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...

Students investigate life on Southern plantation during the Civil War era. In this plantation lesson, students research the life of wealthy, white families on Southern plantations and the changes that occured as a result of the Civil...

Seventh graders identify and discuss the causes of the Civil War. They define the vocabulary terms-Civil War, economy, plantations, abolitionist, secede, and slave; read and discuss reading passages about the Civil War, and answer...

Fourth graders investigate the role of African American slaves in rice plantations. For this slave life lesson, 4th graders discuss the products produced in the 13 colonies. Students discuss the importance of rice to South Carolina's...

What did the Crusades and plantations do with the global sugar spread? As class members continue their study of Sugar Changed the World, they examine how Crusaders brought sugar to Western Europe and how cultivating sugar led to the...

Students explore coffee and coffee plantations. They view a Power Point presentation of what coffee looks like, where it grows, and how it is harvested. They discuss the environmental impacts on growing cofee and how it compares to...

Students identify the significance of the author's experiences on his written work; describe the hardships faced by slaves and plantation owners once the caves were set free; explain the role of the Seceses and why they were a threat to...

Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...

Through the journals written by Harriet Jacobs and Elizabeth Keckly, young readers gain insight into the lives of two enslaved children on nineteenth-century plantations.

While examining slavery's impact on women, historians compare and contrast the perspectives of a plantation mistress and an enslaved woman, both reflecting on the system of forced prostitution. Text analysis and written responses create...

Imagine living in the hold of a sailing ship for 63 days, enduring rough seas and autumn storms. As part of a study of the voyage of the Mayflower, class members examine an online resource that details life about the ship, watch a slide...

Young historians learn what life was like in the South during the Reconstruction era. They complete hands-on-activities and participate in group discussion to understand how experiences varied between African Americans and white...

Using personas ranging from freed African Americans to wealthy plantation owners, young historians consider various points of view around the events in the days leading up to the Civil War including major milestones such as the Dred...

How do writers create a specific tone in their text? As class members continue their study of Sugar Changed the World, they focus on the words and phrases that Aronson and Budhos use to create that tone in their descriptions of arduous...

After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...

Class members read the chapter, "Serfs and Sweetness" from Sugar Changed the World, and identify the central idea that the development of beet sugar and modern farming technology changed the reliance on the plantation system and made...

As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...

Tenth graders observe several films, including The Divided Union, focusing on the conditions of slavery and African American soldiers in the Union Army. In addition, they watch Uncle Tom's Cabin and Glory to reinforce their knowledge of...

Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the focus of a teaching guide that introduces readers to some of the many controversies surrounding the use of the novel in classrooms. The packet includes 15 primary source excerpts and...

As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...

Students 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.

Students write a journal entry about where there food comes from. In this Civil War lesson, students discuss journals, the crops grown within the U.S., the import/export process and what food preparation must have been like on a...

Students explore the varieties of slave life in antebellum America. They research various sources to examine the relationships between masters, overseers, and plantation hands. Students identify and describe the conflicts between...