Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...

Young historians learn about abolitionists, The Civil War, Frederick Douglas, and so many more details about slavery in this highly engaging presentation. Teachers could use this as a whole class review and discussion tool.

High schoolers view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.

While examining slavery's impact on women, historians compare and contrast the perspectives of a plantation mistress and an enslaved woman, both reflecting on the system of forced prostitution. Text analysis and written responses create...

Students research the Internet, read designated books and selection, participate in discussions and write short reports while completing this series of lessons about slavery and the Underground Railroad. As a final project, they design a...

Briefly introduce your class to Juan Francisco Manzano before jumping into his writings. There are excerpts provided here from both his early life as well as his later years. After reading, you have your choice of extension activities...

How did slavery mold the creation of the US Constitution? The final activity in the series focuses on how slavery impacted the creation of the Electoral College. Academics learn how the Electoral College was created because Southern...

Practice analyzing primary sources in a thought-provoking lesson on the impact of slavery. Young historians read a petition regarding the Fugitive Slave Law and answer a series of questions to understand the importance of the document....

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...

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...

Read Booker T. Washington's inspiring story about arriving at his name with a short reading passage from his autobiography, Up From Slavery. After class members read the excerpt, they answer two reading comprehension questions about the...

Students examine attitudes of children from the North growing up during the time of slavery. Using documents, they discover how abolitionists tried to change people's ideas of using slaves. They explore how women used antislavery fairs...

Middle schoolers examine the St. John slave revolt of 1733. In this slavery and apartheid lesson, students view the DVD "Slavery, Society, and Apartheid." Middle schoolers respond to discussion questions regarding the content of the DVD...

While many believe slavery ended after the American Civil War, it continues today in various forms. Using a WebQuest research project, class members investigate how the institution of slavery lives on in the modern world. Activities also...

The lesson focuses on slavery in the ancient world and asks academics to decide if it was always about race. Scholars view primary sources, participate in a short discussion, and complete a worksheet to understand how slavery in the...

Harriet Tubman saved hundreds from slavery through what was called the Underground Railroad. Teach learners about her amazing accomplishments through the article that uses effective direct instruction. After reading, scholars break into...

Students critique actions based on information from both sides of the argument. They analyze impact of slavery on both sides. Students recognize governmental attempts at pacifying the situation. They examine sources and critique them and...

The unseemly world of American slavery is on display in these slides, which include informational images about slavery in the South. From maps about cotton production to graphs about slave-owning families, these images will make a...

Use the power of primary sources to help young historians understand the conditions Africans endured while being shipped during the slave trade. After reading an excerpt from Eyewitness Accounts of Slavery in the Danish West Indies,...

High schoolers examine the political alternatives regarding the spread of slavery and the preservation of the American union facing the American people in the decade leading up to the 1860 presidential election.

Students explore the wide-ranging debate over American slavery and the lives of its leading opponents and defenders and the views they held about America's "peculiar institution."

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...

As pupils match information to photographs, a document is revealed—the Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment. Scholars read about some of the people who worked to end slavery, then list each person and at least one way that...

Young historians learn how to make generalizations based on primary sources in a lesson that uses the autobiographies of two women born into slavery. The class watches a historical re-enactment of scenes from the lives of Harriet Jacobs...