In this lesson plan, students will learn how F. Scott Fitzgerald used autobiographical elements in writing his stories, and they try a hand at writing a Fitzgerald-style story with autobiographical elements of their own.
Literature
F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams: Lesson Overview
Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms: Lesson Overview
This American Master's series lesson uses Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory", to teach a lesson on characterization in writing.
Kazan, Miller, and the McCarthy Era: Lesson Overview
Students will use the Miller-Kazan story as an introduction to the McCarthy era, one of the darkest times in America's cultural history.
Ralph Ellison: Lesson Overview
In this lesson plan, students will use similar tools to explore the theme of invisibility in the book, in their own lives, and in their communities.
The Sidney Poitier High School: Lesson Overview
In this lesson, students will prepare a mock-dedication for "The Sidney Poitier School." using a selection of reading strategies - Choral Reading, Guided Reading and Reader's Theater - to research the information before putting together their presentations.
Vidal’s History – And Yours?: Lesson Overview
Students will determine for themselves how political writing can shape our understanding of history, and debate Vidal's claim that America "wanted to be like Greece and ended up like Rome."
Allen Ginsburg: Poetry and Politics: Lesson Overview
Students will read one or more of Ginsberg’s poems, will read about the work of other Beat writers, and will investigate the larger social and political climate in which they lived.
Henry Luce: Turn Me Luce: Lesson Overview
Students will create a version of a "Time" magazine, a "March of Time" video, or a photo-essay that reflects Luce's journalist style.
Maurice Sendak: Imagination and Art: Lesson Overview
Students will learn how Sendak not only wrote and illustrated children's books and created works in the field of ballet, but also turned his book Where the Wild Things Are into an opera. They will also work in groups to produce an opera.






