By an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will understand the basic facts behind the Blitz and how it affected the citizens of London, why Hitler decided to use the Luftwaffe against London and how a simple photograph served as a symbol around which the British people rallied during the dark early days of WWII.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, including full text versions of More’s Utopia and Voltaire’s Candide, and full text, audio and video versions of Lennon’s “Imagine”, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to compare and contrast the three different visions of paradise as articulated by the authors themselves and how each of those visions continues to powerfully influence opinions long after their deaths.

Through an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic facts behind Dickens’ life and his major literary works, how those stories took their inspiration from the struggle between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat in Victorian society, and why Dickens’ works are still studied, over 100 years after his death.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the different stories relating to Robin Hood, and using those stories will then be able to take a position as to whether or not Robin Hood and his “Merry Men” were real historical figures.

Through an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic facts behind the Norman Invasion, the role William the Conqueror played in transforming Britain by combining Anglo-Saxon and Norse culture and institutions, how and why the landscape of the island was transformed by the building of castles (including the Tower of London – built as a symbol of royal power along the River Thames) after the Norman conquest, why items such as the Domesday Book and the Bayeux Tapestry are critical primary sources from the period, and why the conquest is seen today by many historians and teachers as a watershed year in world and European history.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the stories behind King Arthur and the Arthurian legends, theorizing and taking a position as to whether the sources support the contention that Arthur actually existed.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, how the story uses its characters to delicately challenge different segments of English society in the 14th century, and how and why Chaucer’s opus has continued to maintain its relevance in the 600+ years since the poet died.

By an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain how Wilfred Owen’s poetry is shaped by an intense focus on extraordinary human experiences, and how it tries to give the readers a specific message about the futility of war.

By an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain England’s role in driving the continent towards war in 1914 (including Parliament’s foreign policy decisions that drove the UK away from Germany and towards France), the British reaction to the crisis in the Balkans that fateful summer and what Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey meant when he uttered the now famous statement about the “lamps going out all over Europe.”

Students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic facts behind what happened in London and in Flanders in the last days of the Great War, the British public’s reaction to the war, and the story behind Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) in England and around the world, not only in 1918 but also today.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, including a reading of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem The White Man’s Burden (1899), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain why the poem was written, what Kipling meant by the “burden”, and how the work came to symbolize the Age of European Imperialism in the decades before the Great War.

In this lesson, students will analyze a short film about the Monteverde Reserve, then teach the class about it. Students will then investigate answers to questions asked about their presentation, writing a response to each in an informational, five-paragraph essay.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain Enlightened Despotism in the Hapsburg Lands under the reign of Joseph II, in particular the decision to abolish serfdom, the legalizing of different religious denominations, and how the emperor strove to unite his divided, multinational empire under an equal system of laws.