This first in a series of four resources is designed for instructors to use Octavia E. Butler's Kindred in their classes. The packet includes an overview of the unit, a day-to-day calendar, links to background articles, and reading...

Students discuss the significance of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation and the assassination of Lincoln. They analyze how historians use evidence and develop differing interpretations. Students examine historical bias and...

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...

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...

Fifth graders explore the origins of slavery.  In this US History lesson, 5th graders create a map of the United States that shows where slavery existed.  Students examine the life of a Northern slave through the use of a...

Fourth graders develop an understanding of the lives of slaves and their quest for freedom. They develop an understanding of the people who fought against slavery and the efforts that were made by them to create a better life for all...

Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...

Effective or ineffective? As part of a study of post Civil War America, young historians analyze a series of primary sources to evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen's Bureau in addressing the challenges faced by the slaves freed by...

History enthusiasts participate in an interactive website that brings Abraham Lincoln to life as he shares his personal experiences between 1854-1864. Scholars listen and read carefully to form their own opinions and discover if they...

High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...

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...

Revolution and counterrevolution. Protest and counter-protest. Collaborators and bystanders. The focus of the fifth resource in the Reconstruction Era and Fragility of Democracy series is on the political violence that followed Radical...

While Juneteenth was more than 150 years ago, today Americans debate whether it should be a national holiday. Using a military declaration proclaiming the last of the enslaved people in Texas free, individuals look at the significance of...

The reading of a contextual essay launches a study of Black Americans who served in Congress from 1870 through 1887. Young historians identify the African Americans who served during this period, investigate the ways they won national...

Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a lesson that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The lesson introduces them to a brief biography of the poet, includes a video reading, and...

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

Learners examine and draw conclusions from an excerpt from a slave narrative. They analyze excerpts from two recently discovered slave narratives. They draw connections among the narrative excerpts and historical texts by investigating...

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.

Young scholars discuss African American troops throughout the country during the Civil War. They, in groups, write a skit for a situation given to them by the teacher.

Eighth graders read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Students identify important Americans from the colonial, revolutionary and slavery periods who are noted for standing up for their beliefs in the face of peer disapproval. They identify the importance of music in motivating and...

Students will reflect upon the use of music to teach lessons throughout history. The focus of the study is based upon early American History. The tie of music and the abolition of slavery makes for interesting inquiry for learners.

Students examine the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this Reconstruction Era lesson, students read and analyze 4 Supreme Court decisions regarding the Fourteenth Amendment and determine how the decisions impacted citizen...