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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Women Before and After the Civil War: Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a map. Learners...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What This Cruel War Was Over: Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Can't travel to Richmond for your Civil War unit? This plan creates an authentic experience, using primary sources and the essential question: Over What Was the Civil War Fought? Historians examine the Appomattox Marker, the site of Gen....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Freed the Slaves During the Civil War?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forty Acres? The Question of Land at the War's End

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Should land be redistributed to former slaves after the Civil War? This essential question guides a lesson on the Reconstruction Era, as learners analyze primary sources (linked), recording responses on a worksheet (linked). To model the...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Center for History and New Media

Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860

For Teachers 4th - 11th Standards
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore primary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans after the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the events of Reconstruction after the Civil War.  In this US History instructional activity, students complete several activities and worksheets that reinforce challenges and social upheaval experienced in the South...
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Lesson Plan
1
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PBS

Civil War: Before the War

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Free the slaves! Scholars research primary documents and videos while working together to create abolitionist posters. They examine the John Brown raid as a template to creating their own demonstration. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Facing the Ghosts of Our Past

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans After the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young historians learn what life was like in the South during the Reconstruction era. They complete hands-on-activities and participate in group discussion to understand how experiences varied between African Americans and white...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Black Soldiers in the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explain how a history of slavery distinguishes American society from other societies. They study posters and documents from different eras in our history which document the practice of slavery, and civil rights violations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Of Human Bondage

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How does the particular point of view in a situation affect the way it is presented? Focusing on perspectives on slavery during the Civil War, middle schoolers use research to write narratives from the points of view of their historical...
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Lesson Plan7:11
Teach With Movies

Learning Guide for: Glory

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Invite your class to learn about the first regular US army unit composed of black soldiers during the Civil War with the film Glory. This website reviews the historical accuracy of the movie, offers pre- and post-viewing handouts, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slavery: Acts of Resistance

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...
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Lesson Plan
1
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K12 Reader

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Causes of the Civil War: Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and Kansas Nebraska Act

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
How did the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act contribute to the growing tensions that led to the Civil war? To better understand the events that led to the Civil War, young historians engage in a...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1861: The Country Goes to War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While the firing on Ft. Sumter may have seemed like a sudden event, the long march to war spanned decades. Using games and a presentation, class members review the events that led up to the fateful April day in 1861 when brother turned...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slavery Bound or Underground

For Teachers 11th
Examine the role of slaves,, slave owners, and abolitionists during the Civil War with a study of the history of the Underground Railroad. Through the many links learners research the people involved and the heroes of the movement....
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Lesson Plan
1
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National Park Service

Lesson 6: Researching Contemporary Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While many believe slavery ended after the American Civil War, it continues today in various forms. Using a WebQuest research project, class members investigate how the institution of slavery lives on in the modern world. Activities also...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

John Brown

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How did the raid on Harper's Ferry contribute to the start of the Civil War? Curated for high school historians, the activity explains John Brown's contribution to the start of the Civil War by using violence to demand an end to slavery....
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Did Southern Free Men of Color Fight for the Ideals of the South?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students determine how President Lincoln promoted emancipation. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents, including the U.S. Constitution, to reconstruct Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and deliver the Emancipation...
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Lesson Plan
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

A Different Perspective on Slavery: Writing the History of African American Enslaved Women

For Teachers 9th - 12th
New ReviewStudents examine the experiences of African-American women during the Civil War. Reading letters and autobiographies, they gain insight into how they dealt with slavery and losing their children. They create a model to evaluate the...

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