Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America responds to Dred Scott

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the reactions Americans had to the Dred Scott decision.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders read editorials from newspapers.  Students analyze these editorials and audio tapes from that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The African Slave Trade

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students share their feelings about the enslavement of Africans as they write journal entries discussing their role play activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amistad

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explain the predicament of the slaves on the Amistad and the conditions that led them to revolt against their captors. After watching the movie 'Amistad,' students engage in a class discussion based on what they saw.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Guilty Land

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read and discuss several informational cards about John Brown, the historical context he lived in and his abolitionist cause. They complete a character chart and write an epitaph that conveys their opinion of his actions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman: Recognizing the Human Agency

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the contributions of Harriet Tubman to the history of Canada. They read a handout, complete a handout in small groups, and write a speech evaluating how Harriet Tubman changed history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Longfellow Meets German Radical Poet Ferdinand Freiligrath

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students, after researching the backgrounds to both Longfellow and Freiligrath, examine and analyze selected works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow via his association with the German radical Ferdinand Freiligrath. They discuss and draw...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Riding the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Young historians explore the underground railroad and life as a slave during the Civil War. After internet research, they discuss the hazards of travel as a slave and the benefits of freedom. Individually, students write a short story...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Amistad Case: A Mock Trial

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners hold a mock trial. In this Amistad case instructional activity, students prepare for and participate in a mock trial regarding the Amistad case and determine the fate of the Africans recovered on the ship.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Community and Culture

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the community of enslaved African Americans.  For this American History lesson, 8th graders evaluate the importance of cultural expression in the black community.  Students study the contributions made by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Resistance and Self-Determination

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine a person's education and their ability to be independent and to resist oppression.  In this American History lesson, 4th graders study the ideas of James McCune Smith. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Southerner’s Reaction to the Republicans

For Teachers 8th - 12th
In this Civil War worksheet, learners write a letter to the editor of a local Southern newspaper in 1960. The letter should feature Republican platform statements regarding the issue of secession.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fugitive from Labor Cases:

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the cases of Henry Garnett and Moses Honner, both of the 1850s. Students analyze the political climate building up to the Civil War through the lens of these similar cases with different outcomes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literacy & Art: The Story behind the Quilt

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the many ways quilts were used to chronicle the history and experiences of African slaves and African-Americans in America. They analyze a story quilt using the elements of storytelling, then create a class quilt.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Counting the Miles To Freedom

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research Harriet Tubman via an Underground Railroad website in cooperative groups. They identify Tubman's first route to freedom and organize information gleaned from the research in a visual display (created in KidPix.)
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frederick Douglass: This is Your Life; The Abolitionist

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the abolitionist movement in antebellum America.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

150 Years of Abolition in Pennsylvania

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study the struggle for abolition in Pennsylvania starting with the Quakers first protest through the burning of Pennsylvania Hall. They conduct research using primary source documents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students discuss Huck Finn's decision about whether or not to turn Jim in to the authorities. In this language arts lesson, students are reading Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. After reading chapter 31, students discuss the conflict Huck...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Runaway Slaves

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine struggles for freedom. In this Underground Railroad lesson, students listen to "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Freedom" to lead them into a discussion regarding freedoms . Students watch the video "The Freedom...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Community and Culture

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore areas of concern to the African American community in the 1820's.  In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders examine how the establishment of the nations first African American newspaper...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eli Thayer and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners determine how states were identified as slave states or free states. For this Kansas-Nebraska Act lesson, students explore the work of Eli Thayer as well as the work of Thayer's supporters in Massachusetts.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Life of a Slave

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore importance of abolitionists who worked to advance freedoms of black Americans prior to/during Reconstruction era, read and identify key concepts in Frederick Douglass's narrative, recognize how Douglass's slave...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Rebellion quiz

For Students 3rd - 4th
In this slaves worksheet, students answer multiple choice and short answer questions about slaves and the history of slavery. Students complete 8 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Causes of the Civil War: Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and Kansas Nebraska Act

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
How did the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act contribute to the growing tensions that led to the Civil war? To better understand the events that led to the Civil War, young historians engage in a...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society Document Worksheet

For Students 9th - 12th
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students respond to 11 short answer questions that require them to analyze the included report.

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