Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...

Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...

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

Free the slaves! Scholars research primary documents and videos while working together to create abolitionist posters. They examine the John Brown raid as a template to creating their own demonstration. 

Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...

Upper elementary and middle school learners engage in this awesome lesson plan on the Civil War. In it, they watch streamed video, perform Internet research, engage in hands-on activities, and use their geography skills to locate...

Should land be redistributed to former slaves after the Civil War? This essential question guides a lesson on the Reconstruction Era, as learners analyze primary sources (linked), recording responses on a worksheet (linked). To model the...

Was the Civil War fought only due to slavery? Using an interactive web tool, scholars investigate the four main causes of the Civil War. Gathering evidence and data to support their claims, they present a final statistical breakdown...

Escaping Enslaved people attempting to escape didn't need a ticket to ride on the Underground Railroad. Here is a packet of primary sources that reveal the kind of courage and determination they did need to face the challenges to gain...

How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

Students examine the difference in politics in the North and South during the Civil War. Using that information, they discuss how politics and ideologies led to the war. They explain the causes and effects of the war and evaluate the...

A well-designed lesson teaches about the history of Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the issues of civil liberties. Young historians watch a video, access Internet resources, and engage in cooperative activities which should...

Using the harrowing story of the Crafts, a couple enslaved in the South who escaped to freedom, young historians trace the story of the Fugitive Slave Act. After examining documents, including affidavits and arrest warrants for the...

Pupils explore the concept of slavery and manumission through a variety of activities. For this civil rights lesson, students gather information from primary sources, then analyze the politics and historical context of the time. Pupils...

Scholars generally agree on the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. This inquiry-based lesson asks high schoolers to consider more than the claims of who freed the enslaved people but the significance of the issues...

Pupils examine attitudes of children from the North growing up during the time of slavery. Using documents, they discover how abolitionists tried to change people's ideas of using slaves. They explore how women used antislavery fairs to...

Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, although dissimilar in their backgrounds, were united in their views about slavery. A set of 14 primary sources permits scholars to examine the views of these two powerful men.

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...

Sixth graders investigate the Civil War by identifying famous figures of the era. For this slavery abolitionist lesson, 6th graders read a text on the history of the Civil War and discuss heroes of the era such as Harriet Tubman and John...

Hook your learners with a great project. They research the underground railroad and civil rights movement through literature, view the video The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery, and read the book House of Dies Drear in...

Fourth graders investigate the Civil War by researching the state of Virginia.  In this US History lesson, 4th graders identify Abraham Lincoln, James Chestnut and Fort Sumter, and discuss their roles in the start of the Civil...

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 compare the social and cultural characteristics of the North, the South, and the West during the antebellum period, including the lives of African Americans and social reform movements such as abolition and women’s rights.