K12 Reader
Her Story: Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth is one of the most prominent faces of the abolitionist movement, but what was her life in slavery like? Learn more about her early years with a reading comprehension resource that provides a short passage from her...
Curated OER
Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
Curated OER
Samuel's Choice
The book, Samuel's Choice is used to illustrate the decisions that African Americans who were enslaved during the Revolutionary War had to make. The series of four lessons is designed to be implemented after the book is read. The book,...
Curated OER
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt: The Real Story
Students learn how slaves communicated with each other. In this slavery and freedom lesson, students learn how slaves used quilts as maps, learn what different quilt patterns meant, draw a picture for their class freedom quilt and put...
Curated OER
Let the Music Play: Bicentennial quarter reverse
To better understand who George Washington was and why we celebrated the bicentennial, pupils read a story and complete a worksheet. They sing and talk about the song, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" as they march around the room.
Curated OER
A Case Study: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Philadelphia, PA, (17th-19th Centuries)
Eleventh graders work in teams of three. Each team visits a workstation to interpret, analyze, and apply information from documents for their final project. The final project is an exhibit at Independence National Historic Park
Curated OER
Slavery: Acts of Resistance
Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...
Curated OER
Images of Slavery and the Underground Railroad
Pictures and photographs can help us foster greater connections and a deeper understanding of a historical time period. After closely analyzing several images that depict slavery and the Underground Railroad, your class will have the...
Curated OER
The Colonization of Liberia
Young scholars analyze how slavery shaped social and economic life in the South. They study methods of passive and active resistance to slavery, and the similarities and differences between African-American and white abolitionists.
Curated OER
AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETRY BEFORE EMANCIPATION
Explore poetry written by African-Americans before emancipation. 8th graders create collages, and explain why they chose specific stanzas. They display the collages on the class bulletin board that demonstrate an understanding of the...
Curated OER
Poetry: A View of African American Life,
Fifth graders analyze many examples of African-American poetry and examine how different poems reflect the cultural experiences of African-Americans. The poems and spirituals chosen are very effective for public presentation.
Curated OER
What Would Hannah Think?
Students read excepts from various government documents on the issue of slavery in America. Using the internet, they research a topic related to slavery of interest to them and present to the class their findings. They examine the life...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reward: Valuable Slaves
To gain insight into the American institution of slavery and how African Americans were viewed during this time, groups examine run-away slave ads and slave auction broadsides. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their impressions...
Crafting Freedom
F.E.W. Harper: Uplifted from the Shadows
What is stereotyping, and how do we handle stereotyping in our daily interactions? Your young historians will not only have the opportunity to learn about the first African American woman to publish a short story–Frances Ellen...
Facing History and Ourselves
Taking Ownership of the Law
The work of building and maintaining a democracy is, in the words of Justice William Hastie, "never finished." To better understand what Hastie sees as an ongoing building process, class members listen to a seven-minute podcast about two...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Voices from the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade
Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
Curated OER
Portrait of The African American Family
Students examine how African American families were affected by slavery. As a class, they watch and read King's "I Have a Dream Speech" and write a paper on how this message relates to families. In their journals, they compare and...
Curated OER
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, students gather information from primary sources, then analyze the politics and historical context of the time....
Curated OER
Looking Back at Pre-Civil War Slavery
Eighth graders explain the nature of slavery, the impact of slavery on African-Americans, and how slavery intensified the conflict between the North and South that eventually led to a major cause of the Civil War.
Curated OER
Through Their Eyes: Perspectives on Slavery
Learners examine different perspectives of slavery. They write a personal account of slavery as a slave trader, a plantation owner, and fugitives and working slaves. They role-play these roles for the class.
Curated OER
A House Divided: Slavery in the United States
Students explore the history of the United States and slavery. In this slavery lesson plan, students view primary sources, complete journal writing, view videos, and answer short answer questions.
Curated OER
African Americans in Oregon
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this African American history lesson, students examine the African American experience in Oregon.
Curated OER
African American Community and Culture
Eleventh graders explore areas of concern to the African American community in the 1820's. In this American History lesson, 11th graders examine how the establishment of the nations first African American newspaper addressed these areas...