Curated OER
Civil War Prison Camps
Fourth graders work with a partner to create a puppet show that demonstrates the condition of the prisoners in Andersonville, Georgia during the Civil War.
University of California
The Civil War: Emancipation
Investigate and analyze Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation using primary and secondary sources. The sixth installment of an eight-part series analyzes the meaning of Lincoln's document in relation to its impact on the Civil War.Â
Curated OER
Black Kentuckians and the Civil War
Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Curated OER
The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource launches a...
Curated OER
What price Freedom! Civil War and Reconstruction
Fifth graders become familiar with the events of Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In this reconstruction lesson, 5th graders work in pairs where each student  creates a building with blocks and draws it. Their...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments And Gay Marriage
Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reconstruction
When slavery ended, what did the government do to help African American during Reconstruction? An interesting instructional activity uses primary sources such as newspaper articles to help scholars analyze Reconstruction policies and how...
Curated OER
A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Students study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson plan, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and...
Curated OER
The Complexities of Reconstruction
Fourth graders critically analyze the social, economic, and political impact of the Federalization of the South. They develop a PowerPoint presentation relative to the Post Civil War South.
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
Middle Tennessee State University
Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Curated OER
Reconstruction to Civil Rights
Eighth graders complete a unit of lessons on the period of time from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights movement. They analyze and interpret political cartoons and editorials, conduct research on famous civil rights places, and complete...
Curated OER
In the Courts
Students explore desegregation in the courts. In this civil rights lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Supreme Court cases Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson. Students examine the cases and...
Curated OER
Segregated America
Students investigate Jim Crow laws. In this segregation lesson, students analyze images that display American segregation. Students use the provided questions to aid them in their evaluation of the images.
Curated OER
Fugitive from Labor Cases: Henry Garnett (1850) and Moses Honner (1860)
Young scholars engage in the comparison of cases which demonstrate the increasingly volatile political crisis in the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and the necessity for the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to...
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: Science and Technology II
All revolutions in science and technology have both pros and cons. Kids examine the advent of the green revolution, nuclear growth, use, and the countries that are considered nuclear powers. They'll construct three responses to each of...
Curated OER
Reparations for Slavery
Students analyze slavery reparations. In this American history lesson plan, students examine the pros and cons of paying reparations for slavery and participate in a discussion.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reward: Valuable Slaves
To gain insight into the American institution of slavery and how African Americans were viewed during this time, groups examine run-away slave ads and slave auction broadsides. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their impressions...
Curated OER
With malice toward none, with charity for all: The life of Abraham Lincoln
Students research Abraham Lincoln in a variety of ways. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson plan, students use primary sources, vocabulary activities, books, and more to research and learn about Abraham Lincoln.
Curated OER
Lesson 8: After Slavery: Stowe's Vision
Eighth graders read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Curated OER
Songs of Unrest - Lesson 4
Pupils identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.