Curated OER
The Civil War Through a Child's Eyes
Middle schoolers focus upon the Civil War era using research methods of drawing information from primary sources. Literature and photographic images reflect, communicate, and influence human perspectives of historical events. The lesson...
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided
Young historians consider the cause and effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. They use handouts, response sheets, and class discussion to build an opinion about the subject after viewing the PBS documentary Abraham and Mary Lincoln:...
US Institute of Peace
Identifying Elements of Conflict
What lies at the heart of a conflict? Help pupils peel back the layers during an in-depth study of the elements of conflict. A lesson addressing peacekeeping and conflict management examines the historical, emotional, and societal...
Curated OER
The Civil War: Through the Eyes of Hoosier Women-
Fourth graders explain and analyze changes and interactions of Hoosier women in major social and work roles during the Civil War. They recognize and compare the contributions of both women on the home and war fronts.
Curated OER
Images at War
Pupils examine American attitudes toward war as revealed in Civil War photographs and WWII homefront posters. They analyze and discuss photos, explore the National Archives website, and organize a statement of their findings.
American Battlefield Trust
The Battle of Saltville
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 1: Protest: Why and How
To some people, protesting is as American as apple pie, but the factors that lead to protests can be as confusing to veteran activists as to today's youth. Revolution '67 explores the riots in Newark, New Jersey as a case study. Using...
Curated OER
Visual History of the Civil War III
Eighth graders examine the Civil War. In this Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders analyze various images about the Civil War. Students write an essay in relation to the images of the Civil War.
Curated OER
Civil War Photographs
Eighth graders explore the new technology brought on by the Civil War. In this U.S. History lesson, 8th graders examine photographs and drawings that depict the changes that happened as a result of the Civil War, then have a class...
Simon and Schuste
Gone with the Wind - Reading Group Guide
Love, war, race, class, religion, honor are just a few of the topics readers of Gone with the Wind are prompted to discuss by the questions included in this very thoughtful reading guide.
K12 Reader
Elegy for Lincoln: Walt Whitman’s Poem
Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" is one of the most famous and emotional tributes to Abraham Lincoln. Guide readers through the evocative elegy with a reading comprehension worksheet, complete with the poem's text and a photograph...
Curated OER
Hoosier Soldiers at Vicksburg
Eighth graders examine the role of Indiana soldiers at the Battle of Vicksburg. In this American Civil War lesson plan, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the battle and then analyze letters...
Teaching American History
A Word Fitly Spoken: Lincoln's Most Famous Speeches on Union
Abraham Lincoln's words carried American democracy through one of its most tenuous and violent moments in the nation's short history. Explore an interactive timeline that places events of the 19th century in the context of Lincoln's...
Teaching Tolerance
Jim Crow as a Form of Racialized Social Control
Just because slavery was illegal doesn't mean it went away ... Jim Crow Laws took its place. An eye-opening lesson focuses on how Jim Crow Laws were used as a form of racial social control against African Americans in the United States....
Pulitzer Center
The Crisis in the Ivory Coast
Through reading a variety of news articles and other informational texts, learners discover the political turmoil and intense ethnic and religious tensions that envelop the Ivory Coast today. Class members research the historical...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Digital Public Library of America
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin has generated controversy since its publication in 1852. Here is a set of 12 primary sources that capture the controversies of the times while adding dimension and depth to any study of the novel.
University of Arkansas
Individuals Making a Difference
The focus of this, the third in a five-activity unit study of human rights, is on individuals who made a difference. Billy Bowlegs, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michi Weglyn, and Yuri Koshiyama are some of the people class members...
West Virginia Department of Education
Editorials: The Guiding Voice of Authority?
How much can opinion influence a news story? A standalone resource discusses the importance of John Brown's Raid through the lens of journalism. Learners analyze two different texts, one from the perspective of the North and the other of...
Curated OER
Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources
Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.
Teach With Movies
Title: "The Yearling" - Topics: Literature/U.S.; U.S./1865-1913 & Florida
Life in the Florida swamps after the Civil War comes alive in the 1946 film adaptation of Majorie Kinnan Rawlings’s The Yearling. The film of this powerful coming-of-age story, filled with love and loss, can be used with or without a...
Facing History and Ourselves
Do You Take the Oath?
Why did so many go along with Nazi policies during World War II? An investigatory unit includes four handouts, reading analyses, classroom discussion topics, and intriguing philosophical questions, helping learners understand the...
Middle Level Learning
Philip Reid and the Statue of Freedom
Approach the concept of freedom in United States history from a variety of angles and delve into rich primary source analysis practice. Pupils study the Statue of Freedom, which sits atop the dome of the Capitol building in Washington...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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...