Curated OER
South Carolina: Loyalist or Patriot?
Eighth graders examine the battle waged in South Carolina over the American Revolution. In this American Revolution lesson, 8th graders analyze primary sources as they determine how the Loyalists and Patriots chose sides in the war.
Curated OER
Secession: A Southern Perspective
Eighth graders determine how secession impacted South Carolina as well as the United States. In this American Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders examine selected primary and secondary sources in order to study the state's...
Curated OER
Reliving History Through Slave Narratives
Young scholars read slave narratives and retell the stories to the class, identifying sensory details. In this slavery lesson, students discuss the importance of sensory details, then read the slave narratives looking for specific...
Curated OER
Quilting Our Diverse Classroom
Students explore diversity and race by creating art. In this ethnic background lesson, students discuss their family history, where their relatives lived and how it affects their life today. Students create pieces of a quilt representing...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Malcolm X
Eleventh graders compare and contrast the visions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. In this African-American history lesson, 11th graders read speeches by each of the men and summarize the arguments made by each of them about...
Curated OER
African Diaspora: Misconceptions, Misinterpretations, and Omissions
Students study the definition of the African Diaspora. They examine the conditions/circumstances that produced the African Diaspora.
Curated OER
Perspectives of the American Revolutionary War
e purpose of this unit is for students to understand the American Revolutionary War and evaluate different perspectives relative to causes and effects of the war. The concept of perspective is examined in the concept of decision making.
Curated OER
Mrs. Katz and Tush
Students read Patricia Polacco's Mrs. Katz and Tush before comparing Jewish heritage with Black history using a Venn Diagram. They complete the diagram either as a whole group or in a small group setting. Next, they sample the Jewish...
Curated OER
History Close to Home: Creating Your Own Special Museum
Students create their own museum exhibit. In this museum creation lesson plan, students research their local history so they can decide on a theme for their exhibit and what objects they will use in order to design a museum exhibit. A...
Curated OER
Jackie Robinson, A Black Hero
Students examine the life of Jackie Robinson and how he opened the door for other African American athletes. They identify how one person can make a difference by their actions. They write about the responsiblity of citizens to end the...
Curated OER
Staged Sit-in
Students watch a PowerPoint presentation that includes pictures of a sit-in and participate in a simulated sit-in. In this sit-in lesson, students perform a sit-in skit based on The Civil Rights Movement for Kids by Mary C. Turck. ...
Curated OER
Society in the 1950s (5)
In this online interactive American history worksheet, students respond to 8 matching questions regarding 1950's America. Students may check their answers immediately.
Curated OER
Past Presence
Learners examine British Black History. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites to research the history of Blacks in Great Britain. Several lesson enhancement ideas are included.
Curated OER
The West: US History
In this U.S. history learning exercise, students read assigned textbook pages that tell the story of Westward Expansion and respond to 35 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Immigration in the United States
Pupils examine the reasons why people leave their country to live in another. In groups, they use print and electronic resources to answer questions about where immigrants came from during different time periods and advice given to...
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
Learning for Justice
Mary McLeod Bethune
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
American Battlefield Trust
Life at War
It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...
Center for History Education
Slavery and Civil Disobedience: Christiana Riot of 1851
When is it a moral obligation to disobey the law or to fight back? Using primary sources that document the "Christiana Riot" of 1851, learners consider these questions. The firsthand accounts tell the story of the riot, which happened...
PBS
The Harlem Renaissance
A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...
DocsTeach
The Civil War: Commemorate or Celebrate?
While the Civil War ended over 150 years ago, Americans are still unsure how it should be remembered. Is the tragic conflict to be celebrated for bringing freedom to African Americans or commemorated for its sad place in US history?...
Digital Public Library of America
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...
State Bar of Texas
Brown v. Board of Education
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery Bus Boycott: We Would Rather Walk!
Have historians use primary sources to learn about the circumstances and implementation of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and think about the issue of boycotts as a means of effecting social change. Wrap it up with a letter to the editor...