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 …
Within a larger unit exploring World War II, students would benefit from learning about Japanese Internment and looking at the theme of conflict. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conversation can be used to frame how some Americans viewed Japanese …
I am teaching a geography unit about settlement patterns in the United States. In the unit, questions will include “Why is it important to settle near bodies of water?” and “How does climate affect settlement?” I would pair Erik Erikson’s …
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 …
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 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 …
To teach students the difference between primary and secondary sources, I like to use a fun game like “Telephone” to show how information gets warped and changed as it passes through many different minds and mouths. Once exposed to different …
When students are learning about early exploration and the arrival of Europeans in North America, I like to use the fascinating survival story of Spanish Explorer Cabeza de Vaca to teach students about the struggle of arriving in a new …
During the first winter of the Jamestown settlement, many settlers died. Those who lived faced unbelievable difficulty and needed vast quantities of strength, skill, and mental fortitude to survive. I would introduce my unit on Jamestown with the quote and …