National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series: Removing the Mask
Describe, analyze, compare and contrast poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Critical thinkers analyze the imagery, characterization, tone, symbolism, and historical context of Jacob Lawrence, Helene Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. A...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Creating the Office of the Presidency
The United States needed an executive power, but it wanted to avoid a monarchy. Using James Madison's notes on the Constitutional Convention, young historians look at the juggling act the Founding Fathers did to create a role for the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Question of Representation at the 1787 Convention
While the Constitution is considered enshrined today, its current form is the result of haggling at a secret convention in 1787. Using transcripts from the meetings and various plans as drafted by the delegates, class members unpack the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Road to the Constitutional Convention
After defeating the most powerful nation in the world, the United States had to deal with its own weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation. Activities in the lesson include analyzing primary sources from the Founding Fathers to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Background on the Patriot Attitude toward the Monarch
Learners explain the Patriot attitude toward the British monarchy, which helps them embrace the Founders' reluctance to have a strong executive under the Articles of Confederation as well as their desire to build in checks of executive...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Debate in the United States over the League of Nations: Five Camps: From Voices of Consent to Voices of Dissent
Learners explore and discuss Woodrow Wilson's concepts for peace and the League of Nations. They understand efforts made to foster American support for the League and discuss the opposition shown in the Senate.
National Endowment for the Humanities
NAACP’s Anti-Lynching Campaign in the 1920s
Students investigate the anti-lynching campaign of the NAACP in the 1920's. In this human rights instructional activity, students prepare for and participate in a simulated debate of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill that was presented to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: Frederick Douglass's 1845 Autobiography
Students study slavery from the perspctive of an American slave. In this Frederick Douglass lesson, students complete the suggested pre-reading and post-reading activities included for Douglass's autobiography, Narrative of the Life of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
NAACP's Anti-Lynching Campaign in the 1930s
Students examine the anti-lynching campaign sponsored by the NAACP in the 1930's. In this social justice lesson, students study the history of the anti-lynching campaign and determine why it was not successful. Students conduct research...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animating Poetry: Reading Poems about the Natural World
Students complete poetry analysis activities. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students consider the use of imagery and sound devices in poetry. Students translate poetry into another art, read a diverse selection of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Impact of a Poem's Line Breaks: Enjambment and Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"
Young scholars analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks use of enjambment in her poem "We Real Cool." In this poetry analysis activity, students define common poetic devices and the examples of enjambment in the poem. Young scholars discuss the poem...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Story of Epic Proportions: What Makes a Poem an Epic?
Learners analyze the epic poem form and its roots in oral tradition. For this epic poetry lesson, young scholars research the epic hero cycle and recognize the pattern of events and elements. Learners analyze the patterns embedded in the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"Old Southwest" Humorists and George Washington Harris
Young scholars discover the work of George Washington Harris and his influence on American humor. For this George Washington Harris lesson plan, discuss cultural differences in the United States and read Sut Lovongwood stories by George...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: Slavery's Dehumanizing Effects
Learners analyze slavery and its effects on humanity using Frederick Douglass' autobiography. In this slavery instructional activity, students analyze instances of reality and romanticized myth using a slave narrative. Learners explore...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Responding to Emily Dickinson: Poetic Analysis
Learners explore Emily Dickinson's poem "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers." In this Dickinson poem instructional activity, high schoolers analyze the poem as proof of Dickinson' awareness of her reader. Learners analyze her style and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Crossing the River
Learners analyze the multiple voices in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In this multiple voices lesson plan, students explore the use of symbolism with the narrative voices of the text. Learners write a detailed profile of one...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Seeing Sense in Photographs & Poems
Learners analyze photographs and poetry as forms of each other. In this poetry and photography analysis lesson, high schoolers use the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and poetry from William Carlos William to explore how poetry and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom
Learners analyze Frederick Douglass' narrative about Christianity and slavery. In this Frederick Douglass lesson, young scholars read his slave narrative and analyze its word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals. Learners...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Family Voices In As I Lay Dying
Learners analyze William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' and his use of multiple voices. In this William Faulkner lesson plan, learners analyze Faulkner's use of multiple voices in narration. Learners examine the Bundren family through the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Greek Alphabet: More Familiar Than You Think!
In this Greek alphabet lesson, pupils explore the Phoenician origins to the Greek alphabet. Learners compare Greek letters to current letters and write a paragraph about the life of young scholars in ancient Greece. They also identify...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Thirteen Ways of Reading a Modernist Poem
High schoolers analyze modernist poetry and the role of speaker in example poems. Learners study modernist poems from the Romanticism and Victorian periods as well as Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Using a...