I imagine introducing John Winthrop’s famous City Upon a Hill speech just after a conversation on dreams with Harriet Tubman. By exploring the importance of dreams first, students would gain a foothold for understanding how important it is for leaders …
The March from Selma to Montgomery was one of the seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, due in large part to its successful use of civil disobedience as a form of protest. The Henry David Thoreau …
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address is an primary source to explore the theme of conflict and how human beings deal with it. I could have the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conversation just before introducing excerpts from Lincoln’s speech as …
Civic Responsibility is a common theme in American history embraced by men and women such as Ida Tarbell, Dorothea Dix, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., all of whom tried to change society through protest or some other means. At the …
In leading America through the Great Depression and implementation of the New Deal, FDR had to convince Americans to see the world through a new hopeful perspective in the midst of anxiety and fear. Staging the Theodore Roethke conversation just …
The Women’s Movement of the 1800s is a great opportunity to teach the theme of cooperation and how the leaders of the movement– Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony– worked together to fight against injustice. I could use the …
I’m teaching the Underground Railroad and I want to focus on the importance of dreams as a tool for changing the world. I could use the Harriet Tubman conversation to kick off the lesson. For fun, I wouldn’t tell the …
I’m studying World War II and want to look at the theme of sacrifice by exploring how the average citizen was made to contribute their heart and soul to defeat the enemy through volunteering, food rationing and the like. The …
I want to teach the Gettysburg Address and I think the Gandhi conversation on sacrifice would be a great conversation to have just before handing out this speech to get the kids appreciating the importance of thinking of others before …
Reconstruction is a great opportunity to explore the theme of forgiveness by considering when it is appropriate to use as a basis for punishment. The Mahatma Gandhi conversation would serve as a great bridge between the Civil War and the …
I’m teaching the Civil Rights Movement and I want to focus on the theme of anger by looking at the negatives and positives of getting angry versus staying calm to get what you want. I could stage the Lao Tzu …
In government I want to teach the theme of power through federalism— the balance of authority between the states and national government. The John Adams conversation would be an effective way to introduce the concept of federalism by getting the …