Curated OER
About Abraham Lincoln
Fifth graders complete a unit of lessons on the life of Abraham Lincoln. They read and analyze a poem, create a timeline, write an essay, research The Gettysburg Address and The Emancipation Proclamation, explore websites, and interview...
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Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use internet cites to explore the Underground Railroad. They also learn the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Focus questions are included.
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Follow the Drinking Gourd: Creative Writing
Learners conduct Internet research to identify the conflicts and positions of slaves, slaveholders, and members of the Underground Railroad network in the time preceding the Civil War. Students write an essay about their findings written...
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Slave Narratives
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...
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Lincoln 2.0
Students investigate the Presidential history of Abraham Lincoln by completing a multimedia project. In this U.S. politics lesson plan, students examine the image of Lincoln on a penny and work in groups to research Lincoln's life...
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Comprehension Questions for Stitching Stars
In this comprehension questions for Stitching Stars worksheet, students answer 30 comprehension questions after reading the book about quilts made by slaves in the 17-19th centuries.
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In Their Own Words: Slave Narratives
Students identify primary sources, explain the strengths and weaknesses of personal accounts in history, and negotiate the Library of Congress Database. They also analyze documents and write a summary that compares and contrasts the...
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Early Colonial Labor Force: Indentured Servants and Slaves
Students study the labor force used during Colonial America. In this Colonial America lesson, students discuss labor types used in the colonies. Students read about indentured servants and the use of African slaves. Students...
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Mapping the Many Underground Railroads
High schoolers plot the migration route of one of the runaway slaves named in a narrative and add it to a map of the United States in 1850. This is an excellent lesson on the Underground Railroad!
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Runaway Journeys Migration
Students use the Runaway Journeys site maps and image resources in rounding out their study of the slave migration. They access an excellent multi-media narrative imbedded in this plan.
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The Slave Trade: Capture and Middle Passage
For this slave trade worksheet, students complete a chart about the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings people felt during the middle passage in the slave trade.
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Steps to Freedom
Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history instructional activity, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a...
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Daily Life in Virginia
Students explore colonization in North America. In this United States history lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about indentured servants and slave labor, then construct a related Venn diagram. Students answer...
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The Family That Endured An Historical View of African-American Families As Seen Through American Literature and Art
Learners identify racial stereotypes in advertisements from the past and survey their sources and implications. They compare advertisements from the past with those of today using similar approaches and create an original advertisement...
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Kansas State Quarter
In this online interactive Kansas quarter worksheet, students examine a Kansas quarter picture and answer 4 questions regarding it. This worksheet may be printed for classroom use.
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Ohio State Quarter Printable
In this online interactive Ohio quarter worksheet, students examine an Ohio quarter picture and answer 4 questions regarding it. This worksheet may be printed for classroom use.
Library of Congress
The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment
How did the Emancipation Proclamation lead to the Thirteenth Amendment? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents including the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, political cartoons, photographs, and prints to understand...
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Special Traits: Alabama quarter reverse
Who knew a state quarter could say so much? Alabama's quarter is embossed with an image of Helen Keller, pupils will use this image to think about what the phrase "Spirit of courage" means. They will use a graphic organizer to...
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Distinguished Discoveries: Florida quarter reverse
Florida's state quarter has an image of a space shuttle and a Spanish Galleon on its reverse side. Pupils will examine the state quarter and think about how the Spanish explorers and Space explorers are the same and different. The class...
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Sing for Your State: Tennessee quarter reverse
What's the connection between singing and a state quarter? Creative thinking and observation, perhaps. Pupils will observe and take note of all the characteristics found on the Tennessee state quarter. They will then use their...
Crafting Freedom
Man in the Middle: Thomas Day and the Free Black Experience
How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...
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Nightjohn: K-W-H-L Strategy
Prior to reading Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen, present your class with a KWHL. Although the actual chart isn't included here, you can easily find or create one on your own. Give your class a specific topic and start by brainstorming...
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Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...