Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History in Literature - The House of Dies Drear

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
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Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

George Washington: General, President, Slave Owner

For Teachers 8th
Times change; behaviors that were once considered acceptable can be seen in a very different light. Middle schoolers revisit the legacy of George Washington in a three-day lesson plan that uses primary sources to reveal Washington as a...
Lesson Plan
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

How Do We Know about Colonial Life?

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Young history sleuths examine an inventory of the belongings of a Virginia colonist and use deductive reasoning to determine what the document reveals about colonial life. They then use a Venn diagram to compare the inventory with a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Step into the Painting: Social Studies, Literature, and Art

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Questions: Alex Haley's "My Furthest Back Person: The African"

For Students 8th - 12th
Based on Alex Haley's moving essay "My Furthest Back Person: The African," these 11 questions support comprehension and prepare readers for discussion of the text. Use this tool, and the essay, as a nonfiction addition to units on...
Worksheet
K12 Reader

Underground Railroad: On to Freedom

For Students K - 3rd
The Underground Railroad is the focus of a coloring worksheet, which provides background information about the volunteers who aided escaping slaves.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Henry David Thoreau: Author, Philosopher, and Abolitionist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
What would Henry David Thoreau think of life in 21st-Century America? Pupils investigate the abolitionist using primary and secondary materials. They analyze what Thoreau would think of the changes to American lifestyles since the time...
Lesson Plan
Crafting Freedom

George Moses Horton: Crafting Virtual Freedom Through Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What is "virtual freedom"? How about "enslaved entrepreneurship"? Class members will learn about these terms and much more as they read the poems and examine the life of George Moses Horton.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heroes in Art

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars examine the life, portraits and speeches of Frederick Douglass. They consider what made his speeches effective and why he is regarded as a national hero. They write an original speech.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
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...
Study Guide
Penguin Books

A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Whether new to teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or an experienced pro, you’ll find useful resources in this teacher’s guide. The 40-page packet includes background information, historical context, an annotated list of...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

People and Places in the North and South

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing SLaves and Servants in Colonial New York

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Young historians compare and contrast differences in the laws that regulated the activities of slaves and servants. They review and analyze a series of primary source documents to explain the social constructs related to slaves and...
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

Repairing the Fabric of Democracy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
During elections, headlines constantly lament the issue of low voter turnout. Help class members understand why this is such an important topic with relevant articles, a discussion of both sides of the issue, and a reflective essay. 
PPT
Curated OER

Underground Railroad PowerPoint

For Teachers 4th - 6th
A very interesting presentation on the Underground Railroad used by slaves who were seeking freedom. Learners consider photographs of safe houses, devices used to hide from capture, maps of routes used, and pictures of white people who...
Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

Intelligence of Authentic Character - News Coverage and John Brown's Raid

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Chapter 3 – Antebellum Innovation, Politics, and the Jackson Administration

For Students 8th - 12th
The inter-war Antebellum Era was a fascinating time in U.S. History! In this textbook response worksheet, historians read assigned textbook pages regarding the topics and respond to 46 short answer display questions regarding the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sectionalism in Early U.S.

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students, divided into three groups, representing the Northeastern, Southern, Western United States. They research these areas in early American history and as a group prepare charts, graphs and reports. They explain their needs and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Minty

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students investigate, read, and discuss about other famous Afro-American leaders. Students compare/contrast slaves home, activities, etc. with that of Afro- Americans today. Students create a time line to post on the wall of Harriet's...
Worksheet
Digital History

The Slave Trade

For Students 9th - 12th
When studying the slave trade in early American and world history, use this document to expose your learners to the abhorrent conditions that existed on slave ships. Read through two first-person accounts of the enslavement process,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Literature of Upheaval

For Teachers 8th
In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Longfellow Meets German Radical Poet Ferdinand Freiligrath

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students, after researching the backgrounds to both Longfellow and Freiligrath, examine and analyze selected works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow via his association with the German radical Ferdinand Freiligrath. They discuss and draw...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Divided Community

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work in teams to research the history of African migration and immigration in the U.S. They present their research in a town hall discussion format and then write a paragraph about their experiences.

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