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Slavery, Manumission, and Freedom: Free Blacks in Charleston before the Civil War
Students explore the concept of slavery and manumission through a variety of activities. In this civil rights lesson plan, students gather information from primary sources, then analyze the politics and historical context of the time....
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How Africans Became Slaves for the Colonists
Students complete a t-chart identifying the advantages and disadvantages of having indentured servants. In groups, they research the use of serfs and slaves in various cultures and share their responses. To end the lesson, they...
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What makes a Southern Colony a Southern Colony
Eighth graders answer questions put to them by the teacher that are intended to help them understand the different lives of slaves and indentured servants in colonial times. They make a list of Aristocrats and Farmers from their text...
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The Trading Post with the Most: Colonial Dorchester's Settlement and Economy
Eighth graders explore the Dorchester settlement, In this American colonial history activity, 8th graders examine primary resources and maps from the Dorchester trading post in order to learn about its contributions to the Revolutionary...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 3 - Marking Time
Fifth graders refer to text and timeline to fill in a graphic organizer and timeline from 1492-1607. They participate in a class discussion that allows for speedy accumulation of events and fill in their own timelines. They work in small...
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From Slavery to Segregation
Students study the causes and effects of slavery and segregation. They write an essay (including either pictures, charts, graphs or copies of documents to support their essay) which addresses the African American's journey from slavery...
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Slavery During the Nineteenth Century
Students research the life and daily activities of a slave during the nineteenth century. They write an essay role playing a slave during this time period.
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Trial of John Brown, 1857
Students examine how John Brown's 1857 trial related to conflicting viewpoints on slavery, view perspectives of radical abolitionists, moderate abolitionists, and slave owners, and form their own opinions on issue of slavery.
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Social Studies: Towne Planning in Tidewater
Students discover how European values dominated colonial life. They also examine the effects of slavery in the Americas. Students compare the planning of their home town with that of colonial Williamsburg. They locate key sites such...
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Life on Two Colonial Plantations in South Carolina
Fourth graders compare two colonial plantations. In this South Carolina history lesson plan, 4th graders compare the Drayton Hill plantation of Charleston Co. to the Walnut Grove Plantation of Spartanburg Co. This lesson plan uses...
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National and Regional Identity
Students examine state quarters to identify symbols that represent national and regional identity. They discuss the process used to determine what is put on the quarter. They review colonial money, and euros to look for cultural images.
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People, Not Numbers: Bringing 12 Million into Personal Ter
Students forge a compassionate link to the large numbers of people who were the victims of slavery as opposed to thinking of them simply in terms of numbers. They perform a math exercise to put the number of people in slavery into...
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Indians and African Americans 1780-1820
Young scholars explain that opportunities for African Americans remained severely limited by slavery until 1783. They examine the 1783 Massachusetts abolishment of slavery and its impact.
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The Terrible Transformation: Freedom Denied
Students learn about the legal foundations for slavery and explore autobiographical writings of slaves. Students trace the development of laws that enforced the slave status of Africans and their descendants.
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Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use internet cites to explore the Underground Railroad. They also learn the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Focus questions are included.
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Massachusetts Blacks in the American Revolution
Eighth graders examine the experiences blacks were having in Massachusetts before and after the American Revolution. They also discover that many blacks migrated to Canada in search of a better life.
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Slave Narratives
Students use a database to find and read examples of slave narratives. In groups, they read the various narratives and discuss their feelings about them. They also research the time period in which the narratives were written to end...
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Why Did Delawareans Use Slaves?
Students read about an indentured servant, and complete a chart comparing slaves and indentured servants.
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Civil War
Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...
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Runaway Ads
Fourth graders distinguish between primary and secondary sources while creating an underground railroad presentation. In this underground railroad lesson, 4th graders research the underground railroad using copies of primary and...
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Streams of Time Lesson Plan: Visually Organizing the History of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Students, after reading the Transatllantic Slave Trade, create a color coded triple-timeline to help them explain the chronological streams that flow through the essay.
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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...
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The Fugitive Slave Law and Migration
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...
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Writers and the Old South Myth
Young scholars are introduced to authors of the South. In groups, they compare and contrast the pastoral and counter pastoral traditions present in some forms of Southern literature. They use a database to examine the covers of the...