Curated OER
Human Rights and Discrimination
Fifth graders create a KWL chart on discrimination and human rights. While reading different stories, they take notes on each character in the books. To end the lesson, they discuss the forms of discrimination today and how African...
Curated OER
Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
National Geographic
National Geographic: The Underground Railroad Route
A classroom activity enhancing study about slavery in the United States focused on the Underground Railroad. Students will explore the slave and free states and look at routes the Underground Railroad took to help slaves escape to...
Scholastic
Scholastic: The Underground Railroad: Escape From Slavery
In this interactive unit students travel back to 1860 to follow a young slave as he flees a Kentucky plantation for Canada along the Underground Railroad. The interactive slideshow lets students read a short article at each stop. They...
New York Public Library
Aame: Runaway Journeys: The Underground Railroad in the 19th Century
A great map showing the pathways of escape on the Underground Railroad throughout the United States. From the Schomburg Center for Research. You can also find a map of routes in the 18th century. Students can see the progression of...
Other
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center features the history of slavery in the United States, from the gallant actions of those who organized the Underground Railroad to stories of those who escaped to freedom. Strategically...
ClassFlow
Classflow: The Underground Railroad
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will utilize this flipchart while studying African American history in the United States, with a focus on the Underground Railroad.
Other
Bringing History Home: Segregation History
This 3rd grade unit introduces children to the history of segregation, from the end of the Civil War in 1865 through the 1940s. Its content bridges the period between slavery and the peak of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and...
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century
A lesson unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia quiz...
Curated OER
Aame: Runaway Journeys: The Underground Railroad in the 19th Century
A great map showing the pathways of escape on the Underground Railroad throughout the United States. From the Schomburg Center for Research. You can also find a map of routes in the 18th century.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Themepark: Liberty: United States Historical Places
Find a large collection of internet resources organized around historical places. Links to places to go, people to see, things to do, teacher resources, and bibliographies.
Other
Fitzhenry and Whiteside: 'If I Had Just Two Wings' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
"If I Had Just Two Wings", an historical novel by Virginia Frances Schwartz, follows the journey of some slaves as they flee to Canada along the Underground Railroad. This teacher's guide includes detailed chapter summaries and project...
A&E Television
History.com: Black History Milestones
A detailed account of the history of African Americans is presented in this article. Divided by main topics or periods of time, the coming of slavery to America is the first focus. Followed by plantation life and escapes to freedom and...
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Literature Unit: The House of Dies Drear
"The House of Dies Drear," is a powerful novel by Virginia Hamilton.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: African Heritage: Fighting for Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart aims to help students understand the role the Underground Railroad played in leading people out of slavery in the United States, particularly before the Civil War.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Benjamin Drew: Testimony of the Canadian Fugitives
From an academic website, these pages record the testimony of American slaves that fled north to Canada. In the United States these types of original documents are collected under the category of Slave Narratives and they represent an...
Other
Vox: 37 Maps That Explain the American Civil War
April 1865 was a momentous month in American history. On April 9, the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union forces of Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War. Then on April 14, the victorious President...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song
This ArtsEdge lesson, part of a larger unit about Harriet Tubman, not only teaches students about spirituals but effectively illustrates the struggle for freedom from slavery.
Success Link
Success Link: Civil War 1861 1865
An eight-lesson unit on the Civil War using Patricia Beatty's young adult novel, Charley Skedaddle, as the unifying text. Geared mainly for middle school, but certainly has good information for high school students as well.
Virginia History Series
Virginia History Series: Virginia Antebellum (1800 1860) [Pdf]
From 1800-1860, America went through rapid growth and development. View this slideshow to see pictures, charts, maps,primary source documents and a detailed timeline of Virginia during the Antebellum Era.
Virginia History Series
Virginia History Series: The American Civil War in Virginia [Pdf]
The state of Virginia played a pivotal role in the Civil War. Trace the war from the beginning to the battles in Virginia, and to Lee's surrender through this comprehensive slideshow. Included are charts, maps and actual photography from...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Road to Freedom Through Research and Historical Fiction
Learners learn how to walk a mile in someone else's shoes by reading historical fiction about the Underground Railroad. This is a lengthy unit of four lessons that spans thirty activity periods where students examine characteristics of...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Detective Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton saved Abraham Lincoln from an assassination attempt, started the United States Secret Service and helped slaves seek freedom via the Underground Railroad. Learn about his early life in Scotland and view a photograph of...