LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Classroom » Lesson Plans

Hidden stories: A three-part lesson in African American history, research, and children’s literature
In this high school lesson plan, students will create a timeline of African American history, review a work of children's literature, and then create their own works of children's literature drawing on a primary source document pertaining to the life of an ordinary African American.
Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Edie McDowell.
Jim Crow and segregation
This is an integrated lesson plan that incorporates both eighth grade language arts and history. Using Internet research, literary analysis, and persuasive technique, students will practice reading and writing skills while analyzing the impact of Jim Crow Segregation on African Americans living in North Carolina and elsewhere.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Burnetta Barton.
Picturing America at the turn of the twentieth century
Students link together the literature and the history of the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Questions guide students as they study visual documents. Students also read the teacher's choice of two widely anthologized short stories and an excerpt from a best-selling novel of the period. Two exercises will raise student awareness of the impact that visual images have on their lives: one that is based on internet advertising and a second that results in a student-produced scrapbook.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
By Scott Culclasure.

Resources on the web

American Masters
From children's book authors to jazz greats, this series presents the biographies of America's great creative talent. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: PBS
American Memory Project Learning Page
Use the American Memory web site to teach about United States history and culture with these tips and tricks, frameworks, activities, and lessons that provide context for their use. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: Library of Congress
Colonial Williamsburg
This extensive website features access to the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library collections, primary source materials, videos of what life was like in the 18th century in Williamsburg, Va. and much more. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Find a searchable database of Longfellow’s poems and information on his works, his family, and his homes. In addition, educators will find lesson plans for kindergarten through 12th grade. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: Maine Memory Net
National Museum of the American Indian
This website uses Flash technology to present online multimedia exhibitions about the history and culture of American Indians. An excellent online educational resource about codetalkers during WWI and WWII is also available. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: Smithsonian Institution
The New Deal Network
Sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI), this website includes multiple resources on a variety of the United States Great Depression of the 1930s that includes articles, speeches, photographs, letters, lesson plans, and many other... (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture - A Multimedia Archive
A comprehensive site on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin which deals with abolitionism, slavery, and the Civil War era. The site includes texts, images, songs, 3-D objects, and film clips. (Learn more)
Format: website/lesson plan
Provided by: University of Virginia