This video of Elizabeth Alexander reading the poem “Praise Song for the Day” that she composed for President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration ceremony is the seventh in the “Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community” series. The companion lesson contains a sequence of activities for use with secondary students before, during, and after reading and listening to the poem.
Begin the lesson by assigning students to either read or view Twelve Angry Men. Distribute the following questions beforehand. These same questions may serve as the basis for either group or class discussion of the play/film.
Early English Ideas about the Natives of North America. Look at the 16th-century images below and describe what you see in detail i.e. clothing, jewelry or body decoration, what they are doing. Make some inferences about these people based on the image. Compare the watercolors to the engravings.
Exploring Arthurian Legend. Work in groups to annotate these timelines by adding non-Arthurian events with which you may be already familiar (e.g., the reign of Charlemagne, the Norman Conquest, the signing of the Magna Carta, the Crusades).
