Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan: The 1856 Election

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the key issue in the election of 1856, they also identify some of the key people invovled in the election. Students discuss the role of propaganda in politics. Also, students discuss the significance of the election of...
Lesson Plan
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Abolition/Social Reform PowerPoint Presentations Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners, in groups, is choose a research topic from a list imbedded in this plan. They are given two class periods to collect and organize information on their topic and create a PowerPoint presentation to give to the class.
Lesson Plan
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John Brown, Then and Now

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders identify some of the ways that the raid at Harper's Ferry influenced the Civil War. They articulate the different ways that people though about John Brown in the 1800's and how his persona may or may not have changed...
Lesson Plan
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A Nation Divided: Why Couldn't They Just Get Along?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine both perspectives of the Civil War as related to the differing economies. In this nation divided lesson plan, 4th graders view primary sources, examine paper money and a political chart, and review recruitment...
Lesson Plan
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My Brother, My Enemy

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Pupils visit the West Virginia Museum, with the goal of creating and publishing a newsletter that demonstrates learning. Students complete vocabulary activities, and are given web site resources to this end. Pupils choose from 5...
Lesson Plan
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Liberty Rhetoric

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What is liberty rhetoric? Examine how people have used it in four different time periods and situations. High schoolers investigate original source documents and compare them with the Declaration of Independence to decide how liberty...
Lesson Plan
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Reconstruction

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the historical period of the Reconstruction and the events that surrounded the abolitionist movement. Students use guided questions to conduct research. Then they complete a venn diagram in order to compare two...
Lesson Plan
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Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students research and discuss the use of the Underground Railroad by fugitive slaves. They debate the actions of abolitionists and slave owners according to the laws of the time, create drawings and write narratives.
Lesson Plan
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Missouri's Early Slave Laws: Missouri's Early Slave Laws:

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars analyze and discuss various documents relating to slavery in Missouri in the 1830's and 1840's. They learn why some records are deemed to be of permanent, historical value to the state.
Lesson Plan
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Backward Lesson

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students view a copy of the painting "Last Moment of John Brown (1884). They discuss the content and composition of the painting. Important questions to be answered during the discussion are included with the lesson. They write an...
Lesson Plan
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Dear Wife and Children Everyone

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the issue of slave vs. free states. They explore the actions and personal commitment of John Brown and write a newspaper article about the Battle of Osawatomie from John Brown's perspective.
Lesson Plan
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Mastering the Document-Based Essay Question

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a primary source document from the Civil War period of history in order to derive meaning for an essay question. The essay is based completely on the document with no other research to support the content.
Lesson Plan
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Effects of African-American Emigration From the Late 1700s-Early 1900s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the pros and cons of the emigration movement and research major groups and people involved in it. They view a multi-media narrative imbedded in this plan, then compose an essay stating their point of view.
Lesson Plan
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I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders "walk a mile" in a person's shoes who had a role in the Underground Railroad and examine the risks and complications of the Underground Railroad.
Lesson Plan
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Slave Narratives

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars use a database to find and read examples of slave narratives. In groups, they read the various narratives and discuss their feelings about them. They also research the time period in which the narratives were written to...
Lesson Plan
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All Aboard: Underground Railroad Knowledge Chart

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research the Underground Railroad. In this Underground Railroad lesson plan, 5th graders start a KWL chart about the Underground Railroad. Students use a map to locate slavery areas and free states. Students view a...
Lesson Plan
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Counting On Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine the poem and artistic masterpiece The Quadroon Girl and use this knowledge to practice mathematical concepts such as: more than, less than, counting, and majority.
Lesson Plan
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Before Rosa Parks: Ida B. Wells

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The contributions of Ida B. Wells to the Civil Rights Movement are the focus of this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers read a handout regarding Wells, discuss the handout, and write about non-conformist behavior.
Lesson Plan
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Lyddie

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.
Lesson Plan
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This Guilty Land

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the time period just before the start of the Civil War. They focus on John Brown, an activist of the day. After a lecture/demo, students use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to further their understanding of the...
Lesson Plan
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John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discover facts about John Brown. In this Harper's Ferry Raid lesson, 4th graders evaluate the lyrics to the song "John Brown's Body", and write a descriptive obituary  about John Brown. Students also view pictures of...
Worksheet
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Daily Language

For Students 6th - 7th
For this Language Arts worksheet, students correct a sentence, circle the adjectives in another sentence, and underline the main verb and circle the helping verb in another. Students also write an essay about how slavery is wrong.
Worksheet
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Reading Comprehension: Frederick Douglass

For Students 4th - 6th
For this history worksheet, students read a one page biography about Frederick Douglass. Students then answer 15 short essay questions about the text.
Worksheet
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Era of Good Feelings

For Students 6th - 8th
In this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the Era of Good Feelings. A short answer question is included as well.