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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Freedmen's Bureau: Success or Failure?

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
What is freedom? The United States grappled with the question at the end of the Civil War after four million enslaved people were freed. Using circulars and images from the Reconstruction period, individuals examine how successful the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Priorities and Power: Migrants and Voting

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the African-American migrants entry into the political process. They summarize their findings in a short essay.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who's Who In Black History

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the life and achievements of promident African-Americans. As a class, they participate in acting out various scenes of a play which represents the Civil Rights era. They discuss how the world might be different...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research accounts on Rosa Parks and look for differences between the modern form and an older report on Parks. They discuss why information about race and nationality are collected on these and other forms.
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Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Jim Crow as a Form of Racialized Social Control

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Just because slavery was illegal doesn't mean it went away ... Jim Crow Laws took its place. An eye-opening lesson focuses on how Jim Crow Laws were used as a form of racial social control against African Americans in the United States....
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Interracial Democracy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Radical Reconstruction, the 10-year period referred to after Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, saw the establishment of manhood suffrage, men voting without any racial qualifications. Southern states also rewrote their...
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Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind

For Teachers 7th - 12th
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
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Lesson Plan
Atlanta History Center

What if YOU Lived During Jim Crow?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 
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Lesson Plan
PBS

The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The New Television Set" a Gateway to the Post World War II Era

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders demonstrate their knowledge of the effects of television on the political, economic, religious, social, intellectual and artistic life of the US nation from the 1950's. Research how television shaped public opinion with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An "Unconstitutional" Act? The Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars explore the implications of habeas corpus. In this Civil War lesson, students analyze the writ of habeas corpus by Lincoln during the war. Young scholars examine primary sources from Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating Web Sites for Bias

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students become familiar with checklist they use to evaluate Web content for bias. They use the checklist to evaluate two Web sites from very different sources.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Was It Difficult To "reconstruct the South"?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine problems faced by the states of the Confederacy following the Civil war. They predict how Lincoln wanted to handle the problem of reconstruction by listening to his words. They describe conditions in the South...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Written Report How Music Motivates

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine the role of music in their lives. They listen to songs from the Civil Rights movement. They explain how music effects their thinking.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Defining Moments From the Past: Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners conduct a mock Congressional Hearing to decide whether or not Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during World War II should be provided financial restitution. They research and create a time line of events...
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unionism versus Secessionism in Virginia

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders, in groups, analyze newspaper articles and then debate and discuss if Virginia should succeed from the Union or not.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diverse Voices - African American Ventures

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research African American history and the Underground Railroad. In this African American history lesson, students discuss the Drinking Gourd. Students read 'If You Traveled the Underground Railroad' and discuss. Students work in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jackie Steals Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students study Presidential Reconstruction during the Civil War years. They examine the role of the Executive Branch of government, especially in wartime. They investigate the complex issues of how Congress took on the role of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fallen Angels

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students read the novel, Fallen Angels, and examine the theme of coming of age during the Vietnam War. They create timelines of the 1960s, highlighting important issues of the era. They write research papers focusing on one particular...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sojourner Truth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research Sojourner Truth. In this African-American history lesson, students read the speech "Ain't I A Woman?" and brainstorm descriptive words that describe Sojourner Truth. Students discuss why her acts were considered...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

African American History: Climbing the Wall

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...