John Cunningham Elder

This resource has students analyze the bitter "campaign" of 1800, in which Thomas Jefferson unofficially ran against sitting President John Adams. The classwork assumes that students have some familiarity and background knowledge of the election itself, provides a quick check for understanding of the election, and then invites students to rate who had better "burns" (insults) before prompting them to reflect on why the campaign was so bitter. The resource includes:An introductory Do Now / bellri

This unit assessment covers the major themes, characters, and conflicts in Sherman Alexie's semi-autobiographical novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. An answer key has been provided on the final page of the product, with open response questions include several look-fors as you assess student responses. Remember not to print this for students! The exam is split into 4 sections: 1) 16 multiple-choice questions 2) Theme and quote analysis (4 quotes) 3) 3 single-paragraph open r

This activity has students imagine that they are stranded on a desert island, and asks them to make difficult choices about what items they would keep, and what rules and consequences they would enforce. This is designed to be a single lesson that previews some of the themes and topics they'll read about in William Golding's "The Lord of the Flies." A separate, multi-week unit plan is available for download as well.

This resource is intended as a 1-2 day analysis of sources that depict changes in American society, politics, culture and the economy as a result of the Civil War. There are numerous sources that depict these changes, and students are asked to analyze them through a variety of lenses: - New technology - Changing roles in society - New meaning of freedom - Tragedy - Large-scale death and destruction The lesson/s culminates in a written responses in which the students analyze the changes they beli

This project can last up to a week's worth of lessons, and tasks the entire class with participating in and facilitating a trial based on William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and is to be completed as a mid-unit formative assessment. Upon completion of the trial, students will resume reading the play. This resource contains numerous detailed materials for an inclusive classroom experience for all students of varying skills and levels. Materials include: Detailed directions for 8 different trial

In this activity, students evaluate decisions Thomas Jefferson made as President - his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory, his conduct during the election of 1800, his complicated and contradictory beliefs about slavery and American Indians, and as a challenge, his use of military force to combat the Barbary pirates. This classwork comes with a handy graphic organizer students can use to put themselves in Jefferson's shoes, as well as brief scenarios and background information for the

This trial project is designed to last 3-4 lessons, depending on how much prep work you ask students to complete at home, and requires students to have read and analyze Euripides' Greek drama, Medea. This resource is ideally suited for medium to large size classes, but could be adapted for a smaller class. Roles are highly differentiated and include witnesses (6 total), 1-2 prosecutors, 1-2 defense attorneys, 6-8 jurors, and a judge. Students will use evidence from the play to put Medea on tri

This project is designed for high school students, but can be adapted for upper middle school students. Students use a variety of sources and resources to write a letter to King George III of England from the perspective of a Loyalist (supporting King George, opposing the independence movement) or a Patriot (opposing King George, supporting the independence movement). This activity is designed to incorporate first-person perspectives during the Revolutionary Era, and increase understanding of t

One of my favorite teaching tools for history is the DBQ - a hallmark of high school level Advanced Placement classes but something I've used with students as young as 7th grade. Exposing students to the rigor of the DBQ early is not only a great way to get them to engage in deep thinking and writing, it's a formalized way to get them to see the nuance and complexity of historical events, and - perhaps as important in this day and age - sift and sort arguments based on validity. This resource is

This 40-minute lesson introduces students to the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus. It is part of a 2-day lesson introducing students to Aristotle's concept of the "Golden Mean," but can be used as an independent lesson. The download includes a detailed lesson plan comprising the objective, minute by minute breakdown, and anticipated student misunderstandings, as well as the classwork itself. Due to copyright issues, I have not included the myth itself, but it is readily available for fr

This unit comprises weekly reading guides, assorted embedded non-fiction readings to help students make connections, as well as seminar prep. These lessons were designed for students in a 9th grade introduction to literature class. Most students were several grades behind in their reading level, and the classwork and reading guides include numerous scaffolds and differentiated supports to aid in understanding Golding's challenging and rich text.

As a busy school leader, it is easy to lose sight of your priorities. I've internalized the checklist mentality to create an weekly adaptable weekly organizer and tracker to help me keep all my priorities straight. The tracker includes: Days, dates & time blocksSpace and tallies for classroom observationsCoaching and 1:1 meetingsBig eventsAn end-of week reflection to inform the start of my next weekOver the years, I've adapted this to be short-hand abbreviations and codes, on the off chance I lo

This is the first lesson of a 5-7 day unit on extinction and conservation, intended for an Environmental Science or Biology class. During this unit, students will: learn about the "Big 5" mass extinctions in earth's history; compare sources and evidence about past mass extinctions and our current extinctions; determine, based on evidence and differing scientific viewpoints, whether we are currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction; analyze new and innovative approaches to species conservatio

In this assignment, students select one of the major founding fathers to write about, including details about their personal and professional life and how he impacted the birth of the United States. The founders offered are: - Aaron Burr (yes, he's included!) - Alexander Hamilton - Benjamin Franklin - George Washington - James Madison - John Adams - Thomas Jefferson - Thomas Paine This resource includes: 1) a day-by-day breakdown for students to organize their writing efforts 2) a graphic orga

Lincoln's presidency has been debated and written about for more than 150 years. In this assignment, students discuss and debate the tactics Lincoln used during the war, specifically his executive actions to weaken the Confederacy. This resource includes: - Debate framing and introduction - Key terms students should use in their debate - A framework for creating arguments based on evidence - A suggested debate structure, including timing and purpose for each part - Seven contemporary articles th

About this resource: This resource is a document-based question (DBQ) that asks students to examine sources in response to the following question, "To what extent was Reconstruction a success?" The sources ask students to analyze and affirm one of two perspectives - that Reconstruction was a period of remarkable progress and advancement of rights of African Americans, or that it was marked by resistance by both North and South and was ultimately a failure. Included in this resource are ELEVEN

This resource is intended as a supplementary guide to help students understand and analyze Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis." The guide includes: - background information about the text itself - a breakdown of basic literary structures and conventions - graphic organizers to aid students in plot summary, quote analysis and analysis of literary devices

This resource includes a 5-7 day unit on extinction and conservation, intended for an Environmental Science or Biology class. During this unit, students will: learn about the "Big 5" mass extinctions in earth's history; compare sources and evidence about past mass extinctions and our current extinctions; determine, based on evidence and differing scientific viewpoints, whether we are currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction; analyze new and innovative approaches to species conservation; an

History notebooks are incredible tools that serve multiple purposes: 1) a space to capture essential knowledge and information necessary to any thoughtful analysis of history; 2) a tool to prompt analysis, reflection and discussion; and 3) arguably the most important study guide they can have. When done well, good history notebooks connect students more deeply to the class and their own learning. This resource outlines how students can set up their notebooks for a history class. It includes dail

This resource both provides you a tool to capture your weekly planning - assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, etc. - as well as maximize transparency to your students. When used effectively, it creates clarity of expectations, increases student engagement, and ultimately improves student academic performance. This resource includes:A front and back fully completed sample (from a past 7th Grade US History unit I taught)A blank version you can completeOptions to include your school's grading sca