Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment

For Teachers 8th Standards
How did the Emancipation Proclamation lead to the Thirteenth Amendment? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents including the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, political cartoons, photographs, and prints to understand...
PPT
Curated OER

What are the 13th,14th, and 15th Amendments?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are outlined in this PowerPoint. Each amendment is noted on its own slide, with a summary of its purpose and important sections of the actual document. Tip: Have students choose an amendment and write...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Constitution and the Right to Vote: Ch 6

For Students 11th
The US Constitution dictates which members of society have the right to vote. After reading about amendments extending voting rights, your class answers these questions on the 15th, 14th, and 23rd amendments. Use as a quiz or to guide...
Unit Plan
3
3
Curated OER

Voices from Little Rock: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement through Primary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...
Lesson Plan
1
1
School Improvement in Maryland

Supreme Court Case Overview I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As part of a study of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, class members examine four Supreme Court decisions—Gitlow v. New York, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Griswold v. Connecticut—that incorporated the due...
Lesson Plan
City University of New York

The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep Your Eye On the Prize

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Democracy in Danger: Should the Right to Vote Be Protected in the Constitution?

For Teachers 12th
High school seniors investigate what national, state and local rules say about voting. After examining the Constitution's articles, clauses, and amendments, researchers look at videos, listen to podcasts, and read articles to gather...
Lesson Plan
PBS

From Selma to Montgomery: An Introduction to the 1965 Marches

For Students 6th - 12th
The 1965 Civil Rights marches from Selma to Montgomery and the resulting Voting Rights Act of 1965 are the focus of a social studies lesson. The resource uses film clips to inform viewers not only about the discrimination that gave rise...
Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
Unit Plan
Pacific University Oregon

Civil Rights: US History

For Teachers 10th Standards
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Lesson Plan
City University of New York

The Split Over Suffrage

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Compare and contrast Frederick Douglass's and the National Women's Suffrage Association's stances on equal rights and suffrage with a series of documents and worksheets. Learners work together or independently to complete the packet, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and...
Lesson Plan
Middle Tennessee State University

Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation

Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
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,...
PPT
Curated OER

Reconstruction (1865-1876)

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Easily broken into pieces for several class sessions, this presentation is a great way to transition your class out of a Civil War unit and closer to the 20th century. Engaging photographs, including relevant maps and humorous political...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Freedom for All?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What did abolitionists have in common with those working for women's rights? How has the Native American struggle for voting rights differed from the struggles of other groups? Class members examine the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th...
PPT
Curated OER

Civil War and Reconstruction

For Teachers 5th
Factual statements relevant to the Civil War, Reconstruction, slavery, and the 13th, 14th or 15th Amendments are started on each slide, prompting students to complete the sentence with an important term . There are 32 questions phrased...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Breaking Barriers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the context of a speech delivered by Barack Obama. In this African-American history lesson, students discuss the 15th Amendment and the American Civil Rights Movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Young scholars read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. For this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Young scholars...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Orator, Author, and Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Have you ever felt like your opinion doesn't count? Scholars research and analyze the impact Elizabeth Cady Stanton had on women's rights. Primary and secondary sources as well as video clips give individuals a clear picture of Stanton's...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Amendment Organizer

For Students 5th - 10th
In this Amendments worksheet, students describe the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and write which one they feel is the most important.
Unit Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...