Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments And Gay Marriage
Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...
National Constitution Center
Thirteenth Amendment Poster
President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Curated OER
Reconstruction (1865-1876)
Easily broken into pieces for several class sessions, this presentation is a great way to transition your class out of a Civil War unit and closer to the 20th century. Engaging photographs, including relevant maps and humorous political...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery
Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...
National Constitution Center
Interactive Constitution
Did you know there are seven Articles and 27 Amendments to the US Constitution? Explore each and every one of them, including the Bill of Rights and other rights around the world, in a super neat US Constitution interactive.
Curated OER
A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Students study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and 15th...
Curated OER
Black Kentuckians and the Civil War
Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...
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,...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...
C3 Teachers
African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?
High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Young scholars read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. In this Progressive Movement lesson plan, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Young...
Curated OER
The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource launches a...
Curated OER
A More Perfect Union: Barack Obama's Race Speech at the National Constitution Center
Eleventh graders explore the process of perfecting the Union through changes made to the Constitution, and through the powers delegated to each branch of government. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders research various...
Curated OER
What price Freedom! Civil War and Reconstruction
Fifth graders become familiar with the events of Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In this reconstruction lesson, 5th graders work in pairs where each student creates a building with blocks and draws it. Their...
Curated OER
Fugitive from Labor Cases: Henry Garnett (1850) and Moses Honner (1860)
High schoolers engage in the comparison of cases which demonstrate the increasingly volatile political crisis in the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and the necessity for the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to...
Curated OER
Reparations for Slavery
Students analyze slavery reparations. In this American history lesson plan, students examine the pros and cons of paying reparations for slavery and participate in a discussion.
Kentucky Department of Education
Kentuckians in the Civil War Era: Constructed Response Essay
What part did Kentucky play in the Civil War? A constructed response essay assignment tests to ensure scholars understand the concepts and the arguments for the causes of the Civil War. Learners must read a primary source quote and then...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reconstruction
When slavery ended, what did the government do to help African American during Reconstruction? An interesting instructional activity uses primary sources such as newspaper articles to help scholars analyze Reconstruction policies and how...
State Bar of Texas
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Who decides someone is not a real person? Scholars investigate the Dred Scott v. Sandford court case which deals directly with slavery and citizenship. After viewing a short video clip, classmates work in pairs to assess and discuss the...
Curated OER
Segregation in Prince Edward County
Eleventh graders examine the history of integration as it applied to Virginia high school in Prince Edward County. They evaluate a map of Virginia counties, read and analyze a first person narrative of a young girl involved in a boycott...
Curated OER
Reconstruction: "Healing Wounds, Mending Fences"
Students examine material on the Civil War Era to develop an understanding of the major issues that were resolved. This six lessons unit provides a closer glimpse into our nation's political and ethical history.
Curated OER
Civil Rights Methodology Martin Luther King, Jr. – Stokely Carmichael
Students compare and contrast the visions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael. In this African-American history lesson, students read speeches by each of the men and summarize the arguments made by each of them about...