The decision of Britain's North American colonies to rebel against the Mother Country was an extremely risky one. In this unit, consisting of three lesson plans, students will learn about the diplomatic and military aspects of the American War for Independence.

Building on lessons learned over several summers, Kristin Raab—Health Impact Assessment and Climate Change Program Director in the Environmental Health Division of Minnesota’s Department of Health—packaged information from diverse communities into a cohesive toolkit that communities of all sizes can use to prepare for heat waves. The Minnesota Extreme Heat Toolkit describes changing weather conditions in Minnesota, the magnitude of potential health consequences from extreme heat, and key steps communities can take to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths. The toolkit acknowledges that extreme heat response plans will vary with the size of the community and the habits of its residents: examples from the mostly rural Olmsted County and the urban centers of Saint Paul and Minneapolis illustrate a range of community plans that could be useful in Minnesota and beyond.

This lesson plan looks at the major ideas in the Declaration of Independence, their origins, the Americans' key grievances against the King and Parliament, their assertion of sovereignty, and the Declaration's process of revision.

Spokespuppet for The City Library, Earl E. Literacy, interviews local Salt Lake City children's author Ann Cannon about her new book "Chihuahua Chase". Set in Salt Lake City itself, the book is about two friends who have to solve the mystery of disappearing chihuahuas. Ann also talks about how she started writing and what some of her favorite books are.

Spokespuppet of The City Library, Earl E. Literacy, interviews children's author Debu Majumdar about his new book "Viku and his Elephant". They also talk about jungle animals and what children are like in India!

City Library Spokespuppet Ear E. Literacy interviews children's author Karl Beckstrand about his new book Bad Bananas.

The significance of -- Mormon Presence in Utah -- is discussed in this media item extracted from the 22-part video series THE GEOGRAPHY OF UTAH, conceived and written by Albert L. Fisher, PhD (University of Utah). The series encompasses the political, cultural, historical and sociological geography of the state of Utah. It describes the activities, the land and the people. Much of the video material was videotaped on location throughout the state of Utah, giving the student and interested viewer valuable field trip experiences. === "The Geography of Religion" was one program in the 22 part series, "The Geography of Utah," produced in 1982. The importance religion holds for understanding Utah's Pioneer past, its present, and future is discussed. Traditional areas of Mormon influence and the notion of "Mormon Territoriality" are described. The meaning of the Mormon Ward is also defined. The late Leonard Arrington, former director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Center for LDS Church History, contributes to the discussion in interview excerpts. ===

Through the use of maps and original documents, this lesson will focus on the key battles of the Civil War, Gettysburg and Vicksburg and show how the battles contributed to its outcome. It will also examine the "total war" strategy of General Sherman, and the role of naval warfare in bringing about a Union victory.

This lesson will examine the most famous speech in American history to understand how Lincoln turned a perfunctory eulogy at a cemetery dedication into a concise and profound meditation on the meaning of the Civil War and American union.

Long perceived as a recluse who wrote purely in isolation, Emily Dickinson in reality maintained many dynamic correspondences throughout her lifetime and specifically sought out dialogues on her poetry. These correspondences"”both professional and private"”reveal a poet keenly aware of the interdependent relationship between poet and reader.

While Paul Revere's ride is the most famous event of its kind in American history, other Americans made similar rides during the Revolutionary period.  After learning about some less well known but no less colorful rides that occurred in other locations, students gather evidence to support an argument about why at least one of these "other riders" does or does not deserve to be better known.

Using archival material, students will associate Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner with historic events and recognize the sentiments those words inspired. Students will explore the symbolic nature of the American flag.

The history of Mormon Trail compared to Oregon Trail is summarized in this media item extracted from the 20-part video series A PEOPLES' HISTORY OF UTAH, written and hosted by Dean L. May, PhD (University of Utah). The series provides a sweeping view of Utah's past, from its earliest known desert beginning--from its prehistory, to the pioneer era, to the transformation from territory to state, to its critical role in the world war years and beyond.

The history of Mormon settlements, 1847 is summarized in this media item extracted from the 20-part video series A PEOPLES' HISTORY OF UTAH, written and hosted by Dean L. May, PhD (University of Utah). The series provides a sweeping view of Utah's past, from its earliest known desert beginning--from its prehistory, to the pioneer era, to the transformation from territory to state, to its critical role in the world war years and beyond.

The history of Mormon migrations, winter of 1846 is summarized in this media item extracted from the 20-part video series A PEOPLES' HISTORY OF UTAH, written and hosted by Dean L. May, PhD (University of Utah). The series provides a sweeping view of Utah's past, from its earliest known desert beginning--from its prehistory, to the pioneer era, to the transformation from territory to state, to its critical role in the world war years and beyond.

The history of Pioneer Memorial Museum is summarized in this media item extracted from the 20-part video series A PEOPLES' HISTORY OF UTAH, written and hosted by Dean L. May, PhD (University of Utah). The series provides a sweeping view of Utah's past, from its earliest known desert beginning--from its prehistory, to the pioneer era, to the transformation from territory to state, to its critical role in the world war years and beyond.

This resource will be used to write a narrative story. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of literary elements and elements of a fairy tale. 

Each of these twenty-one poems or poetic forms for AP Literature and Composition includes a link to the poem and multimedia resources such as EDSITEment lessons and EDSITEment-reviewed websites that discuss the poem, the poet, and its context.