How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....

Learning how to make accurate inferences by putting together facts found in multiple sources is one of those skills all learners must develop, but one that can be a challenge to teach. This resource is a must-have for your curriculum...

Fourth graders assess primary sources to analyze the effects plantation life and slavery had on Colonial Virginia. They study the issues of slavery, rural life, movements, colonization and revolution. Each student makes predictions,...

Students discuss the fear of slave rebellions in the South. They discuss the reasons behind this fear. Students draw a timeline showing slave resistance between the 1712-1831. They answer questions regarding slave revolts. Students...

Ninth graders examine the purpose of the Underground railroad. For this Slavery lesson, 9th graders read stories about people's travels. Students compare and contrast the lives of mothers in these stories.

Students write about the impact of the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents as they conduct independent research to explore the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for abolition....

Students research the major domestic issues that were present during the administration of Thomas Jefferson including the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, Lewis and Clark's expedition, and his foreign policy. They investigate...

Each one of our quarters is embellished with a famous face or image representing the state it came from. This lesson uses South Dakota's state quarter to get kids thinking about monetary value, what the president of the United States...

This lesson plan focuses on how students can learn basic blues percussion patterns by considering the polyrhythms of African drumming and investigating how and why such drums were banned during slavery. Students will listen to several...

Third graders explore two different websites about the Underground Railroad. They make a graphic organizer to categorize the reasons a person might have for and against helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad. They incorporate...

Students discuss the line "all men are created equal" in a time of slavery. They discover how equaliy and liberty changed over time in America. Role-playing different scenerios, they analyze the experiences of real-people coming to...

Students gain an understanding of some of the challenges the U.S. faced at its birth. They are asked to compose a report on the state of the nation in 1790 (addressed to President George Washington), which includes a narrative, maps and...

Fifth graders create multi-media newscasts based on their knowledge of Civil War battles of the ironclad ships.

In this primary source analysis worksheet, students analyze the diagram of regulated slave trade cargo. Students respond to 2 short answer questions about the diagram.

Students examine Lincoln's life. In this U.S. history lesson, students examine facts about Abraham Lincoln and then complete 6 extension activities that require them to complete research regarding the Civil War.

Eleventh graders work in teams to play a game that is based on the Underground Railroad in Delaware.

As with most other debates leading up to the Civil War, the debate about states' rights in reference to nullifying federal laws, ostensibly about tariffs, was really about the future of slavery in the South. Read about the issues of...