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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.

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A biography study: Using role-play to explore authors' lives

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students select American authors to research. They create timelines and biopoems about their authors and then collaborate in teams to design and present a panel presentation where they role-play their authors. The final project... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Cultural change

Political developments leave a clear trace in the life of a nation, usually marked by legislative mileposts like the Fourteenth Amendment, which dictates equal protection for all, and the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. But such... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: EDSITEment

Designing museum exhibits for “The Grapes of Wrath”: A multigenre project

This lesson asks students to focus on one issue from the Depression as it applies to the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Working alone or with a partner, students create artifacts in a variety of genres for a museum exhibit that... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Dramatizing history in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"

In this EDSITEment lesson, students will consider how Arthur Miller interpreted the facts of the Salem witch trials and how he successfully dramatized them in his play, The Crucible. Students will examine some of Miller's historical sources:... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: EDSITEment

Engaging students in a collaborative exploration of the “Gettysburg Address”

In this lesson, students work together on inquiry-based projects in order to understand the message of Abraham Lincoln's “Gettysburg Address”. In this multi-genre activity, students will: explore the history and meaning of... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Exploring cross-age tutoring activities with Lewis and Clark

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, cross-age tutoring gives high school students the opportunity to guide elementary students (in grades 3-5) to a deeper understanding of the adventures of Lewis and Clark. Students use the book How We Crossed the West... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 and 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Images of Faulkner and the South

In this first lesson in EDSITEment's unit entitled "Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Form of a funeral," students research the life of William Faulkner and investigate the relationship between the "South" of Faulkner's work and the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Fighting injustice by studying lessons of the past

Using an online Venn Diagram tool, students study the experience of European Jews during the Holocaust, and then compare their experience to those of the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears and the Japanese–Americans during World War II. Students write... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Giving voice to history

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore a somber period in American history. During World War II the U.S. government ordered more than 120,000 Japanese Americans to detainment camps. Drawing upon research and analyzing a variety of sources, including... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

The Great Depression

Learn how to use the Library of Congress' primary source collections for the Great Depression. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Library of Congress

Historical fiction: Using literature to learn about the Civil War

In this lesson, the teacher reads aloud a section of Connie Porter's Meet Addy, a book from The American Girls Collection® that tells the story of a young girl who escapes from slavery during... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

I do solemnly swear: Presidential inaugurations

Presidential inaugurations have been solemn ceremonies and uninhibited celebrations. They are carefully scripted and they are unpredictable. They reflect tradition and they reflect the moment. This unit from EDSITEment, consisting of five lesson plans,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

I hear the locomotives: The impact of the Transcontinental Railroad

In this lesson, found on the EDSITEment website, students analyze archival material in order to make connections between the arrival of the railroads and many of the changes that occurred subsequently in the United States and its territories. They learn... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Jamestown changes

In this lesson, students will study census data showing the names and occupations of early settlers of the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, to discern how life changed in the Jamestown settlement in the first few years after it was founded. The... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Learning about research and writing using the American Revolution

This lesson combines historical research and acrostic poetry. After listing all they know about the American Revolution, students work in groups to answer the questions they have about this historical period. Then, after reading If... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Let freedom ring: The life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Students listen to a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., view photographs of the March on Washington, and study King's use of imagery and allusion in his “I Have a Dream” speech. After studying King's use of imagery and allusion, they create... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

Provided by: EDSITEment

More amazing Americans: A webquest

In this EDSITEment lesson plan, students use the “Meet Amazing Americans” website created by the Library of Congress to explore the lives of some celebrated Americans. Working in small groups, they complete a WebQuest, identifying facts and... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Myth and truth: The Gettysburg Address

By exploring myths surrounding the “Gettysburg Address,” this lesson asks students to think critically about commonly believed “facts” about this important speech and the Civil War. Students participate in a pre-reading writing activity... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

One if by land, and two if by sea!

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore Lexington and Concord, the Old North Church, or the historical poem “Paul Revere's Ride?” Students use historical and current maps of the Boston area to trace Paul Revere's route and learn about the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: Xpeditions