Imagine the task of designing a national memorial for a former slave, orator, editor, and abolitionist! Scholars research and analyze the impact of the life of Frederick Douglass. Incorporating primary and secondary sources as well as...

How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...

So who exactly was John Brown? John Brown fought for abolition during the Civil War. Scholars learn all about his legacy through the variety of activities in the sixth of 15 lessons, including viewing and analyzing primary source...

The supplemental text, "How Your Addiction to Fast Fashion Kills," allows learners to compare how other writers use evidence to support the argument that "rich countries benefit from harsh and abusive labor practices in poor countries."...

Class members examine the images Arson and Budhos use to depict the working conditions on the sugar plantations and consider how these images support the arguments the writers present in Sugar Changed the World.

In a close reading of "The Overseer" chapter from Sugar Changed the World, groups focus on the words Aronson and Budhos use to contrast the lifestyles of enslaved people and their enslavers. The whole class then engages in an...

After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...

Class members read the chapter, "Serfs and Sweetness" from Sugar Changed the World, and identify the central idea that the development of beet sugar and modern farming technology changed the reliance on the plantation system and made...

As first-year students continue to investigate how sugar changed the world, the focus shifts to a consideration of why people with limited job options take on dangerous or subjugating work. Class members read an opinion piece by Nicholas...

The Haitian Revolution takes center stage as class members analyze a passage from Sugar Changed the World and consider how the authors select, present, and organize events to show how the tensions between the concerns for freedom and...

Students become familiar with an American legend that is unfamiliar to many. Presented with the legend of Forest Joe, a runaway slave who, much like Robin Hood, stole from the rich to give to the poor, students draw comparisons and...

Students read a narrative "The Domestic Slave Trade" and answer questions about states' slave trading. They read another narrative "Runaway Journey" and answer questions about runaway slaves. They discuss the impact of the slave trade on...

Students examine the Fugitive Slave Law as a motivating factor for slaves to emigrate outside the United States. After discussing the relationships between fugitive slaves and North American and Caribbean countries, they write essays...

Students research and discuss the use of the Underground Railroad by fugitive slaves. They debate the actions of abolitionists and slave owners according to the laws of the time, create drawings and write narratives.

Pupils view a copy of the painting "Last Moment of John Brown (1884). They discuss the content and composition of the painting. Important questions to be answered during the discussion are included with the lesson. They write an analysis...

Students explore and compare and contrast the migrations of African Americans in the United States in the decades before and after the Civil War.

Students understand that hunger causes many deaths a year and many children are trapped as slaves through watching a video. In this hunger and child slavery lesson, students write letters to call attention to the problems of hunger and...

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...

Fourth graders explore the differing beliefs of African American activists. In this American history lesson, 4th graders examine the views of racism resistance that Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey held.

Young scholars consider Lincoln's perspective. In this presidential perspectives lesson plan, students explore the political thoughts of Lincoln through a series of lessons that make use of primary source analysis. They hypothesize and...

Young scholars explore slavery by researching Native American history. In this racial prejudice lesson, students identify the treatment of Native Americans in the New England area 200 years ago. Young scholars answer study questions...

Students discuss key events of Abraham Lincoln's life. In this Civil War instructional activity, students discuss the major events of Abraham Lincoln's life and role during this time through a song.

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.

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.