Unit Plan
Washington University in St. Louis

Teaching Jazz as American Culture

For Students 6th - 12th
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Speech

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Most Americans have heard of the Gettysburg Address, but may not know what it means and why is it so important. Following guidance and scaffolded prompts, scholars analyze the short document that left an undeniable impact on the American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Election of 1864

For Teachers 9th - 12th
An interesting lesson plan uses a hands-on-activity and group discussion to explore the 1864 presidential election and Lincoln's plans for ending the Civil War. Designed for high school, the resource also requires historians to...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1862: Antietam and Emancipation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Was the Emancipation Proclamation a revolutionary document or just a military strategy? It proclaimed that all those enslaved in Confederate states would be "forever free." Logistically, though, it did little. The order, however,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abolitionists and Their Impact on Sectionalism

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History in Literature - The House of Dies Drear

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Hook your learners with a great project. They research the underground railroad and civil rights movement through literature, view the video The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery, and read the book House of Dies Drear in...
Worksheet
Charlesbridge

Under the Freedom Tree: A Readers Theater

For Students 4th - 6th
Susan VanHecke's Under the Freedom Tree is transformed into a 12-part readers theatre script appropriate for a performance by upper-elementary classes.
Lesson Plan
City University of New York

The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...
AP Test Prep
College Board

2017 AP® United States History Free-Response Questions

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Were unfair taxes really the cause of the American Revolution? Learners explore the complicated historiography behind the revolutionary period using authentic College Board prompts. The free-response questions from the exam feature...
Primary
Cornell College

Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court Decision

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freedom and Dignity Project

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore slavery and the civil war. In groups, 11th graders discuss and slavery and identify reasons for its beginning. In groups, they role-play a character for a talk show. Students determine what slavery was like in...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Freedmen's Bureau: Success or Failure?

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
What is freedom? The United States grappled with the question at the end of the Civil War after four million enslaved people were freed. Using circulars and images from the Reconstruction period, individuals examine how successful the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freedmen's Bureau

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine the African American experience after they received their freedom after the Civil War. They complete a Mind Map, read and analyze a poem, and write a paragraph using key vocabulary words. They analyze the impact of the...
Interactive
Curated OER

Robert E. Lee Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 10 multiple choice questions about Robert E. Lee. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

2010 History Under Siege Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War activity, students respond to 10 multiple choice questions about endangered Civil War battlegrounds. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

Shiloh Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about the Battle of Shiloh. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

Gettysburg - Longstreet's Attack Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 14 multiple choice questions about the Longstreet's attack at Gettysburg. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

Antietam Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 14 multiple choice questions about the Battle of Antietam. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

John Brown's Raid Student Quiz

For Students 5th - 8th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 10 multiple choice questions about John Brown's Raid. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

Fredericksburg Quiz

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about the Battle of Fredricksburg. Students may check their answers immediately.
Interactive
Curated OER

Battle of Franklin Quiz

For Students 7th - 12th
In this online interactive Civil War instructional activity, students respond to 12 multiple choice questions about the Battle of Franklin. Students may check their answers immediately.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Preservation of Civil War Battlefields

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the importance of battlefield preservation.  In this US History instructional activity, 8th graders participate in a virtual tour of battle sites.  Students create a map of Gettysburg to see the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African-American Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students utilize an online database to conduct research and analyze the conditions for African-Americans before and after World War I. They consider the role of the 92nd and 93rd divisions in affecting social change.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.