Crafting Freedom
George Moses Horton: Crafting Virtual Freedom Through Poetry
What is "virtual freedom"? How about "enslaved entrepreneurship"? Class members will learn about these terms and much more as they read the poems and examine the life of George Moses Horton.
Crafting Freedom
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: Lover of Literacy
This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The Black Press
Students examine the history of the black press. In this media awareness lesson, students watch videos and conduct research regarding the history of the black press in America. Students explore media careers as they read provided...
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances
Students research slavery in ancient Rome and compare and contrast it to slavery in the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the differences of slavery in different parts of the country, write a paper to report...
Curated OER
The Amistad Case
Students analyze the Amistad case and how it impacted slavery in the United States. They, in groups, receive a document, answers the focus questions and presents their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains, Rising out of Circumstances
Students research, write, and draw about Roman versus American slavery. In this slavery lesson plan, students look at the Roman portraits of slaves, its influence on Western European art, and compare Roman slavery to American slavery.
Curated OER
Powerful Memories, Powerful Words
Students identify and describe the influence slavery had on Mark Twains writing, and then determine the status of race relations and ethnic differences in contemporary life.
Curated OER
The Middle Passage
Fifth graders explore slavery conditions by viewing a video clip on the Internet. In this slave ship lesson plan, 5th graders discuss the transportation of black men and women from Africa to the United States in the 1700's and how poor...
Curated OER
The Voices of Slavery
Fourth graders recognize and can describe the settlers of Early America. For this American colonies lesson, 4th graders research using primary and secondary sources, Native Americans, Europeans, and African Americans role in the...
Curated OER
Sharing African Culture
Students investigate African American culture by reading aloud an African folk tale and illustrating the tale. They use their illustrations to create a book or a bulletin board that retells the folk tale.
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
University of Virginia
The Songs in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Experience Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in an innovative, musical way. A list of audio links leads class members to spirituals from the novel, such as "Die in the Field," "The Wings in the Morning," and "Blow Ye the Trumpet."
Curated OER
Eighteenth-Century Slave Codes
Students explore slavery by reviewing the written laws intended to keep African Americans subservient. In this U.S. slavery lesson, students analyze a time-line of the history of African Americans. Students discuss the patterns of the...
Curated OER
Bill Robinson: Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles was born just after slavery was abolished and became one of the most beloved entertainers of his time. Explore key vocabulary, the life of an African-American entertainer, and the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on...
Curated OER
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Students create an art project based on "Follow the Drinking Gourd," a song used to guide slaves to freedom during the Civil War. They read a picture book to learn the story of how Harriet Tubman and Peg Leg Joe led slaves to freedom.
Curated OER
Torn From Each Other's Arms
Students explore the transformations that the institution of slavery underwent in the English Colonies. They study the impact of slavery on black families.
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Students develop computer research skills while searching facts about Harriet Tubman. Students learn about ways in which Harriet Tubman's childhood influenced her future. Students learn to use primary documents to learn about the...
Curated OER
Religion in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Students investigate the implications of religious beliefs on the issue of slavery and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Fugitive Slave Narratives
Students analyze the ways slavery shaped social and economic life in the South after 1800, the different economic, cultural, and social characteristics of slavery after 1800, and the ending of the Atlantic slave trade.
Curated OER
Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad
Eleventh graders consider the impact of the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, 11th graders examine primary documents as they conduct independent research to explore the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for...
Curated OER
African-American Art and the Political Dissent during the Harlem Renaissance
Students are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the lesson, by...
Curated OER
Social Studies: The Black West
Students assess the influence of African Americans in the western United States from the sixteenth century to the present. They examine the Black-Spanish heritage, slavery and freedom on the frontier, along with African American...
Curated OER
Who is Robert M. Glass? - Black History Month
Students research the role of African Americans during the each of the United States' wars. In this African American history lesson, students research information and statistics about the role of African Americans in the following wars:...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Political Struggle, 1865-1866
Healing versus justice. The central source of tension following the United States Civil War was between the demands for healing and the demands for justice, the battle between President Andrew Johnson and Congress. A video introduces the...