What did you have for dinner last night? Many scholars ask that question without considering the history behind the foods they eat. Using a simulation, scholars investigate how the foods they eat are the product of the Columbian...

Fourth graders investigate the role of African American slaves in rice plantations. In this slave life lesson, 4th graders discuss the products produced in the 13 colonies. Students discuss the importance of rice to South Carolina's...

Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this South Carolina history lesson plan, 8th graders examine sources that require them to examine the life of William Ellison, a black slave...

Fifth graders evaluate how the characteristics of Arkansas' regions affect the slave population.

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...

Students examine the hunting and farming practices of the Black Pioneer. They identify crops raised by black pioneers, and explore the contribution of children to the success of the family farm. Students explore the importance of...

Eighth graders become aware of the various aspects of daily activities in the lives of Arkansas slaves. They write answers to questions and prepare a transparency to share with the class that illustrates the topic being researched.

Tobacco as money? Middle schoolers investigate how eighteenth-century Virginia farmers used tobacco as a cash crop to buy tools, livestock, and household goods. They also examine the connection between tobacco production and the slave...

Students explore the impact of cotton. In this economics lesson, students listen to a lecture presented by their instructor on the Southern crop of cotton and its impact on the South prior to and following the Civil War. Students...

Students examine the origins of rice production in the South. They identify the steps involved in rice cultivation, examine photos of plantation life, conduct interviews, and research the economic base of their own community.

Eighth graders investigate the physical geography of South Carolina to explore how it was suited for growing rice. They examine how slave labor contributed to a plantations success and compare Gullah culture from now to the past.

Fifth graders read about the cotton industry in America and demonstrate the roll of slaves picking and removing seeds from a boll of cotton. The relationship between slaves and cotton production is established.

Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...

Eighth graders examine the impact of Reconstruction on South Carolina. In this Reconstruction instructional activity, 8th graders use primary documents to research sharecropping and freedman's contracts in the agricultural South...

Use this cross-curricular history lesson to work on your students' informational writing skills. After listening to songs and stories related to Sultana, they engage in a several activities to boost their understanding of slavery and...

For this online interactive U.S. history worksheet, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about 19th century America. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.

The reading passage here uses the example of the American colonies to introduce imports and exports. After reading the text, class members respond to five questions, which require pupils to find facts in the text and form opinions...

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...

In this social studies worksheet, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about World War II, the transcontinental railroad, slavery, and more. Students complete 25 questions.

Students explore why the Americas attracted Europeans, why they brought enslaved Africans to their colonies, and how Europeans struggled for control of North American and the Caribbean.

Eleventh graders investigate the significance of the Kensington Mansion. In this South Carolina history activity, 11th graders take field trips to the mansion and research primary and secondary sources about plantations, sharecropping,...

Third graders explore, examine and identify the importance of the arrival of Africans and women to the Jamestown settlement. They review the groups of people in Virginia during the early 1600s and explain how having a government brought...

This very interesting map shows the crops grown by slaves on plantations in pre-Civil War South.

A brief look at how slavery in America was tied to the crops grown in the South. See how the need for skilled workers was decreased and the use of unskilled slaves increased with the introduction of the cotton gin.