Students 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...

A two-part instructional activity introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

Students examine the contributions of African American soldiers during the Civil War. In pairs, they complete Civil War timeline worksheets. They use character cards to assume the identities of African Americans and determine whether or...

Young scholars develop debating and analytical thinking skills. They take a position in the Back-to-Africa discussion, based upon any readings and the two opposing essays they read. In groups, they discuss an issue from two different...

Students examine the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. Using primary sources, they analyze the material and formulate their own opinions about the past. They write journal entries to share their opinions on photographs from the...

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

Fifth graders examine the roots of African American pride and accomplishments. Individually, they are assigned an African country for them to research. In groups, they discover the life and works of Frederick Douglass, Booker T....

Sixth graders explore the push/pull factors that influenced the South to North migration.  In this African-American migration lesson, 6th graders read an article and answer comprehension questions. Students write a letter to the...

Students discuss the misrepresentations of African Americans in the United States. In groups, they examine the life and accomplishments of William Lanson and the importance of extending the Long Wharf. Together, they pretend they lived...

Travel back in time to the Stono Rebellion. Young historians research historical figures who played a role in African Americans' fight to escape slavery. Scholars research material, complete handouts, participate in group discussion, and...

Students explain the variety in ethnic origins of enslaved Africans brought to the United States. They use the data in the narrative to create charts, either by hand or by using Excel or a similar database program.

Learners read a portion of the narrative, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, to explain the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans brought to the US. They create charts and bar graphs comparing ethnicities in the lowlands and tidewater regions.

Students analyze how slavery shaped social and economic life in the South. They study methods of passive and active resistance to slavery, and the similarities and differences between African-American and white abolitionists.

Students research data on African-American emigration, place the data in a chart and create a human movement map. They also create another map using research on current immigration information.

Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.

Eleventh graders explore primary and secondary sources involving "everyday life" of individuals living in Deerfield at the four turns of the centuries. They learn what these characteristics reveal since the town's beginning as an English...

Third graders compare how the lives of African American slave children differed from children's lives today.  In this analysis of slavery lesson, 3rd graders evaluate and discuss the conditions of slavery in collaborative groups....

Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history lesson, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a reading...

Fourth graders explore African American contributions to New York City. In this antebellum New York lesson, 4th graders research the accomplishments of Thomas Downing. Students explore primary and secondary sources about Downing's oyster...

Students research the history of Immigration.  In this World History activity, students explore European immigration then specifically focus on ways African Immigration was different.  Students then divide into small groups and...

Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...

Students examine why fugitive slaves migrated to cities and towns rather than rural areas. In this lesson, students consider the social, economic, and political benefits provided by cities and towns in comparison to rural areas.

Students explore the means of transportation available in the 19th century and its role as both facilitator and enabler of the westward expansion. They create a project board illustrating their findings.