Lesson Planet
New Books for Black History Month
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
Curated OER
Am I Really Free?
Fourth graders write about slavery and freedom. In this freed slaves lesson, 4th graders read historical information about free blacks during slavery and explore books, objects and slave narratives to learn more. Students...
Curated OER
Michigan History of Philanthropy
Young scholars investigate how philanthropy began in Michigan. In this philanthropy lesson plan, students read Michigan History of Philanthropy and read a timeline of several events. Young scholars create a picture with a sentence about...
Curated OER
President Thomas Woodrow Wilson
In this President Thomas Woodrow Wilson worksheet, students read to assess comprehension skills. In this multiple choice worksheet, students answer seven question.
Other
New York Historical Society: New York Divided Slavery and the Civil War
Visit this virtual museum exhibit to learn about New York City's divided opinions about slavery before and during the Civil War. There are three themes covered: Pro-Southern City, Fighting Slavery, and Civil War. Students use a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
This lesson helps learners study life in the United States in the years before the Civil War. Students will gain a better understanding of why people grew willing to fight to defend their way of life. Many of the documents learners will...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Before Brother Fought Brother
A lesson plan that addresses the "complex series of events" leading to the Civil War. Through this lesson, students will "gain an appreciation of everyday life in the North and South, changes occurring, and some of the major social and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Life in North & South 1847 1861: Before Brother Fought Brother
The five lessons in this unit are designed to help students develop a foundation on which to understand the basic disagreements between North and South through the investigation of primary source documents, photographs, and census...
Other
Nutrias Online Exhibits: The World of Francois Lacroix
Traces the life of the richest black man in New Orleans before the Civil War and after.
Digital History
Digital History: What Was Life Like Under Slavery?
A sobering look at the life of the plantation slave in the decades before the Civil War. Read about the malnutrition, severe treatment, and inadequate living conditions.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Peculiar Institution
A very brief look at the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery in the South before the Civil War. Read about how slavery became so entrenced and why it drove a wedge between the North and South.
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country
The Civil War that raged across the nation from 1861 to 1865 was the violent conclusion to decades of diversification. Gradually, throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century, the North and South followed different paths,...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Leon Trotsky
A detailed biography of the life of Leon Trotsky. Discusses his life before the Russian Revolution, his political accomplishments afterwards, his opposition to Stalinism, his exile and his assassination.
Other
Stratford Hall Plantation: General Robert E. Lee
This biography of Robert E. Lee is part of a larger site about the Lee family plantation, Stratford Hall. Read about his personal life before and after the war. Included are links to his farewell address and information about the horses...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Slavery in America
People enslaved Africans for their enforced labor from before America's founding until the end of the Civil War. Learn about the history of slavery, its effects on a budding nation, and the fight to abolish it. This collection includes...
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in the period before the American Civil War. In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery. Gives the option of browsing or doing a detailed search....
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant
A comprehensive biography of Ulysses S. Grant including information about his life before his presidency, detailed essays on various aspects of presidency, brief biographies of members of his cabinet, and copies of his presidential papers.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass
Selected (11) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass recounts his experiences as a slave in Maryland, and his treatment at the...
Curated OER
Mask of Lincoln: Octavius v. Catto
From this captioned portrait published by the National Portrait Gallery, learn about the life of Octavius Catto, who was part of the free community of African Americans living in Philadelphia before, during, and after the Civil War era.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Harriet Tubman
Features a summary of the life of Harriet Tubman, an American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War.