National First Ladies' Library
The Education of Freedmen...and Women and Children
Pupils examine political debate surrounding Freedmen's Bureau, use primary sources to explore trials and successes of effort to educate newly-freed slaves of all ages, research reasons for creation of Freedmen's Bureau, discuss President...
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Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
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Jazz in America
Students learn where Jazz came from and why it is an important part of America's history.
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Jazz in America
Students explore different instruments and what role they play in Jazz. They also each person's role in a democratic society.
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Perseverance
Students examine how the failure of Reconstruction led to the systematic passage of Jim Crow laws in states across the South and the negative impact these laws had on the growth and development of the US.
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JUSTICE
Students analyze the role that Alabama played in three major events of American History and how those roles contributed to Alabama being dubbed the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Modern Civil Rights Movement."
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Freedmen's Bureau: Labor Contract or Re-enslavement?
Students examine the topics of the Freedman's Bureau and labor contracting. They analyze the economic conditions in Alabama after the Civil War. They draw conclusions about the problems with sharecropping.
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Images from South Carolina Cotton Mills
Fifth graders write a paragraph comparing their lives to the lives of a child working in South Carolina during the early 1900's. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, 5th graders explore primary and secondary sources to teach them...
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Ideas and Commodities Cross Cultural Regions
Students compare and contrast how commodities native to certain countries have impacted the economies of other nations. After gathering information regarding how commodities are grown and traded, students use their information to...
West Virginia Department of Education
Harpers Ferry Letters
Scholars write letters as if they were someone who heard the story of John Brown's raid. The resource, a standalone, covers information from primary sources that is important to West Virginian history: the Harpers Ferry Letters.
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Kensington Mansion: Plantation, Sharecroppers, Tenants
Eleventh graders investigate the significance of the Kensington Mansion. In this South Carolina history lesson, 11th graders take field trips to the mansion and research primary and secondary sources about plantations, sharecropping, and...
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Public Views of Lincoln
Students write a letter in the voice of Abraham Lincoln. In this history lesson, students interpret the way the public viewed Lincoln during various times by examining political cartoons and images. Students write a letter in the voice...
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Reliving History Through Slave Narratives
Students read slave narratives and retell the stories to the class, identifying sensory details. For this slavery lesson, students discuss the importance of sensory details, then read the slave narratives looking for specific examples. ...
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Runaway Indentured Servants
Students compare and contrast indentured servants and slaves. In this US history slavery lesson, students discuss the owners' perceptions of indentured servants and slaves, then view ads for runaway slaves to support their opinions....
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The Missing Piece: A Tale of a Tail
Students analyze and write about their findings of the dinosaur discoveries of Edward Cope. In this Edward Cope lesson plan, students examine illustrations of concept maps, discuss challenges, analyze skeleton diagrams, and write...
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It's Just a Barn
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
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Counting On Freedom
Students examine the poem and artistic masterpiece The Quadroon Girl and use this knowledge to practice mathematical concepts such as: more than, less than, counting, and majority.
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Segregated America
Learners investigate Jim Crow laws. In this segregation lesson, students analyze images that display American segregation. Learners use the provided questions to aid them in their evaluation of the images.
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AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOMESTEADERS
Middle schoolers analyze the factors that inhibited and fostered African American attempts to improve their lives during Reconstruction, the role of class, race, gender, and religion in western communities, and the challenges diverse...
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American Indians
Young scholars research early Indian adaptations in this lesson. They research the different American Indian tribes. They also research and compare the tribes' rituals, daily lives, and their impact on the Europeans who came later to...
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The Great Depression in North Carolina: Experiences of the People
Students explore the Great Depression. In this research skills instructional activity, students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary sources. Students write their own WPA interviews after they...
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What Events Led to Lincoln's Assassination?
Fourth graders investigate the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In this American history instructional activity, 4th graders conduct research, share their findings, and write a report about the events leading up to the death of...
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Major Events Leading to the American Revolution
Students explore the causes of the American Revolution. In this taxation without representation lesson plan, students analyze political cartoons in order to gain an understanding of the efforts of the colonists to resolve conflict with...
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Poetry: A View of African American Life,
Fifth graders analyze many examples of African-American poetry and examine how different poems reflect the cultural experiences of African-Americans. The poems and spirituals chosen are very effective for public presentation.