Curated OER
Before Rosa Parks: Ida B. Wells
The contributions of Ida B. Wells to the Civil Rights Movement are the focus of this social studies activity. Middle schoolers read a handout regarding Wells, discuss the handout, and write about non-conformist behavior.
Curated OER
Chalkboard Challenge: Social Studies Online
If used as an independent review, this presentation could be a quick way for students to study U.S. History facts. Since it only presents a few simple facts, it would not be adequate for a comprehensive review, but a teacher could...
Curated OER
Bridges for All Lesson 1: Fighting Chance (1850-1877)
Students study how a Quaker woman, Laura Smith Haviland, served as a lifeline for fugitive and freedmen during the American Civil War era. They research other philanthropic organizations and the associate vocabulary of this era.
Curated OER
The Literature of Upheaval
In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.
Curated OER
Body / Kinesthetic & Visual / Spatial
Tenth graders produce a multimedia project using HyperStudio. This project is similiar to an "information kiosk", with engaging media to "tell a story" about the Battle of Gettysburg. They have knowledge about the Civil War events that...
Curated OER
Rallying to the Cause
Students study the role of volunteering during the Civil War, the Reconstruction, and today. In this volunteerism lesson, students work with a partner to read biographies of volunteers while looking for their Core Democratic Values. They...
Curated OER
You Ain't Whistling Dixie
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the Civil War. They identify the factors that led to the Civil War, develop and perform a skit, research and write a report, or create a replica of art from Civil War period.
Curated OER
Is Seeing Believing?
Pupils study different photographers who started the concept of battlefield photography. In this media activity students explore how to "read" a photograph and relate the use of photography during the Civil War to current use today.
Curated OER
Historical Episodes
Students choose a historical book set in the Civil War. They create a flow chart of the steps involved in producing a film. They select one scene and prepare props, costumes and setting for the scene.
Curated OER
Firestorms: The Bombing of Civilians in World War II: War, Ethics, Guernica, Precision Bombing
Students explore the history, rationale and ethics of civilian bombing in times of war. They consider war strategy, the laws and conventions of war and international implications.
Curated OER
The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Realism
Students research the Civil War and make connections between the war and the interpretation of the war in the novel The Red Badge of Courage to help them understand realism. In this Civil War recounting lesson plan, students complete...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address
Learners examine Lincoln's life. In this U.S. history instructional activity, students examine facts about Abraham Lincoln and then complete 6 extension activities that require them to complete research regarding the Civil War.
Curated OER
John Brown Lesson Plan
Young scholars create timelines of the Harper's Ferry Raid. In this Civil War instructional activity, students analyze information and music related to John Brown and his abolitionist work. Young scholars design timelines that document...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
Curated OER
Fifth Grade Social Studies
In this social studies worksheet, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about World War II, the transcontinental railroad, slavery, and more. Students complete 25 questions.
Curated OER
Mexican Cessation
Eighth graders create a propaganda poster. In this US history lesson students research the various sides during the Mexican-American War. They present their poster and their position for or against the war.
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
Novelinks
Nightjohn: Bloom's Taxonomy Questions
After completing Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, readers respond to a series of questions crafted to reflect Bloom's taxonomy.
Novelinks
Nightjohn: List-Group-Label Strategy
Encourage readers of Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, to develop their categorization and organizational skills with a strategy that asks them to list all the words they can...
University of Virginia
Student Page: Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
History sleuths read articles for and against Uncle Tom's Cabin, examine visual images, print responses, and multi-media tomitudes to better understand the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on American culture prior to the Civil...
Curated OER
Southern Society during the Civil War: Plantation Society
Learners investigate life on Southern plantation during the Civil War era. In this plantation lesson, students research the life of wealthy, white families on Southern plantations and the changes that occured as a result of the Civil...
Curated OER
American Literature and the Civil War
Middle schoolers prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes fourteen lessons from the American Literature, The Civil War and Its Aftermath: 1845-1880 series, each covering a different reading selection....
Curated OER
Civil War in Indiana
Fourth graders investigate events that occurred in Indiana during the US Civil War. They brainstorm how Indiana was involved in the Civil War before working in small groups to conduct research on one specific event. They take roles in...
Curated OER
Creating a Memorial Day Poster Poem
Does your class know about the meaning of Memorial Day? Discuss the history of the holiday in this lesson, which prompts elementary and middle schoolers to create word webs of ideas about the holiday. Additionally, they create poems...