I like to have my students read an informative text about the 2010 happiness research from Princeton University, first shared by National Public Radio, which states that money can buy happiness, but only up to a certain income level– about …
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. is a powerful text that many credit as the direct inspiration for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the letter, King outlines the careful decision-making that went into timing his …
I am teaching analysis of U.S documents with historical significance, and I want to focus on the theme of dreams by looking at the primary document, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream…” speech. The unit could be framed …
The “Federalist Paper 51” is a great entry point for analyzing the theme of power and how our government is set up to put a check on it. Throughout the study of this text and theme I would hearken back …
In social studies, I’m preparing a unit on The Industrial Revolution–the period of history in which massive changes to the manufacturing process altered the course of human history. The Abraham Lincoln conversation about self-determination would be a great way to …
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 …
I’m teaching William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies and I’m interested in the theme of power and how it can be abused over time. I start off with the John Adams conversation to explore ideas of power and trust …
During a unit on the Civil Rights era, I would introduce the Sit-In Movement, a means of peaceful protest in which people would sit quietly in “whites-only” establishments in opposition of racial segregation. Abraham Lincoln’s quote about self-determination would fit …
Before getting students to understand the basic jobs within different roles in government (president, governor, mayor, judge etc…), I would start off with the Erik Erikson conversation on interdependence. This way, students would gain an appreciation for how people within …
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 …
