Browse 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.

Pliny and the Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

The purpose of this lesson is to use earth science concepts--from volcanology--to explain to students studying the letter of Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus how Mt. Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Students will study and demonstrate mastery of the eruption and its historical impact through a webquest on Pompeii, reading of an articles with appropriate content-area reading support, participation in interactive lecture, writing of a journal entry about life in Pompeii at the time of the eruption, oral presentations on life in Pompeii, reviewing of the grammatical functions of all tenses of participles, and using a rubric to evaluate a video on Pompeii to be used for instruction.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Second Languages)

By Gregory King-Owen.

Resources on the web

Child labor: Giving voice to the industrial revolution through monologues

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students gather information using selected websites and explore issues related to child labor, particularly as it occurred in England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution. Students then use this information... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Children of war

This ARTSEDGE lesson explores the realities and effects of war on children by examining diaries, journals, and letters written by children during times of war. Through class discussion and studying various texts of actual events, students examine the similarities... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–9 English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Theater Arts Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Civil War music

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students use popular Civil War songs to identify rallying songs, recruiting songs, popular entertainment songs, campfire songs, sentimental songs, or patriotic songs. Students will: compare and contrast lyrics... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts, Music Education, and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Corridos about the Mexican Revolution

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore causes of the Mexican Revolution and key revolutionary figures. They will gain an understanding of a particular Mexican song form, the corrido, and its role as a vehicle for communicating... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts, Music Education, Second Languages, and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

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

Cyberspace explorer: Getting to know Christopher Columbus

In this lesson, students participate in a cyber scavenger hunt to find information about explorer Christopher Columbus. After the teacher engages students in a discussion about their knowledge of the explorer, the class suggests other questions they would... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

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

Form and theme in the traditional Mexican Corrido

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos, which dates back to the 1800s and continues to be very popular. Activities in this lesson engage students in online learning,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts, Music Education, Second Languages, and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Ghosts and sea monsters: Analyzing mythology

In this high school language arts lesson, students discuss the characteristics of myths. They then examine historical maps of North Carolina looking for images of sea monsters and write their own descriptions of the monsters and myths about them. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: UNC Libraries

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

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