Curated OER
King Cotton
Fifth graders examine the manufacturing of cotton. In this cotton and slavery lesson, 5th graders review background information about cotton and slavery. Students examine a real cotton ball and discuss why it was painful to pick....
Scholastic
Thomas Jefferson and Monticello: An Introduction to Writing Historical Fiction
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...
Curated OER
Historical Background of Nightjohn Lesson Plan
Eighth graders use first-hand slave narratives that show conditions of slavery. They paste text into Appleworks and publish with a picture clipped from web sites. They create a group account of life during slavery to prepare for reading...
Curated OER
Learning About Life as a Slave
Learners explore the history of slavery. In this slavery lesson, students take a closer look at slavery in the Americas and the abolitionist movement as they visit the suggested museums and their websites.
Curated OER
Lincoln 2.0
Students investigate the Presidential history of Abraham Lincoln by completing a multimedia project. In this U.S. politics lesson, students examine the image of Lincoln on a penny and work in groups to research Lincoln's life using the...
Curated OER
Ride the Road to Freedom
Second graders discover that people can connect the dots of the stars to make pictures in the sky and have been doing so for thousands of years. They understand that throughout the United States people worked together to plan an escape...
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad
Students examine slavery and the civil war by creating a research project. In this underground railroad instructional activity, students create a KWL chart and decide on one of several creative projects they will complete about slavery....
Curated OER
Problems with our Food System: Hunger
Students understand that hunger causes many deaths a year and many children are trapped as slaves through watching a video. In this hunger and child slavery lesson, students write letters to call attention to the problems of hunger and...
Annenberg Foundation
Social Realism
Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Whether new to teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or an experienced pro, you’ll find useful resources in this teacher’s guide. The 40-page packet includes background information, historical context, an annotated list of...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Political Struggle, 1865-1866
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...
Curated OER
Henry's Freedom Box
Third graders create a shipping box from a cardboard material. In this measuring lesson plan, 3rd graders read the book Henry's Freedom Box and discuss the main idea. In the story a slave ships himself to freedom and the students measure...
Curated OER
Underground Railroad
Students explore the Underground Railroad. In this U.S. history and technology lesson, students research an assigned topic related to the Underground Railroad, such as "abolitionist," "conductor," or "station houses." Students design a...
Curated OER
Development of the English Colonies
Students research one of the original 13 colonies using the included worksheet. They also record their findings on a poster board to use during a class presentation. Students then take notes on the presentations using the provided...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: Science and Technology II
All revolutions in science and technology have both pros and cons. Kids examine the advent of the green revolution, nuclear growth, use, and the countries that are considered nuclear powers. They'll construct three responses to each of...
K12 Reader
Context Clues: The Meaning Is There!
Learning how to use context clues is helpful for both reading comprehension skills and to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words. As they read ten sentences with underlined words, learners choose the most...
Curated OER
The Literature of Upheaval
In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.
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...
Curated OER
Follow the Drinking Gourd: Creative Writing
Students 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...
Curated OER
Uniform Design
Learners investigate the military by examining their uniforms. In this design lesson, students analyze the military uniforms from different locations and time periods. Learners create new ideas for current military uniforms.
Curated OER
Library of Congress Learning Page: The Historian's Sources Lesson Overview
Students study techniques for analyzing primary sources. Finally, students apply these techniques to analyze documents about slavery in the United States.
NPR
This Isn't Right: A History of Women in Industry
Women were in the workplace long before Rosie the Riveter pushed up her sleeve. Learn about the working options available to women during the Industrial Revolution, the Progressive Era, and the Great Depression with a lesson that prompts...
Curated OER
When in Greece, Do as the Greeks Do
Students examine the contributions of ancient Greeks in this five lesson unit. The explorations reveal how Greece shaped our stories, our modern language, and our society. The study of the Greek myth forms the basis of this unit.