Curated OER
Sectionalism
Students examine sectionalism. In this sectionalism lesson, students explore reasons sectionalism developed. Students realize the conflicts that led to the Civil War and how sectionalism affected citizens on the border of Kansas and...
West Virginia Department of Education
Intelligence of Authentic Character - News Coverage and John Brown's Raid
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...
Curated OER
Criminal or Hero
Young scholars investigate slavery in America circa the American Revolution. They will examine point- of view and perspective as they research a variety of informational resources. While this is designed to be used with the PBS video...
American Battlefield Trust
John Brown
How did the raid on Harper's Ferry contribute to the start of the Civil War? Curated for high school historians, the activity explains John Brown's contribution to the start of the Civil War by using violence to demand an end to slavery....
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.
Center for History Education
Maryland During the Secession Crisis
While many think the United States was neatly divided between Northern and Southern states during the Civil War, border states like Maryland are more complicated. Using hands-on activities to measure distance and primary sources,...
K20 LEARN
Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era
High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Political Struggle, 1865-1866
Healing versus justice. The central source of tension following the United States Civil War was between the demands for healing and the demands for justice, the battle between President Andrew Johnson and Congress. A video introduces the...
Digital Public Library of America
Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi
Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Harriet Beecher Stowe Sends Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Victoria and Albert, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's plea for abolition is not only laid plain in her acclaimed novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in her written correspondence as well. High schoolers read a letter written by Stowe to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to...
Polk Country Schools
The Death of Abraham Lincoln DBQ
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...
Curated OER
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...
American Battlefield Trust
Southern Secession and Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential Election
President Abraham Lincoln: a true humanitarian or a savvy politician? The lesson focuses on Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the secession of the southern states. Academics interpret how Lincoln's presidential platform promoting African...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
A Different Perspective on Slavery: Writing the History of African American Enslaved Women
Students examine the experiences of African-American women during the Civil War. Reading letters and autobiographies, they gain insight into how they dealt with slavery and losing their children. They create a model to evaluate the...
Curated OER
TicTac Town
Thirty one possible tic-tac-toe games are included in this presentation. Students must answer a question in each x and o position. When the grid position is selected the question appears and the answer is generated on the next click....
Curated OER
Presidents and the Constitution: Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
Learners consider the impact of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students read a narrative regarding the move by Lincoln to officially end slavery. Learners take notes on the case and respond to...
National First Ladies' Library
The Debate on Slavery
Young historians research the debate over slavery; some students take the pro-slavery side and others the anti-slavery side. They take the role of a character such as a plantation owner, a legislator, a free Black, a slave, or a northern...
Curated OER
North and South - Impact of the Abolitionist Movement
Students examine history of slavery in United States, discuss abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass who worked to end slavery, listen to excerpts from Douglass' autobiography, and visit interactive Underground Railroad web site.
Curated OER
African American Life in the Pee Dee Before the Civil War
Third graders examine the life of the African American in the Pee Dee region during slavery. In this slavery instructional activity, 3rd graders explore primary and secondary documents related to the topic and create a timeline of...
Curated OER
History of the Americas: Causes of the Civil War
In this American Civil War activity, students read assigned textbook pages about the causes of the war and then respond to 35 short answer questions about how the war began.
Curated OER
Lincoln: The Constitution & the Civil War
Students examine the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln instructional activity, students analyze the political and constitutional issues that Lincoln dealt with during his time in the White House as they play an...
Curated OER
The Brief American Pageant: The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism
Use this series of bright, informative maps to illustrate important events of America's infancy. Detailing the Missouri Compromise, the Battle of New Orleans, and the Presidential Election of 1812, this presentation would be a good...
Curated OER
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...
University of Virginia
Uncle Tom's Cabin: Finishing the Novel
The reviews for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin were as divisive as the novel itself. High schoolers finish the novel unit with an evaluation of the book's initial reviews, its characters' dreams and fears of...