Read Booker T. Washington's inspiring story about arriving at his name with a short reading passage from his autobiography, Up From Slavery. After class members read the excerpt, they answer two reading comprehension...

Booker T. Washington was often criticized by W.E.B. Dubois and other African American leaders for his conciliatory approach to civil rights and education voiced in his autobiography Up From Slavery.  This teacher's guide not only...

How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

Students read "Slavery's Past, Paved Over or Forgotten" from The New York Times and discuss as a class. This activity is the introduction for researching a topic on the history of slavery in the U.S. Student groups present their...

High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery instructional activity, high schoolers investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution,...

A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...

Students discuss the societal roots of music from times of slavery and black spirituals, and compare it to the emergence of Rap and Hip Hop music.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...

Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Last Day of Slavery. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer...

Sometimes it takes a work of fiction to demonstrate nonfictional tragedies and events. George, an escaped slave, describes to Mr. Wilson the hardships of his life in a short passage from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle...

Students analyze primary sources on slavery from Kansas Territory. In this Civil War lesson, students evaluate the antislavery and pro-slavery arguments and summarize key points. Students write a persuasive paper from the antislavery...

Middle schoolers read one of the most important documents in our nation's history: The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. After everyone reads the proclamation, they set out to write a "You Were There" type of report on it. They pretend...

Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...

Students explore farming, slavery and cacoa farming. In this agricultural science lesson, students fill out KWL charts, create PowerPoints and do internet research. Students write letters to chocolate companies requesting them not...

Students investigate the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, students read books about slavery, the Undeground Railroad, and how slaves escaped the south. Students develop knowledge about coded songs and constellations that...

Students analyze the Amistad case and how it impacted slavery in the United States. They, in groups, receive a document, answers the focus questions and presents their findings to the class.

Third graders create a shipping box from a cardboard material. In this measuring lesson, 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 and...

Students develop computer research skills while searching facts about Harriet Tubman. Students learn about ways in which Harriet Tubman's childhood influenced her future. Students learn to use primary documents to learn about the...

Introduce your high schoolers to one of the most important pieces of American literature with a reading comprehension lesson. As class members read a short passage from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, they learn...

Take a moment in your language or social studies class to review key terms and details from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. A quick crossword puzzle allows learners to check understanding before a larger unit, test, or...

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

Groups of learners get together and are given copies of the state quarter reverses from the 2002 US Mint issue. Each pupil makes up a story that's based on the scene that appears on the reverse side of the quarter. The goal is for all...

Fifth graders read a book about independence, freedom, and slavery. Students create a story map of the book. They research the causes of the Civil War. Students write a newspaper article from the point of view of an American colonist.

Students write fictional stories about the search for a runaway slave. Their tales are based on the search by William Harris from South Carolina for his slave, George, in Detroit. Students include the answers to teacher-provided...