North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first lesson in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict. Analysis of...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

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...

The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...

High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...

High schoolers analyze a painting from African-American culture to determine its meaning. Reading slave spirituals, they discover what live was like for African-Americans who were enslaved in the South. They draw conclusions about their...

Students examine the appeal of temperance to African-American women. They also discover the racial tensions involved in this movement. They work together to read articles and answer questions.

Students record information in a database about the three American colonies. They are comparing and contrasting them. They are to log into a given database and fill in the corresponding sections. Once it is filled in the similiarities...

This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...

Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 

Students read a letter titled "A South African Storm" on her experiences of discrimination in the country. Individually or as a class, they answer questions about the author's purpose in writing the piece was and how she made herself...

Slavery not only involved the forced migration of African people from their homes, it also meant the forced removal of people within the United States. Using data and interactive graphics, scholars see how the tragedy of human slavery...

Third graders research world geography by creating a class presentation. In this South American activity, 3rd graders read assigned text regarding the customs and traditions of different Indian communities in South America. Students...

Learners examine and explain the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students summarize and evaluate several of the major battles that defined the Revolutionary War.and major battles involving...

Help young historians personally engage in the stories of African Americans during the Great Migration! Assessing a migration route map, learners create a migrant character's experience, adding details while studying primary sources. A...

Students examine primary sources in the form of auction records, create frequency charts, graphs and diagrams that they analyze to anwer questions followed by the writing of a paper that demonstrates their comprehension of the lesson.

Young scholars explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. Young scholars...

Seventh graders visit the Smithsonian and are shown different exhibits. They are to make their own drawing about one of the exhibits and write about the experience.

Students discuss Stephen Foster's depiction of slavery. Using the internet, they discover what the life of a slave was really like in the antebellum South. As a class, they discuss contemporary arguments for and against slavery.

Students explore Civil Rights by analyzing U.S. history. In this African American workforce instructional activity, students discuss the history of African Americans in Baltimore and the need for steady work that formed. Students define...

Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this American Revolution lesson, 8th graders examine the Battle of Fort Moultrie and create their own historical narratives regarding the event.

Students focus on the problem of African American leadership throughout American history. In groups, they research the life and works of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois and how they worked to promote the need for African American...

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

Learners examine the Great Migration of African Americans to the North from the South. After reading a primary source document, they respond to the letter given a set of questions. In groups, they research the funding for white and...