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Samuel's Choice
The book, Samuel's Choice is used to illustrate the decisions that African Americans who were enslaved during the Revolutionary War had to make. The series of four lessons is designed to be implemented after the book is read. The book,...
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The History of African-American Children: A Guide for Teaching Black History at the Elementary School Level
How do you introduce the topic of slavery to your youngest learners? The Sneetches, by Dr. Suess, is a great introduction to the idea of being different. Read the story to your class, and discuss desegregation in public buildings. This...
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Reliving History through Slave Narratives
Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...
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Colonial New York Slave Codes: Pedro's Walk
Look critically at the slave laws instated in Colonial New York. Your class examines primary source documents, slave laws, a narrative account from a slave's perspective, and Slave Codes. They write diary or journal entries in response...
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Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
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Harriet Tubman Warns "Kill the Snake Before It Kills You"
Harriet Tubman developed a rich extended metaphor for slavery and the imperative for Lincoln to abolish it in this dictated letter from 1862. Young historians read the original document and interpret Tubman's allegory with a pair of...
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The Living Museum: George Washington, the Slave Owner
Eighth graders bring early America to life. In this George Washington lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of some of his...
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Slave Life on George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plantation
Eleventh graders investigate slave life on the Mount Vernon Plantation. In this slavery instructional activity, 11th graders examine photographs of and documents about George Washington's home as they participate in classroom station...
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Should the U.S. Say Sorry?
Eighth graders research "reparations," by examineing the institution of slavery, racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the...
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What Events Led to Lincoln's Assassination?
Fourth graders use primary and secondary sources to research the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. They identify arguments supporting and opposing the position that Lincoln's assassination could have been prevented and write a report...
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Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources
Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.
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Two Views of the Slave Ship Brookes
Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....
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Rights in Early America
Get your historians to hop into someone else's 18th century shoes with a simulation on rights in early America. Each individual gets an identity card, indicating their race, gender, and status (slave or free). Areas around the room are...
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A State of Turmoil
Fourth graders complete a unit about the differences between the northern and southern states after the Revolutionary War. They view various online videos, conduct a debate about the issues that divided the nation, complete a Venn...
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What This Cruel War Was Over: Slavery and the Civil War
Can't travel to Richmond for your Civil War unit? This plan creates an authentic experience, using primary sources and the essential question: Over What Was the Civil War Fought? Historians examine the Appomattox Marker, the site of Gen....
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Forty Acres? The Question of Land at the War's End
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...
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Gender, Sex, and Slavery
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...
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After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
Learners investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...
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Abolitionists and Their Impact on Sectionalism
Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.
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Meet Hannah the Weaver
Students analyze primary and secondary sources to explore slavery and emancipation, and write letter or diary entry from point of view of slave Hannah Harris or plantation owner Robert Carter. Students then dramatize their creative...
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The Quilting Connection....a Teaching Unit on Slavery, the Underground Railroad And Quilting
Students research the Internet, read designated books and selection, participate in discussions and write short reports while completing this series of lessons about slavery and the Underground Railroad. As a final project, they design a...
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Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances
Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics.
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The Roman Empire Ch 6
The Roman empire didn't sprout up over night. It grew from a collapsing republic and economic turmoil. Time line the events leading up to the rise of the Roman empire with this 10 slide presentation. Topics covered are military upheaval,...
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The Civil War (1861-1865) Through Maps, Charts, Graphs, & Pictures
True to its titles, this engaging and appealing presentation brings the 1860's into close focus with a number of images and statistics that would delight any Civil War buff. A few graphs allow for pupil input, such as listing the...