Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...

A unit focuses on the Civil War. Second graders follow along with an informational reading about the war—why it started, how it ended, and essential individuals such as Harriet Beecher Stow, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Ulisses, S....

What part did Kentucky play in the Civil War? A constructed response essay assignment tests to ensure scholars understand the concepts and the arguments for the causes of the Civil War. Learners must read a primary source quote and then...

American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...

North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...

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...

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...

Sixth graders play a game.  In this Civil War instructional activity, 6th graders discuss the beginnings of the Civil War and define vocabulary words associated with the war such as abolitionist and Emancipation Proclamation. ...

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...

How have Russian politics affected countries on a global stage? The discussion of the Russian Revolution and World War I begins with an analysis of primary resource letters. Learners finish with a project where they create a timeline of...

The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...

The Civil War, a war that divided a nation. Comparing and contrasting the Confederate and Union soldiers is not always an easy task, but the eighth of 15 resources makes it easy to teach the concepts. Exercises include watching videos in...

Ever wondered why there is a West Virginia but not an East Virginia? The resource answers questions like this one and more as it takes an in-depth and detailed look at the history of West Virginia and how it became a state. Several...

Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...

When is it a moral obligation to disobey the law or to fight back? Using primary sources that document the "Christiana Riot" of 1851, learners consider these questions. The firsthand accounts tell the story of the riot, which happened...

John Brown is considered by many to be a martyr for abolition and civil rights. The resource covers an important event in West Virginian history, the raid by John Brown, as a standalone that discusses Brown's last words and his reaction...

The stories of enslaved people are preserved forever thanks to the Great Depression. Budding historians explore slave narratives gathered by a federal government initiative to discover what life was actually like for enslaved people....

How much can opinion influence a news story? A standalone resource discusses the importance of John Brown's Raid through the lens of journalism. Learners analyze two different texts, one from the perspective of the North and the other of...

High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...

Invite your learners to take a close look at Abraham Lincoln's presidency through analysis worksheets of several images and primary documents, presented on an educational poster entirely dedicated to this great United States...

Did he die for a cause, or was he crazy? Although the resource discusses John Brown and West Virginia history, many historical figures have the same reputation. Teach learners about different perspectives and highlight the importance of...

Patriots versus Loyalists, a huge divide during the Revolutionary War in what would become the United States of America. An informative resource includes both direct instruction about the two groups and a quiz pupils take after reading...

Eleventh graders examine the major events and inventions that changed American families and communities.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze various documents dealing with the changes.  Students create a project on...

Scholars write letters as if they were someone who heard the story of John Brown's raid. The resource, a standalone, covers information from primary sources that is important to West Virginian history: the Harpers Ferry Letters.