Curated OER
Gullah Contributions to South Carolina History
Students research the Gullah people and their impact on South Carolina. In this South Carolina history lesson plan, students study, locate, and color the region of Africa the Gullah people came from. Students listen to Gullah music and...
Curated OER
The Gullah People of the Sea Islands
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States. Students...
Curated OER
Reliving History Through Slave Narratives
Students read slave narratives and retell the stories to the class, identifying sensory details. In this slavery lesson, students discuss the importance of sensory details, then read the slave narratives looking for specific examples. ...
Curated OER
Abolishing Slavery
Students explain the goals and methods of the abolitionist movement.
They identify key leaders in the movement. This activity has adaptations for elementary through high school. Links are provided for resource readings.
Curated OER
Fredrick Douglass...A Digital History
Seventh graders research the life of Fredrick Douglass. In this Fredrick Douglass lesson plan, 7th graders read about his life and discuss it. They write poetry describing his experience as a slave and create their own monument for...
Curated OER
Looking Back at Pre-Civil War Slavery
Eighth graders explain the nature of slavery, the impact of slavery on African-Americans, and how slavery intensified the conflict between the North and South that eventually led to a major cause of the Civil War.
Curated OER
Through Their Eyes: Perspectives on Slavery
Pupils examine different perspectives of slavery. They write a personal account of slavery as a slave trader, a plantation owner, and fugitives and working slaves. They role-play these roles for the class.
Curated OER
A House Divided: Slavery in the United States
Students explore the history of the United States and slavery. In this slavery lesson plan, students view primary sources, complete journal writing, view videos, and answer short answer questions.
Curated OER
Slavery in the United States
Learners investigate the personal accounts of slaves in the United States. They participate in various activities according to grade level to examine the role of slavery in the South.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Slave Narratives: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and the Columbian Orator
Young historians practice in-depth, quality analysis of primary source texts in this three-lesson unit, which examines excerpts from the slave narratives of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Caleb...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
North is to factory as South is to plantation—the perfect analogy for the economy that set up the Civil War! The first lesson in a series of five helps teach beginners why the economy creates a driving force for conflict. Analysis of...
C3 Teachers
Black Genius: How Did Black Genius Help Build American Democracy?
"How did the slavery system undermine the United States' democratic principles?" This question launches a study of how the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and Article IV,...
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
What Was Everyday Life like in Colonial Virginia?
What was everyday life like in Colonial Virginia? To find the answer cooperative groups work collaboratively to read an informational handout and complete a graphic organizer. The speaker of the group then shares their new-found...
Curated OER
Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois: The Problem of Negro Leadership
Students focus on the problem of African American leadership throughout American history. In groups, they research the life and works of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois and how they worked to promote the need for African American...
National Endowment for the Humanities
People and Places in the North and South
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...
Curated OER
Slavery in Virginia
Fourth graders assess primary sources to analyze the effects plantation life and slavery had on Colonial Virginia. They study the issues of slavery, rural life, movements, colonization and revolution. Each student makes predictions,...
Curated OER
Virginia History Mini Quiz: Tobacco and Slavery
In this history of Virginia worksheet, students complete a quiz over the tobacco and slave industry that existed in the Virginia colony. Their objective is to illustrate the facts they know about cash crops, tobacco plantations, and...
Curated OER
African American Community and Culture
Eighth graders explore the community of enslaved African Americans. In this American History lesson, 8th graders evaluate the importance of cultural expression in the black community. Students study the contributions made by...
Curated OER
Prince Hall and His Organization of Black Free Masons in the United States
Learners examine the life of Prince Hall who became a member of the Free Masons during the time period of slavery. Depending on the grade level, they are shown pictures or read a reference guide listing the characteristics of each...
Scholastic
Harriet Tubman Follow the North Star
Honor Black History Month with a spotlight feature on Harriet Tubman. After learning about the path the Underground Railroad followed, scholars imagine themselves on it, and share their experience and feelings through writing.
Curated OER
U.S. History Worksheet #73
Explore how the 14th Amendment changed the way the United States operated, both politicallay and socially. For this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank...
Curated OER
Where Blues And Jazz Started
In this music history worksheet, students will read five paragraphs about the history of blues and jazz music and respond to 10 short answer questions.
Center for History Education
Fighting for Whose Freedom? Black Soldiers in the American Revolution
Fight for freedom! The lesson delves into the world of African American soldiers during the American Revolution. Scholars read documents, such as the Dunmore Proclamation, to understand how the British government treated African...