Core Knowledge Foundation
A History of the United States
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
Friends of Fort McHenry
Baltimore – Caught in the Middle
Choosing sides is no easy matter, and this was certainly true for the citizens of Baltimore in the beginning stages of the Civil War. Using video, group analysis of several primary sources, and discussion, this detailed and thorough...
Cheryl L. Mason and William G. Thomas
Comparative Effects of Financing the Civil War
How do countries fund wars? Learners examine the economics of warfare through a comprehensive study of what measures were taken to fund wartime activities during the American Civil War. They'll start by reading a newspaper article from...
Curated OER
The American Civil War (1861 -1864)
Peek back in time and learn about the North and South of the American Civil War. Discussed in full are the causes, effects, major battles, and agreements that made Civil War history. Period technology, social changes, and the ultimate...
Curated OER
Reporting from the Front Lines
Students examine the battle of Gettysburg as they write news articles. In this Battle of Gettysburg lesson, students become familiar with the job of the news reporter as they report on the events of the Battle of Gettysburg as they...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Marching into Civil War Times: Little Women, Past and Present
Here is a fine unit of lessons which compare and contrast the culture during the time period of the classic book, Little Women to present day. Topics covered are the family, politics, morality, fashion, transportation, cities, historical...
Curated OER
Create a Magic Lantern Show; Freed People in the Reconstruction South
Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...
Curated OER
Integrated Social Studies and Drama Lesson
Learners study the Civil War. They conduct research in order to find out more information about the Battle of Corydon. Using this information, they create accurate props and sets for a play about this battle. They perform the play in...
Curated OER
Blank Jeopardy
Games are a great way to motivate learners to internalize information.. Using this PowerPoint which is in a Jeopardy format, students can review map skills and facts about the Civil War, famous places, and our government. This is a handy...
K20 LEARN
Mood and Tone at Owl Creek Bridge: Mood and Tone
Two versions of movie trailers for the film Mary Poppins launch a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious lesson about how mood and tone impact a reader's experience of work. Using the provided list, readers identify the words that create the...
K20 LEARN
Reconstruction Treaties Of 1866: The Reconstruction In Indian Territory
The Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 and their impact on the Five Tribes in the United States Civil War are the focus of a lesson that asks young historians to consider how these treaties affected tribal sovereignty. Class members do a...
Anti-Defamation League
The Road to Brown
As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...
Carolina K-12
African American Troops in the Civil War
Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve,...
PBS
Connecting Post-Civil War Mob Violence and the Capitol Hill Riot
Anti-democratic violence is not new in the United States. Learners watch videos and then compare and contrast the 1873 Colfax and the 1898 Wilmington massacres. They then watch a video about the Capitol Hill insurrection of 2021 and...
K20 LEARN
The Bank Of Justice: Civil Rights In The US
To launch a study of racial segregation and integration, young historians first watch a news video about a prom in Georgia that was first integrated in 2013. They then compare the goals in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to King's "I Have a...
Newseum
Free Press Challenges Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
The debate over the integrity of stories in media is not new. Young journalists analyze historical sources that reveal freedom of the press controversies and draw parallels to challenges freedom of the press faces today.
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Three activities comprise an eight-page packet designed to accompany a study of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. First, class members investigate the types of recruiting posters used today, analyze the types of appeals used,...
Center for History Education
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: 19th Century African-American Writer and Reformer
Although some African American abolitionists—such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass—are well known, others, like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, remain in the shadows of history. Harper was a poet and activist who played an...
Center for History Education
Civil War Weaponry and Medicine: A Disastrous Mismatch
Ironically, science was the reason why the Civil War was so deadly. Despite the use of medical practices now considered barbaric—such as conducting surgery with bare, dirty hands—developments in weaponry meant that more men died on and...
Center for History Education
Northern Racism and the New York City Draft Riots of 1863
Just how racist were some people in the North during the American Civil War? Using excerpts of the Conscription Act, as well as graphic images of lynchings, young historians consider why white people in New York City rioted and killed...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days” by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...
Facing History and Ourselves
After Charlottesville: Public Memory and the Contested Meaning of Monuments
Are Civil War monuments a kind remembrance or a reminder of a dark past? The lesson plan focuses on the public's memory of the Civil War and the monuments that represent it. Young academics explore past efforts to change historical...
Digital Public Library of America
The Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.