English III

Jonathan Edwards and the art of persuasion

In this lesson, students will study the elements of persuasive writing in Jonathan Edward's “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” according to the following criteria: speaker, audience, occasion, and means of persuasion, and then analyze a contemporary piece of writing, such as an advertisement, for similar elements.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

By Dave Guiley.

Cotton mills from differing perspectives: Critically analyzing primary documents

In this lesson, students will read two primary source documents: a 1909 pamphlet exposing the use of child labor in the cotton mills of North Carolina, and a weekly newsletter published by the mill companies. Students will also listen to oral history excerpts from mill workers to gain a third perspective. In a critical analysis, students will identify the audiences for both documents, speculate on the motivations of their authors, and examine the historical importance of each document.

Format: lesson plan

By Dayna Durbin Gleaves.

"Civil Disobedience" excerpt seminar

This lesson plan is to be used for a seminar on an excerpt of Henry David Thoreau's work, "Civil Disobedience." The plan will follow the Paideia concept to discuss the great ideas of the text. The plan will provide a pre-guide activity, coaching activity, inner circle seminar questions, outer circle questions and a post writing assignment.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Francis Bryant.

Resources on the web

Weaving the multigenre web

In this lesson, students read novels, analyze the literary elements, and create a multigenre project to present information to their peers. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Varying views of America

In this lesson, students work in a collaborative setting to examine the ways that perspective influences how individuals vary in their tone toward similar experience based on their point of view. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

That's not fair! Examining civil liberties with the U.S. Supreme Court

In this lesson, high school students work in collaborative groups to explore the issue of civil liberties by conducting Internet research on related court cases of their choosing. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

So what do you think? Writing a review

After examining samples of movie, music, restaurant, and book reviews, students devise guidelines for writing interesting and informative reviews. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Review redux: Introducing literary criticism through reception moments

Using literary critiques of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, students learn to place literature in social and historical context in order to identify reception moments. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Propaganda techniques in literature and online political ads

This lesson suggests using Aldous Huxley's Brave New World to introduce students to propaganda techniques used in literature and popular culture. This short unit would be appropriate to use with various novels and when discussing advertising campaigns... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Perspectives on the slave narrative

This lesson introduces students to one of the most widely-read genres of 19th-century American literature and an important influence within the African American literary tradition even today: the slave narrative. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Myth and truth: The Gettysburg Address

In this lesson, students explore myths surrounding the Gettysburg Address. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Making connections to myth and folktale: The many ways to “Rainy Mountain”

In this assignment, students write a three-voice narrative based on N. Scott Momaday’s structure in The Way to Rainy Mountain. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9 and 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Lincoln goes to war

This lesson explores the decision-making process that precipitated the Civil War, focusing on deliberations within the Lincoln administration that led to the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Life on the Great Plains

Students examine the concept of geographic region by exploring the history of the Great Plains. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Judging a book by its cover: The art and imagery of The Great Gatsby

Students develop their understanding of visual literacy in this lesson that examines the cover art and a painting mentioned in the novel The Great Gatsby. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9 and 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Identifying and understanding the fallacies used in advertising

Students examine the fallacies that they encounter daily through exposure to advertising. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

The Great Depression and the 1990s

Students will use the American Memory Project's American Life Histories and other government resources to explore the origins of the welfare state and will then evaluate the need for such programs in the present. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: Library of Congress/American Memory Project

The Great Depression and the 1990s

Students gain a better understanding of why the government takes care of its people and how the U.S. welfare state started. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: Library of Congress/American Memory Project

From Friedan forward—considering a feminist perspective

In this lesson that focuses on feminism, students are challenged to think about how opinions develop and change based on such things as age, experience, time, and place. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying": Burying Addie's Voice

Students consider the role of Addie Bundren in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the effect she has on the other characters, and the impact created by Faulkner's use of multiple narrative perspectives on revelation of character and exploration of themes.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities