Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...
Curated OER
Introduction to Reform Movements of the 1800s
Eleventh graders consider the impact of reform movements of the 19th century. In this Progressive Reform lesson, 11th graders examine documents and images associated with women's suffrage, prohibition, and labor reform. Students respond...
Curated OER
Reforms of the Mid-1800's
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the reform movements of the mid-1800's in the U.S. They participate in an Internet scavenger hunt, analyze primary source documents, and develop and perform a simulation of a mid-19th century...
Curated OER
Women's Rights and Reform
Young scholars evaluate primary source documents. They assess the development of women's rights in the United States. They identify other rights beside suffrage that were important to famous women reformers.
Curated OER
Victorian America: Reflections of Life in Death
Learners, after viewing a video and researching the changes in society during the Victorian period, assess a prediction-confirmation guide to consider how changes in burial customs in the late 1800's reflect the changes in society as a...
Curated OER
Reformers
Students research reform efforts during the 1800's, primarily those leading up to the Civil War. They complete several lessons that investigate the life of Sojourner Truth and her contributions to the abolitionist movement and women's...
Curated OER
Urban Growth in America
Students examine urban growth in America. For this urbanization lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "Urban Growth in America." Students conduct further research pertaining to the industrial revolution, New York City's...
Curated OER
Ballots, Bloomers and Boycotts
Students compare a controversial issue or policy in need of reform in their classroom to the suffrage movement of the 1800's. They research important figures in the suffrage movement, produce written pieces and complete worksheets.
Curated OER
Anti-Railroad Propaganda Poster -- The Growth of Regionalism, 1800 - 1860
High schoolers research the anti-railroad movement of the mid-19th century. They review propaganda from the period and consider various points of view. They develop role-plays and write essays using their research.
Curated OER
Exposes in Different Eras: The Work of Dorothea Dix and Burton Blatt
Students discover that Dorothea Dix was the first to make the pubic aware of the terrible living conditions of people with mental illness in the 1800's. They evaluate the influence of citizen action on public policy.
Curated OER
The Progressive Era
Eighth graders utilize the SOAP method to analyze a work of art and relate it to what they know about the Progressive Era and the reasons why cities changed and the ways in which cities changed during the end of the 19th century. They...
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
Pioneer Perspectives-Diverse Opinions on Westward Migration
Students examine the Westward Migration and expansion of the United States from the perspective of a family migrating westward. They analyze pictures, and in small groups write and present a script based on a photograph, expressing the...
Curated OER
Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause
Students explore the suffragist, Susan B. Anthony, documents her life and era with photographs, illustrations, and interviews. It demonstates how this feminist leader simultaneously influenced events and was shaped by external forces.