Curated OER
Life in the Colonies
What was life like for the early colonists? Read along with an informational presentation, rich in text. Colonial slavery, slave culuture, colonial religion, and the Great Awakening are all described in full. Tip: The resource could be...
Curated OER
What makes a Southern Colony a Southern Colony
Eighth graders answer questions put to them by the teacher that are intended to help them understand the different lives of slaves and indentured servants in colonial times. They make a list of Aristocrats and Farmers from their text...
Curated OER
Slavery in the United States
Students investigate the personal accounts of slaves in the United States. They participate in various activities according to grade level to examine the role of slavery in the South.
Curated OER
A House Divided: Slavery in the United States
Young scholars explore the history of the United States and slavery. In this slavery lesson plan, students view primary sources, complete journal writing, view videos, and answer short answer questions.
Curated OER
The Slave Market: Not Just a Southern Institution
Fourth graders analyze the existence of slavery in the North. In this slavery lesson, 4th graders research primary and secondary sources regarding Dutch colonial slavery in New York. Students consider how archeology made it possible to...
Curated OER
Slavery in the Antebellum South
Learners discuss Stephen Foster's depiction of slavery. Using the internet, they discover what the life of a slave was really like in the antebellum South. As a class, they discuss contemporary arguments for and against slavery.
National First Ladies' Library
The Debate on Slavery
Young historians research the debate over slavery; some students take the pro-slavery side and others the anti-slavery side. They take the role of a character such as a plantation owner, a legislator, a free Black, a slave, or a northern...
Smithsonian Institution
Fighting For Freedom: The Stono Rebellion and Free Frank McWhorter
Travel back in time to the Stono Rebellion. Young historians research historical figures who played a role in African Americans' fight to escape slavery. Scholars research material, complete handouts, participate in group discussion, and...
Curated OER
The Antebellum South
Your history students will be on the edges of their seats during this fascinating presentation, which details the abolition movement and slave life during the Antebellum period in the American South. Students will be left agape at the...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Voices from the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade
Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.
National Endowment for the Humanities
David Walker vs. John Day: Two Nineteenth-Century Free Black Men
What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Slave Codes in 1833: What They Can Teach Us About Slaves Themselves
After viewing a short PowerPoint about Nat Turner's rebellion, class groups examine Alabama's 1833 slave codes. Individuals then develop a mini-legal brief arguing against one particular slave law.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Towne Planning in Tidewater
Students discover how European values dominated colonial life. They also examine the effects of slavery in the Americas. Students compare the planning of their home town with that of colonial Williamsburg. They locate key sites such...
Curated OER
Civil War
Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...
Curated OER
The Agricultural South
Students define the key terms presented in the instructional activity. Students identify and describe the social structure of Southern society . Students explain how slavery evolved in the colonies and how slaves maintained their culture...
Curated OER
American History Overview: February
Third graders examine and discuss the first permanent settlement in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia. They write responses to an excerpt from George Percy's journal, and trace the Middle Passage across the Atlantic Ocean for slave...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama BEFORE the American Revolution
Did you know that prior to the American Revolution, Alabama was a part of the British empire and called New West Florida? Class members research the economic, political, and social realities of this territory and compare...
Curated OER
Early America
Fifth graders, in groups, study the differences between the 13 Original Colonies, then explore the relationship between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
Curated OER
Criminal or Hero
Fifth graders explore the origins of slavery. In this US History activity, 5th graders create a map of the United States that shows where slavery existed. Students examine the life of a Northern slave through the use of a...
Curated OER
Georgia
In this Georgia reading comprehension worksheet, learners read a 2-page selection regarding the state and they answer 10 true or false questions pertaining to the selection.
PBS
Pbs: Africans in America: Part 1: The Growth of Slavery in North America
Focuses on slavery in North America, the worry about uprisings, and slavery's economic impact. Links to related information.
Other
United States History: Ch. 3 Sec. 1: The Southern Colonies [Pdf]
A chapter from a history text that looks at the development of the Southern Colonies. It discusses the Southern agricultural economy that relied on slave labor, tobacco as a cash crop, Southern society, indentured servitude, Bacon's...
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Growth of Slavery in North America
Discusses the economics of slavery in South Carolina and its importance to the profitable growing of rice. It continues with ways the slaves were controlled and punished in South Carolina and Georgia. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher...
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...