey
Students collect photos of immigrants coming to the United States. They write fictional journal entries for one of the photographs.
Curated OER
Men of Steel
Learners explore early 20th century steel making. In this U.S. history steel making lesson, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Learners listen to a poem...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia is a story about friendship that brings magic into ordinary life. Study guides may not be magical, but the guided questions, graphic organizers, extension activities, vocabulary, and discussion questions help...
Curated OER
Characterization in Literature
Students discover characterization techniques and methods. In this characterization lesson plan, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. Students then describe a family member or a...
Time Warp Trio
See You Later, Gladiator!
Young historians take a look at the age of gladiators, and the cultural atmosphere present when they staged their epic battles. Pupils pretend to be reporters and write newspaper articles about one of the events they stage. Then,...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...
Curated OER
Run Your Own Boarding House
Students become familiar with the historical and sociological aspects of the boarding house phenomenon in America. As students work in groups, they read and analyze documents that will help them gain a deeper understanding. To...
Curated OER
Character in a Box
Partners choose, research, and analyze fictional or historical characters and design character life boxes to represent them. They also compose a rhyme royal, which they understand inductively by deconstructing examples. Based largely on...
Japan Society
The “I” Novels in the Context of Early 20th-Century Japan
Although this lesson plan covers the rather obscure topic of the Japanese "I-novel", it also includes a great deal of historical information and material for an in-depth discussion of universal literary concepts. Specifically, young...
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances
Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: August 2017
Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...
American Immigration Law Foundation
An Immigrant’s Experience
After interviewing an immigrant about their voyage to the United States and first impressions of the country, young learners create a fictional series of journal entries and design an iMovie depicting their interviewee's story.
Curated OER
Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context
Students complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.
University of Virginia
Illustrating Uncle Tom's Cabin
Historical illustrations reveal more than what they are meant to portray. After reading Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, high schoolers view a series of illustrations, movie posters, photographs, and book covers that exemplify...
Curated OER
Today We Encountered the White Man
Students analyze and interpret artifacts and a timeline to get specific information. In this timeline lesson plan students work in groups to research an Indian tribe and write an information piece of their research.
Curated OER
Viking History
Pupils learn about the history of the Vikings by watching videos, reading books, and writing journal entries pretending they were Vikings. In this Vikings lesson plan, students also make a long ship out of a milk carton.
Curated OER
I, Spy
Fifth graders utilize the library in order to find the answers to three questions about The Revolutionary War. In this writing and library skills instructional activity, 5th graders pretend they are a Spy, and write the answers in a...
Curated OER
What Makes Time Tick, or Has the Industrial Revolution Really Made Clocks Go Faster?
Students explore the concept of time both historically and in their own lives. Students count the number of times they refer to a clock and the number of scheduled and unscheduled activities in their lives. Students discuss how the...
Curated OER
The Civil War Through a Child's Eyes
Students focus upon the Civil War era using research methods of drawing information from primary sources. Literature and photographic images reflect, communicate, and influence human perspectives of historical events. The lesson helps...
Curated OER
Cultural and Social Transformation since 1865
Students research the evolution of cultural and social issues in areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They practice writing clear details with supporting evidence and examples and evaluate ways of improving drafts...
Curated OER
Quality of Information: Point of View and Bias
Fifth graders identify stereotypes of Indian people based on perceived characteristics. They discuss the misconceptions. Students define quality of information and give an example from the story "Seaman's Journal: On The Trail With Lewis...