How can you teach about Black History Month and meet the demands of the Common Core English Language Arts Standards? Read short stories and poems by great African American authors! Here are our top 10 selections to help you integrate Black History Month into your classroom:
1. Why should we remember great leaders and activists like Frederick Douglass? Can poetry help us remember? Read this sonnet by Robert Hayden … Read more »
By Laura Gallinari
Download full lesson plan as PDF.
Get the related handouts: Virtue Worksheet | Prompt Sheet
Course | English Language Arts 11–12
Length | 90 minutes of class time (two 45-minute periods, or alternatively, one 90-minute period). Extension activities are also provided.
Learning Objectives | Students will be able to:
With Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election ensured, South Carolina was spurred into action. On December 20, 1860, after a 15-day convention, delegates voted 169-0 to leave the Union, approving the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession. The ordinance was soon followed by the publication of the Declaration of Causes of Secession, written by Christopher G. Memminger and explaining the reasons behind South Carolina’s decision.
South Carolina had … Read more »
On December 18, 1620, the Mayflower first docked at Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts. The men and women on board had left for the New World three months prior, in search of religious freedom and economic opportunity. Though originally destined for an area near the Hudson River, the lost ship docked on the western side of Cape Cod Bay, and its passengers would establish one of the earliest settlements in New England. … Read more »
On the night of December 16th, 1773, the Boston Tea Party seized 342 crates of tea and threw them into the harbor. The action was taken in protest of the Tea Act passed on May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to undersell tea in the colonies, to the detriment of colonial merchants.
That December night, a small group of The Sons of Liberty, along with leader Read more »
Christmas is just around the corner! Incorporate the holiday spirit into your class before your students leave for break. Here are our top ten resources for an educational Christmas in the classroom:
1. How do you change a tradition while also preserving its meaning? Read “Old Folks’ Christmas” by Ring Lardner and consider the tension between tension and change.
2. Compare Christmas celebrations in the early 20th century to Christmas today with photographs … Read more »
On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution was ratified by the states. The amendment formally abolished slavery, declaring “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The idea for the legal abolishment of slavery had been put forward by Abraham Lincoln two years prior, … Read more »
Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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