Meet Rebekah “Becs” Richert, UNO Garcia Charter High School

We’re excited to introduce a new contributor to the WSPWH website: Rebekah “Becs” Richert!

Becs developed the English curriculum at UNO Garcia Charter High School in Chicago, Illinois. She currently teaches senior-level English and AP English Language and Composition, focusing on fiction and nonfiction texts exploring sociological and historical issues in America. She has worked closely with the social studies teachers in the development of an integrated humanities curriculum that teaches content … Read more »

Lesson Plan for Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez

By Becs Richert

Download the full lesson as PDF. 

Get the related handouts: Spanish/English Activity | Quote Significance Activity | Phases Chart | Integration Definition Handout

Course | English Language Arts 9–12 

Context | This lesson is designed to be used in a unit on immigrant experiences or integration of peoples, but it can easily be adapted for general discussions on characterization and character changes in a story.

Length | This lesson is designed for three 50-minute class periods. … Read more »

Top 10 Lesson Plans for Thanksgiving

This year, the nation will celebrate Thanksgiving on November 28th. Bring holiday spirit to your class with these helpful teaching tools. Here are our top 10 Thanksgiving resources to use in your classroom:

1. Take a look at our Thanksgiving Day e-book in our American Calendar series! Use it as a starting point for discussing Thanksgiving’s role as an American holiday and how it is celebrated.

2. Further your classroom … Read more »

Today in History: President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas in 1963

While riding in an open car in Dallas, Texas, President John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald and pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital on November 22, 1963. President Kennedy was the fourth president to be assassinated, following Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, and William McKinley, and was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson.

President Kennedy rode in a motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John … Read more »

Today in History: Abraham Lincoln pens letter to grieving Civil War mother in 1864

On November 21, 1864, Abraham Lincoln is thought to have written a consoling letter to Lydia Bixby, a Boston widow whose five sons died while fighting for the Union. The letter’s author and the specific details regarding Mrs. Bixby’s sons are debated, but the simple and eloquent prose of the letter is praised.

The letter was written in response to a request by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew. Historical records … Read more »

Teaching Resources for the Gettysburg Address

November 19, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, the short speech went on to become one of the most famous in American history, and is inscribed onto the Lincoln Memorial. Honor this important historical moment in your classroom.  Here are ten helpful ideas:

1. Adhere to Common Core objectives and take your class through … Read more »

Today in History: Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is published in the United States

Today, Herman Melville’s now classic American novel Moby-Dick was published in 1851 to poor reviews. While Melville was praised for his early works Typee and Omoo, Moby-Dick encountered scathing reviews upon first publication. The critical disdain for the novel contributed to Melville’s slide into obscurity, with his work being remembered only during the “Melville Revival” of the 20th century.

Born on August 1, 1819 in New York … Read more »