Curated OER
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery
Why did Stephen Douglas support the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? Why did Abraham Lincoln oppose it? Young historians examine how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 affected the political balance between free and slave states and explore how...
Curated OER
The Union is Perpetual: Lincoln is Elected
Students view primary documents about the race for President in the time of Abraham Lincoln. In this election lesson, students prepare arguments for and against Lincoln using an analysis sheet. Students create a poster or cartoon to...
Curated OER
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery
Students read selections from the Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Wilmot Proviso of 1846. They contrast the maps of 1820 and 1854 to analyze developments in the national debate over slavery. They...
Curated OER
The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
Curated OER
Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?
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...
Curated OER
Lincoln 2.0
Students investigate the Presidential history of Abraham Lincoln by completing a multimedia project. In this U.S. politics lesson, students examine the image of Lincoln on a penny and work in groups to research Lincoln's life using the...
Curated OER
The Union is Perpetual: Lincoln is Elected
Students take a closer look at the election of Abraham Lincoln. In this historical analysis instructional activity, students analyze letters, political cartoons, and campaign materials from Lincoln's campaign. Analysis worksheets are...
Curated OER
Lincoln: The Constitution & the Civil War
Students examine the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln activity, students analyze the political and constitutional issues that Lincoln dealt with during his time in the White House as they play an online game and...
Curated OER
A Slave No More
Students discover what it was like to cross into freedom. In this slavery lesson, students read the "Emancipation Proclamation," and letters written by Abraham Lincoln and John Washington (a former slave). Students identify the key ideas...
Curated OER
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....
Curated OER
Slavery
Fifth graders complete a short unit on slavery and the U.S. Civil War. They read and analyze the book, "Follow the Drinking Gourd," compose their own secret song, complete an Abraham Lincoln crossword puzzle, and dramatize a historical...
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln
Students discuss key events of Abraham Lincoln's life. For this Civil War lesson, students discuss the major events of Abraham Lincoln's life and role during this time through a song.
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution
Students investigate President Abraham Lincoln's use of the U.S. Constitution and its importance to the Civil War. In this US history lesson, students read text about President Lincoln and the US Constitution. Students examine the...
University of California
The Civil War: Emancipation
Investigate and analyze Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation using primary and secondary sources. The sixth installment of an eight-part series analyzes the meaning of Lincoln's document in relation to its impact on the Civil War.
Curated OER
Slavery's Opponents and Defenders
High schoolers explore the wide-ranging debate over American slavery and the lives of its leading opponents and defenders and the views they held about America's "peculiar institution."
Center for History Education
Lincoln and the Republicans: The Cause of the War?
In today's political rhetoric, many forget the pivotal role the Republican Party played in the causes of the Civil War. The party's formation was the final straw for Southerners who saw the enslavement of people of African descent a...
Curated OER
The Emancipation Proclamation Through Different Eyes
Students examine how various segments of the American population viewed the Emancipation Proclamation. They read the Emancipation Proclamation, analyze key terms and statements in the document, and participate in a debate.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of the...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address
Students examine Lincoln's life. In this U.S. history instructional activity, students examine facts about Abraham Lincoln and then complete 6 extension activities that require them to complete research regarding the Civil War.
Curated OER
Civil War and Reconstruction
Fourth graders investigate the Civil War by researching the state of Virginia. In this US History instructional activity, 4th graders identify Abraham Lincoln, James Chestnut and Fort Sumter, and discuss their roles in the start of the...
American Battlefield Trust
Pre-1861: Disunion
Nat Turner, John Brown, and Abraham Lincoln all played a key role in the run-up to the bloody American Civil War. Using a PowerPoint, timeline activity, and essay prompt, young historians consider the roles of these men and more to...
Curated OER
The Unfinished Lincoln Memorial
Students develop a list of images of President Abraham Lincoln: for example, self-taught youth, great debater, advocate of abolition of slavery and assassinated hero. They must determine if these images of Lincoln stand up under scrutiny.
Curated OER
Lincoln: The Man Who Needed Nevada
Students understand how Nevada became a state and the role of Abraham Lincoln in Nevada's statehood. In this Nevada statehood lesson, students listen to background information, primary sources and research about Nevada's statehood....
Curated OER
Portraits of Power: American Presidents
Ninth graders explore the presidency of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In this US History lesson plan, 9th graders examine the life of Abraham Lincoln. students write an essay describing the presidency and the people's...