Curated OER
Doing Our Share Lesson 1: Michigan History of Philanthropy
Learners research the history of philanthropy in Michigan by looking at images and pictures while discussing the definition of philanthropy. They design a picture of the first time they saw a philanthropic act and write three sentences...
Curated OER
Prairie Voices: German Immigrants Move to Iowa
Students create historically accurate travel journals. In this Iowa history instructional activity, students research the German immigration experience as they write travel journals that feature a German family's move into an Iowa county.
Yale University
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Curated OER
Creatures from Planet X: Spiders
Students are given a description of some fascinating animals from "Planet X". They follow the descriptions given to illustrate one of these animals paying careful attention to introduced vocabulary such as 'appendages', 'receptors', and...
Curated OER
Looking at the Old South: Music and Culture
Students use different styles of music to research society, history and culture in the American South. They, in groups, research an assigned piece of music and make a presentation to the class. They keep a daily journal as well.
Curated OER
The Beginnings of Slavery in South Carolina
Eighth graders conduct research to find information about the beginning of slavery in South Carolina. They compile the information they find into oral and written group presentations. Specific questions provided in this lesson plan need...
Curated OER
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature
Fifth graders read a story about immigration, listen to songs about America and explore the history of their ancestors. They discuss how immigration creates a multicultural country. Pupils create a collage of the people in America. ...
Curated OER
Doubles: Japan and America's Intercultural Children
Young scholars experience issues of intercultural children born as a result of the Occupation of Japan by American soldiers. They reflect on how these experiences and issues might be relevant to our own lives. Task cars are available to...
Other
New York Historical Society: New York Divided Slavery and the Civil War
Visit this virtual museum exhibit to learn about New York City's divided opinions about slavery before and during the Civil War. There are three themes covered: Pro-Southern City, Fighting Slavery, and Civil War. Students use a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Before Brother Fought Brother
A lesson plan that addresses the "complex series of events" leading to the Civil War. Through this lesson, students will "gain an appreciation of everyday life in the North and South, changes occurring, and some of the major social and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
This lesson helps young scholars study life in the United States in the years before the Civil War. Students will gain a better understanding of why people grew willing to fight to defend their way of life. Many of the documents young...
Digital History
Digital History: What Was Life Like Under Slavery?
A sobering look at the life of the plantation slave in the decades before the Civil War. Read about the malnutrition, severe treatment, and inadequate living conditions.
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country
The Civil War that raged across the nation from 1861 to 1865 was the violent conclusion to decades of diversification. Gradually, throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century, the North and South followed different paths,...
Other
Stratford Hall Plantation: General Robert E. Lee
This biography of Robert E. Lee is part of a larger site about the Lee family plantation, Stratford Hall. Read about his personal life before and after the war. Included are links to his farewell address and information about the horses...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Life in North & South 1847 1861: Before Brother Fought Brother
The five lessons in this unit are designed to help students develop a foundation on which to understand the basic disagreements between North and South through the investigation of primary source documents, photographs, and census...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Leon Trotsky
A detailed biography of the life of Leon Trotsky. Discusses his life before the Russian Revolution, his political accomplishments afterwards, his opposition to Stalinism, his exile and his assassination.
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant
A comprehensive biography of Ulysses S. Grant including information about his life before his presidency, detailed essays on various aspects of presidency, brief biographies of members of his cabinet, and copies of his presidential papers.
Other
Nutrias Online Exhibits: The World of Francois Lacroix
Traces the life of the richest black man in New Orleans before the Civil War and after.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass
Selected (11) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass recounts his experiences as a slave in Maryland, and his treatment at the...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Slavery in America
People enslaved Africans for their enforced labor from before America's founding until the end of the Civil War. Learn about the history of slavery, its effects on a budding nation, and the fight to abolish it. This collection includes...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Peculiar Institution
A very brief look at the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery in the South before the Civil War. Read about how slavery became so entrenced and why it drove a wedge between the North and South.
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in the period before the American Civil War. In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery. Gives the option of browsing or doing a detailed search....
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Harriet Tubman
Features a summary of the life of Harriet Tubman, an American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War.
Curated OER
Mask of Lincoln: Octavius v. Catto
From this captioned portrait published by the National Portrait Gallery, learn about the life of Octavius Catto, who was part of the free community of African Americans living in Philadelphia before, during, and after the Civil War era.