Curated OER
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry and John Brown's Body
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...
Curated OER
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
Fourth graders discover facts about John Brown. In this Harper's Ferry Raid lesson, 4th graders evaluate the lyrics to the song "John Brown's Body", and write a descriptive obituary about John Brown. Students also view pictures of John...
West Virginia Department of Education
Harpers Ferry Letters
Scholars write letters as if they were someone who heard the story of John Brown's raid. The resource, a standalone, covers information from primary sources that is important to West Virginian history: the Harpers Ferry Letters.
Curated OER
John Brown's Passion to End Slavery Leading Up to and Including the Rain at Harpers Ferry
Sixth graders investigate John Brown's fight to end slavery. For this slavery lesson, 6th graders read Harpers Ferry, The Story of John Brown's Raid and then research his life as well as the life of slave Osbourne Perry Anderson....
American Battlefield Trust
John Brown
How did the raid on Harper's Ferry contribute to the start of the Civil War? Curated for high school historians, the activity explains John Brown's contribution to the start of the Civil War by using violence to demand an end to slavery....
PBS
Civil War: Before the War
Free the slaves! Scholars research primary documents and videos while working together to create abolitionist posters. They examine the John Brown raid as a template to creating their own demonstration.
Middle Tennessee State University
John Brown: Hero or Villain?
"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a lesson that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source documents,...
Curated OER
Gold Rush Abolitionists: What Impact did John Brown have on U.S. history?
Students examine the impact that John Brown had on American history. In this human rights instructional activity, students discover details about the raid on Harpers Ferry and the implications it held for the American Civil War.
Curated OER
This Guilty Land
Students investigate the actions and motives of John Brown. In this abolition lesson, students discover details about Brown's background as a free-state and abolition supporter. Students discuss his role as that of a martyr or terrorist....
Curated OER
John Brown Lesson Plan
Students create timelines of the Harper's Ferry Raid. In this Civil War lesson, students analyze information and music related to John Brown and his abolitionist work. Students design timelines that document the events that led to and...
Curated OER
Last Moments of John Brown
Students read the history of John Brown. Using the internet, they research commentaries on the raid at Harper's Ferry. After observing a painting, "The Last Moments of John Brown," students analyze and write about what they see, think...
Curated OER
Creating a Narrative of John Brown
Students investigate the events of the Harper's Ferry raid. Using primary source documents, they complete a chart showing the different view points of the raid. They discuss the possible biases of the authors and the effect of this...
Curated OER
John Brown Lesson Plan
Students investigate John Brown. In this U.S. history slavery instructional activity, students view a PowerPoint presentation about John Brown. Students discuss the North's and South's reaction to John Brown's raid, and determine...
West Virginia Department of Education
An Act Worthy of Reward
John Brown is considered by many to be a martyr for abolition and civil rights. The resource covers an important event in West Virginian history, the raid by John Brown, as a standalone that discusses Brown's last words and his reaction...
Curated OER
John Brown, Then and Now
Eleventh graders identify some of the ways that the raid at Harper's Ferry influenced the Civil War. They articulate the different ways that people though about John Brown in the 1800's and how his persona may or may not have changed...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan on the Civil War
Fifth graders identify events leading to the Civil War and explain the impact the events had on northern and southern societies.
Curated OER
The Civil War 1850–1865
In this online interactive history activity, students respond to 10 short answer questions about the American Civil War. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive activity.
Curated OER
Trial of John Brown, 1857
Students 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.
Curated OER
The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
Curated OER
This Guilty Land
Middle schoolers examine the time period just before the start of the Civil War. They focus on John Brown, an activist of the day. After a lecture/demo, students use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to further their understanding of the...
Curated OER
Backward Lesson
Students view a copy of the painting "Last Moment of John Brown (1884). They discuss the content and composition of the painting. Important questions to be answered during the discussion are included with the lesson plan. They write an...
Curated OER
White Southerners' Defense of Slaveholding
High schoolers read transcriptions of articles from two historical Virginian newspapers and examine how white southerners defended the institution of slavery. They write a one-act play or a dialogue between an abolitionist and a...
Curated OER
This Guilty Land
Students 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.
West Virginia Department of Education
The Debate - John Brown: Martyr or Madman?
Did he die for a cause, or was he crazy? Although the resource discusses John Brown and West Virginia history, many historical figures have the same reputation. Teach learners about different perspectives and highlight the importance of...