Curated OER
Gold Rush Abolitionists: What Impact did John Brown have on U.S. history?
Learners examine the impact that John Brown had on American history. In this human rights lesson, students discover details about the raid on Harpers Ferry and the implications it held for the American Civil War.
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 The Kansas-Nebraska Act
How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...
Annenberg Foundation
Antebellum Reform
Scholars investigate the Antebellum period in the United States in an engaging lesson. Groups analyze technological, religious, economic, and social changes occurring during the time period prior to the Civil War. Using their new...
American Battlefield Trust
Contraband Camp
An educational lesson plan explores the plight of African Americans escaping slavery during the Civil War. Learners view a presentation and analyze primary documents and images to understand the purpose of contraband camps and how they...
University of Virginia
Student Page: Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
History sleuths read articles for and against Uncle Tom's Cabin, examine visual images, print responses, and multi-media tomitudes to better understand the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on American culture prior to the Civil...
National Park Service
Freedom at Antietam
Explore how the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation affected everyday individuals in the Civil War era. Learners are given the opportunity to read and evaluate primary and secondary source material, and then to compose a writing...
Curated OER
The 1808 Slave Trade Abolition Deadline
Students study the trans-Atlantic Slave trade. In this slave trade lesson, students study the Constitutional Convention Notes and the impact on United States slavery. Students research the slave trade database and other primary sources...
Civil War Trust
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Through a careful reading and examination of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, scholars take part in grand conversations about the novel's contents, slavery, and the impact the book had on it. Furthermore, learners analyze an...
Curated OER
Slavery Issue And Views North Versus South Around 1850s
Tenth graders compare and contrast the opinions of northerners and southerners about the issue of slavery in the 1850's. They study how the legislation that was enacted by Congress addressed the issues. As they investigate, they create a...
Curated OER
The Embodied Presidency
Eighth graders examine the issue of slavery. For this Civil War lesson, 8th graders participate in a debate. Students evaluate the impact of slavery and war on the country.
Curated OER
Hoosier Soldiers and the Emancipation Proclamation
Eighth graders examine the impact of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation through the eyes of Indiana soldiers. In this American Civil War lesson plan, 8th graders read the proclamation and then students write essays that included letters...
Curated OER
Tension Over Slavery
Eighth graders research the events that lead to the US Civil War. They use the Jigsaw technique to report the findings of their research.
Curated OER
Presidents and the Constitution: Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
Students 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. Students take notes on the case and respond to...
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....
National Park Service
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was an extraordinary woman, no matter the time period. Academics research the life and achievements of Mrs. Cary, who was born a free African American in 1823. The lesson uses primary sources, worksheets, written...
Curated OER
Slavery Issue And Views North Versus South Around 1850s
Students explore the views of both sides of the Civil War. Through class discussion and debate, they look at how each side justified their position during the Civil War. Students write a letter explaining one of the viewpoints from the...
Curated OER
Slavery
Fifth graders examine the reasons for the Civil War. They identify and explain different social and political movements of the time period as well. They discuss the impact of the Civil War on the development of the United States.
Curated OER
1856-1865: Abolitionists and the Civil War
Middle schoolers discover philanthropic acts of the Civil War era. For this service learning lesson, students research Underground Railroad literature, Reconstruction Amendments, and acts of philanthropy during the Civil War era.
Curated OER
Reliving History through Slave Narratives
Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...
Curated OER
Growing a Nation
Eleventh graders examine the major events and inventions that changed American families and communities. For this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze various documents dealing with the changes. Students create a project on an event...
Curated OER
Powerful Memories, Powerful Words
Students identify and describe the influence slavery had on Mark Twains writing, and then determine the status of race relations and ethnic differences in contemporary life.
Curated OER
Underground Railroad
Students explore the Underground Railroad. In this U.S. history and technology lesson, students research an assigned topic related to the Underground Railroad, such as "abolitionist," "conductor," or "station houses." Students design a...
Curated OER
Cultural Impact of Jim Crow Laws and Civil Rights Movement
Pupils compare the cultural customs of people from European descent and African Americans between 1900 and 1940. Next students listen to interviews about life during the time of Jim Crow laws, and determine how life might be different...
Curated OER
About Abraham Lincoln
Fifth graders complete a unit of lessons on the life of Abraham Lincoln. They read and analyze a poem, create a timeline, write an essay, research The Gettysburg Address and The Emancipation Proclamation, explore websites, and interview...