Lesson Plans

367 Result(s)
Grade Range
9-12
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Fact, Fiction, and Artistic License

This lesson encourages close study of Wood's painting, American Revolution primary sources, and Longfellow's poem to understand the significance of this historical ride in America's struggle for freedom. By reading primary sources, students learn how Paul Revere and his Midnight Ride became an American story of patriotism.

Grade Range
6-8
Thomas Hart Benton: The Sources of Country Music

In this lesson, students will learn how to describe painter Thomas Hart Benton’s artistic techniques; identify the roots of country music as well as some of the early performers; and discuss how changes in art and musical style reflect changes in society.

Grade Range
K-5
On the Home Front

Learning about World War II American efforts helps students gain some perspective regarding the U.S. response to the conflict generated by the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 2: Powers and Problems

Students examine Washington's ability to handle a wide range of problems during his time as Commander-in-Chief.

Grade Range
K-5
Stories in Quilts

Quilts can be works of art as well as stories through pictures. They also tell a story about their creators and about the historical and cultural context of their creation through the choices made in design, material, and content.

Grade Range
6-8
FDR’s “Four Freedoms” Speech

One of the most famous political speeches on freedom in the twentieth century was delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union message to Congress. This lesson examines the rhetorical use of "freedom" with the objective of encouraging students to glimpse the broad range of hopes and aspirations that are expressed in the call of—and for—freedom.

Grade Range
6-12
Dust Bowl Days

Students will be introduced to this dramatic era in our nation's history through photographs, songs and interviews with people who lived through the Dust Bowl.

Grade Range
9-12
Walt Whitman's Notebooks and Poetry: The Sweep of the Universe

Clues to Walt Whitman's effort to create a new and distinctly American form of verse may be found in his Notebooks, now available online from the American Memory Collection.  In an entry to be examined in this lesson, Whitman indicated that he wanted his poetry to explore important ideas of a universal scope (as in the European tradition), but in authentic American situations and settings using specific details with direct appeal to the senses.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 1: FDR's Fireside Chats: The Power of Words

In this lesson, students gain a sense of the dramatic effect of FDR's voice on his audience, see the scope of what he was proposing in these first two "Fireside Chats," and make an overall analysis of why the series of speeches were so successful.