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Lesson Plan
PBS

Sojourner Truth: Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Scholars dive into the life of former slave, abolitionist, and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth. Using video evidence, speeches, and primary documents, class members complete a project on a current "Truth-figure" they see in...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author and Abolitionist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Scholars use primary documents, video clips, and legal decisions to uncover Harriet Beecher Stowe's motives for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. They create a 21st century book jacket for the novel to capture the purpose behind Stowe's story. 
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Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

History Scene Investigators - John Brown's Raid

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
An informative resource covers the event of John Brown's Raid, an event that became an important part of West Virginia history. It serves as a standalone and covers the event and John Brown's life in depth using group work, online...
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Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

An Act Worthy of Reward

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Abolitionists Worksheet

For Students 5th - 8th
A table with abolitionists Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and William Lloyd Garrison provides space to note the race, motivation, and accomplishment of each. Scholars are instructed to write a paragraph about one they'd like to meet...
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Lesson Plan
Crafting Freedom

Man in the Middle: Thomas Day and the Free Black Experience

For Teachers 5th Standards
How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...
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Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

Declarations and the Quest for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Understanding how John Brown got his inspiration from the Declaration of Independence helps learners further understand both West Virginia and United States history. The resource, a standalone, uses worksheets, discussion, and essay...
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Underground Railroad: On to Freedom

For Students K - 3rd
The Underground Railroad is the focus of a coloring worksheet, which provides background information about the volunteers who aided escaping slaves.
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Lesson Plan
City University of New York

The Split Over Suffrage

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Compare and contrast Frederick Douglass's and the National Women's Suffrage Association's stances on equal rights and suffrage with a series of documents and worksheets. Learners work together or independently to complete the packet, and...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Abolitionists

For Students 8th - 12th
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 14 multiple choice, matching, and true/false questions about American abolitionists. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1856-1865: Abolitionists and the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this abolition lesson, students watch "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and discuss the philanthropic acts they witnessed in the film. Students also complete an activity that requires them to determine...
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Lesson Plan
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West Virginia Department of Education

Intelligence of Authentic Character - News Coverage and John Brown's Raid

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The resource, a standalone, shows how news coverage of John Brown's Raid began when the event happened and how that reporting shaped perception in West Virginia history. The resource includes interesting anticipatory discussion...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman Warns "Kill the Snake Before It Kills You"

For Students 8th - 12th
Harriet Tubman developed a rich extended metaphor for slavery and the imperative for Lincoln to abolish it in this dictated letter from 1862. Young historians read the original document and interpret Tubman's allegory with a pair of...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

Harriet Tubman: Civil War Spy

For Students 6th - 9th
Add engaging new material to Harriet Tubman and Civil War curricula with a crisply designed, two-page reading about the famous abolitionist. The text details a military raid she led against the Confederate army, informs readers about Tom...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

1856-1865: Abolitionists and the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover philanthropic acts of the Civil War era. In this service learning instructional activity, students research Underground Railroad literature, Reconstruction Amendments, and acts of philanthropy during the Civil War era.
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Writing
Teacher Created Resources

Angelina and Sarah Grimke: Sisters of Social Reform

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Who are the Grimke sisters? Scholars find out with a instructional activity that details the struggles and triumphs of the lives of Angelina and Sarah Grimke. After reading an informational text, class members have the opportunity to...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Black History Month Spelling Worksheet

For Students 4th - 6th
For this Black History Month spelling worksheet, students analyze 4 words in a row; only one is spelled correctly. Students circle the word in each row that is spelled correctly. There are 14 questions; all words pertain to civil rights...
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Lesson Plan
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Chicago Historical Society

Are We the People?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Taking on the roles of a fiery Boston patriot, a Philadelphia merchant's wife, and a prominent abolitionist, your young historians will consider the reactions of these early Americans to the creation of the Declaration of Independence,...
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Lesson Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Freedom for All?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What did abolitionists have in common with those working for women's rights? How has the Native American struggle for voting rights differed from the struggles of other groups? Class members examine the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th...
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Song of Freedom: Go Down, Moses

For Students 2nd - 5th Standards
African American spirituals served as more than songs of religious praise during the years of slavery. "Go Down, Moses" is featured on a activity that asks readers to respond to a series of short-answer prompts about the spiritual.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Guilty Land

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Notes on Civil War People

For Students 6th
For this notes on Civil War people worksheet, 6th graders fill in the blanks to complete 10 sentences about famous people from the American Civil War era.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

David Walker vs. John Day: Two Nineteenth-Century Free Black Men

For Teachers 6th - 11th Standards
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...