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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Nineteenth Century Reform Movements: Women's Rights

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
It's hard to imagine a world where women were marginalized from the seats of power. Yet, there are women today who remember what it was like to not be allowed to vote. Using a DBQ of images and other primary sources, such as political...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Fourteenth Amendment was extremely important to civil rights and is a crucial one to remember. The resource teaches about the Supreme Court decisions related to the amendment through writing exercises, reading, and working in small...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John and Mary Jones and the Importance of Oral History

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the role of John and Mary Jones in the abolitionist movement. Using primary source documents, they discover the importance of an oral history and take notes on the Jones' role. They write a summary of the data to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louisa May Alcott: The Candle and the Mirror

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times.  In this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Life of a Slave

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore importance of abolitionists who worked to advance freedoms of black Americans prior to/during Reconstruction era, read and identify key concepts in Frederick Douglass's narrative, recognize how Douglass's slave...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trial of John Brown, 1857

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Young scholars 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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Guilty Land

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers read and discuss several informational cards about John Brown, the historical context he lived in and his abolitionist cause. They complete a character chart and write an epitaph that conveys their opinion of his actions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Pupils listen to Anne Rockwell's picture book biography of Sojourner Truth to learn about this famous abolitionist/feminist as well as slave life in New York. Students make predictions about the book as it is read aloud. Pupils...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Defenders of Justice

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and their allies to learn about racism and justice. In this racism and justice lesson, students define justice and sing a song about activism. Students review the biographies...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Age of Reform

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to a variety of reform movements within this lesson. They explore the beliefs and motivations of each group. Connections are made from these movements to present day situations and happenings.
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Women's Suffrage, Racism, and Intersectionality

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...
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Lesson Plan
Polk County Public Schools

Suffragists

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The Women's Rights movement is the focus of an engaging and collaborative exercise, in which young historians use information found in textbooks, class notes, and the provided documents to craft a DBQ essay.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dedication to Douglass

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the controversy surrounding the proposed Frederick Douglass Circle monument in Central Park. They review the notion of historical inaccuracy by reading and discussing the article, "In Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reforms of the Mid-1800's

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the reform movements of the mid-1800's in the U.S. They participate in an Internet scavenger hunt, analyze primary source documents, and develop and perform a simulation of a mid-19th century...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Durable Memento: Portraits by Augustus Washington

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students read primary source newspaper articles from mid 19th century United States. The topics of the articles are slavery, abolitionism and colonization. Students are given several options for activities based on the readings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voyage to Freedom - What Does It Mean?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the Underground Railroad by creating a quilt.  For this U.S. History lesson, 5th graders discuss the history of slavery through a class "word splash" and by reading an Underground Railroad map online.  Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry and John Brown's Body

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss John's Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry. In this John Brown lesson, 4th graders analyze a newspaper article about the raid, and write a descriptive obituary about John Brown. Students view pictures of John Brown and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the Underground Railroad.  In this U.S. history and technology instructional activity, students research an assigned topic related to the Underground Railroad, such as "abolitionist," "conductor," or "station houses." ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building a Memorial to the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Underground Railroad lesson, students examine the attributes and function of the Underground Railroad in order to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining Slave Auction Documents

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students compare the social and cultural characteristics of the North, the South, and the West during the antebellum period, including the lives of African Americans and social reform movements such as abolition and women’s rights.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

African American History: Climbing the Wall

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Early Presidents and Social Reformers

For Teachers 4th Standards
A unit by Core Knowledge begins with information about early United States presidents. Pupils then explore social reformers such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas, abolitionism, women's rights, and more. Participants listen and...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

Intelligence of Authentic Character - News Coverage and John Brown's Raid

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...

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