Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Learners reconstruct and make drawings of vessels in the same manner as an archaeologist. In this archaeologist lesson plan, students each get a piece of a broken pot and they have to work together to put it back together. Once it is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil War and Reconstruction

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate the Civil War by researching the state of Virginia.  In this US History lesson, 4th graders identify Abraham Lincoln, James Chestnut and Fort Sumter, and discuss their roles in the start of the Civil...
Lesson Plan
PBS

African American History: Climbing the Wall

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Post-1865: Effects of the War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What did Lincoln want? Historians still debate this question, and perhaps people will never fully know. Class members examine the legacies of the war, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The lesson plan also...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

The Political Struggle, 1865-1866

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Slavery as a Form of Racialized Social Control

For Teachers 9th - 12th
An engaging instructional activity delves into the effects of slavery on society. Young historians read text excerpts, complete handouts, and participate in group discussion to understand how slavery was a means to control society and...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Jim Crow as a Form of Racialized Social Control

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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....
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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 plan uses primary sources, worksheets, written...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women in the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War. 
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, although dissimilar in their backgrounds, were united in their views about slavery. A set of 14 primary sources permits scholars to examine the views of these two powerful men.
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Escaping Enslaved people attempting to escape didn't need a ticket to ride on the Underground Railroad. Here is a packet of primary sources that reveal the kind of courage and determination they did need to face the challenges to gain...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Voting Rights Act of 1965

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...
Lesson Plan
1
1
US House of Representatives

Hispanic Congressional Representation in the Era of U.S. Continental Expansion, 1822–1898

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
From the Louisiana Purchase to the Spanish-American War, the history of the United States is intertwined with the story of Hispanic Americans. Using an article about Hispanics in Congress during the 1800s, learners research their lives...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Show Me Your Credentials: Voting In America

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The debate over voting rights continues. To begin their study of voting rights, class members first vote on proposed new classroom rules. After a discussion of the activity, groups are given a copy of the 1965 Alabama Literacy Test and...
Lesson Plan
1
1
University of Arkansas

Promises Denied

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama Tenant Farmers and Sharecroppers, 1865 to Present

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
The tenant farming and sharecropping systems that developed in the South after the Civil War, the reasons for their development, and the eventual decline of these systems are the focus of this two-day plan.
Lesson Plan
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1
K12 Reader

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 
Interactive
Mr. Nussbaum

Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Presidential Years (Part 4)

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
How do you bring a nation back together after there is civil war? Readers learn how the United States Civil War concluded with a passage focused on the latter part of Abraham Lincoln's presidency. Multiple choice questions check pupils'...
Lesson Plan
1
1
University of California

The Civil War: Effects of the Civil War

For Students 7th Standards
Imagine being on the front line of the Civil War —from the front porch of your own house. Scholars use visual evidence from primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of the Civil War on all Americans. They examine the research...
Lesson Plan
1
1
University of California

The Civil War: Final Assessment

For Students 7th Standards
Pupils discover the true nature and purpose of the Civil War in the eighth and final installment of an informative series. Using primary and secondary documents, history buffs merge social study knowledge with English skills to create a...
AP Test Prep5:14
Bill of Rights Institute

Economics of the North and South Before the Civil War

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
How did economic issues lead to war? Viewers watch an AP review video to examine one of the main causes of the American Civil War, the Tariff of Abominations. They examine the issues concerning the economies of the North and South prior...
Lesson Plan
1
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C-SPAN

14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
Activity
National Woman's History Museum

Create your own Women’s History Museum

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Celebrate Women's History with a museum display. Divide the class into seven groups and assign each a different historical topic/time period. Each group member researches a different woman of that time period and creates an exhibit that...
Lesson Plan
Teaching for Change

History Detectives: Voting Rights in Mississippi, 1964

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a lesson that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting rights...

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