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Curated OER

The Literature of Upheaval

For Teachers 8th
In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.
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Knowledge is Power

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the distinct forms of knowledge that enslaved Africans brought with them to America or developed while enslaved. They study how political movements of the 18th century helped develop abolitionist thinking.
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Torn From Each Other's Arms

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the transformations that the institution of slavery underwent in the English Colonies. They study the impact of slavery on black families.
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Abraham Lincoln's Position on the Question of Slavery and Its Extension

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read excerpts from Abraham Lincoln's speeches and letters between 1854 and 1861 and look for information relative to Lincoln's thoughts on the legal and Constitutional aspects of slavery.
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Historical Background of Nightjohn Lesson Plan

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders use first-hand slave narratives that show conditions of slavery. They paste text into Appleworks and publish with a picture clipped from web sites. They create a group account of life during slavery to prepare for reading...
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Slave Resistance in Natchez

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine various ways that slaves in the Natchez area resisted bondage, consider the price of resistance, and write television news documentary.
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Sunken Slave Ship

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students imagine they are archaeologists who are looking for treasure under the sand or sea. They work in teams to create the story and site of a shipwreck in a tub or aquarium filled with sand and water.
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150 Years of Abolition in Pennsylvania

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study the struggle for abolition in Pennsylvania starting with the Quakers first protest through the burning of Pennsylvania Hall. They conduct research using primary source documents.
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Frederick Douglass: This is Your Life; The Abolitionist

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the abolitionist movement in antebellum America.
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Religion in Uncle Tom's Cabin

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Pupils investigate the implications of religious beliefs on the issue of slavery and answer discussion questions.
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White Southerners' Defense of Slaveholding

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read transcriptions of articles from two historical Virginian newspapers and examine how white southerners defended the institution of slavery. They write a one-act play or a dialogue between an abolitionist and a slaveholder.
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What Happened to Slaves When their Owners Died?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners analyze last and testaments of former slaveowners to identify and explain economic, social and cultural differences between the North and the South leading up to the Civil War.
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Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use internet cites to explore the Underground Railroad. They also learn the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Focus questions are included.
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MANY REASONS TO LEAVE

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, how slavery hindered the emergence of capitalist institutions and values, and slavery both prior to and after the Civil War.
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Maroon Communities

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine political and religious factors that influenced English, Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization of the Americas, how slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, and elements of slavery during the...
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Images of Slavery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, methods of passive and active resistance to slavery; escaped slaves and the Underground Railroad, and the ending of the Atlantic slave trade.
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RUNAWAY JOURNEYS MIGRATION

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze the influences on urban life in the early and late 19th century, different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, the rise of racial hostility, and the ending of the Atlantic slave trade.
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A Divided Community

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work in teams to research the history of African migration and immigration in the U.S. They present their research in a town hall discussion format and then write a paragraph about their experiences.
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THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students analyze how slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, the different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, and slavery both prior and after the Civil War.
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Fugitive Slave Narratives

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners analyze the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, the different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, and the ending of the Atlantic slave trade.
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Mapping the Many Underground Railroads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine the beginning and the end points of the enslaved person's journey to freedom, noting landmarks mentioned along the way such as cities, towns, rivers, mountains, and other geographic features.
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Three Coffles Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers read about the slave trade in primary source documents. They discuss differences and commonalities in experiences. They write prose or poetry from the point of view of one of the figures from the reading and create a...
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Amistad

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explain the predicament of the slaves on the Amistad and the conditions that led them to revolt against their captors. After watching the movie 'Amistad,' students engage in a class discussion based on what they saw.
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What Happened to Slaves When Their Owners Died?

For Teachers K - 12th
Pupils work in groups reading online last s and testaments of slaveowners. They complete worksheets and then participate in a whole class discussion about what happens to slaves after their owners die.