Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Music, Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson could serve as the basis of a curriculum unit on slavery and/or the Civil War. Spirituals are analyzed, especially their cultural implications.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship

For Students 9th - 10th
Online exhibit from the Library of Congress explores black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Exhibit contains a wealth of items including books, government documents, manuscripts,...
Primary
Ibis Communications

Eyewitness to History: Aboard a Slave Ship, 1829

For Students 9th - 10th
A historically significant account of what Reverend Robert Walsh observed on a slave ship off the African coast in 1829.
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Traditional Arts and Crafts of African Americans Across Five Centuries

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed essay provides an overview of Africa's contributions to American culture while discussing how basket makers, potters, and quilters helped preserve American history through their works.
Unit Plan
C-SPAN

C Span American Writers: Narrative of Frederick Douglass

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief summary of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Also includes an on-line text of the work as well as links to other informational websites.
Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.
Article
PBS

Africans in America: Margaret Washington on the Earliest Africans in Va.

For Students 9th - 10th
In a brief answer, Margaret Washington, Assoc. Professor of History at Cornell University, discusses where the first Africans to colonial Virginia were from, who they were, and what it may have been like for them.
Primary
PBS

Pbs: Africans in America: Shift From Indentured Servitude to Lifelong Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
This discussion by Prof. Peter Wood of Duke University explores what may have allowed the shift from indentured servitude to lifelong slavery for Africans and their children. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.
Handout
Stephen Byrne

History for Kids: Harriet Tubman

For Students 4th - 7th
A brave woman on a mission to help free and protect African Americans from slavery in the 1800's, Harriet Tubman is featured in this concise biography. Get her story and discover some of her nicknames!
Website
York University

York University: African Canadian Online: Aspects of African Canadian Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents profiles of significant African Canadians including humanitarians, politicians, pioneers, professionals, and athletes. Also looks at the people involved in the renowned Caribana festival held each summer in Toronto, and its...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: American Memory: African American Odyssey

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents the collections of the Library of Congress that showcase the experiences of African-Americans.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: America's Reconstruction: Rights and Power

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about Reconstruction, the United States Government, slavery, and civil rights.
Primary
University of Richmond

Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet: 1894 1909

For Students 9th - 10th
This curation, transcription, and interpretation of the Richmond Planet opens a window into fundamental issues of race, equity, justice, violence, and power that still stir the nation today. Thirteen formerly enslaved men formed the...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: America's Reconstruction

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of Reconstruction provided by the University of Houston. Provides images and the political climate that occurred during this part of American History.
Graphic
Curated OER

American Memory: Voices From the Days of Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
A truly incredible site from American Memory provides text and audio from former slaves. Listen to men and women, some people over 100 years old, describe their days during and after slavery.
Handout
Other

Augustine.com: St. Augustine Slave Trade Market

For Students 9th - 10th
The first public market in st. Augustine, Florida dates back to the era of slavery. Learn about the slave trade and the role it played in the city's early history as well as the modern civil rights movement.
eBook
Other

United States History: Ch. 3 Sec. 1: The Southern Colonies [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A chapter from a history text that looks at the development of the Southern Colonies. It discusses the Southern agricultural economy that relied on slave labor, tobacco as a cash crop, Southern society, indentured servitude, Bacon's...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: African Americans in the British New World: The Growth of Slavery

For Students 5th - 8th
Africans first arrived in Jamestown as indentured servants, but soon the appeal of having laborers that were not free after seven years caught on. See how the use of slaves grew in the Southern colonies, the economies of which were based...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Toward Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the course toward making African slaves chattel property, which greatly restricted any hints of personal freedom.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Black Heritage Day Ii: Harriet Tubman (1821 1913)

For Students 9th - 10th
A profile of Harriet Tubman, for a Black History calendar. Harriet Tubman fought tirelessly against slavery, and was responsible for rescuing over 300 slaves. She received many accolades and awards over the course of her long life.
Website
US Government Publishing Office

Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: About the Emancipation Proclamation

For Students 6th - 8th
Ben's Guide is a fun way to present U.S. Government to students grades K-12. This site presents a history of the Emancipation Proclamation. Links to related sites are available.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: Life After Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses what life was like for African Americans who were freed from slavery after the Civil War. Includes questions for students.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Slavery in the British Colonies

For Students 9th - 10th
Every English colony practiced slavery, building an empire-wide system of white racial dominance and African oppression.
Website
BBC

Bbc: Slave Island New York's Hidden History

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating article that examines the discovery in 1991 of a large Negro burial ground in lower Manhatten. The African American cemetery was used during the 18th century. Archived.