Browse lesson plans

Religion and slavery in the American South: Comparing perspectives

In this lesson plan, students consult a variety of primary sources from the Documenting the American South Collection to uncover the varied impacts of religion in the lives of slaves in the American South. They are encouraged to seek out multiple, and sometimes contradictory, perspectives of this history.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Meghan Mcglinn.

School desegregation pioneers

In this lesson, students will learn about the challenges faced by the first students to desegregate Southern schools. Students will hear oral histories telling the story of desegregation pioneers from Alabama and North Carolina and critically analyze images of school desegregation. They will synthesize the information by writing a narrative from the point of view of a black student desegregating a white school.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 Social Studies)

By Dayna Durbin Gleaves.

Slave songs

In this lesson, students learn more about the religious observances of slaves in the United States by presenting hymns from Slave Songs in the US digitized in the Documenting the American South Collection. This is a great lesson to introduce the intersection of religion and slavery in a US history or African American history class.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Meghan Mcglinn.

Slavery across North Carolina

In this lesson, students read excerpts from slave narratives to gain an understanding of how slavery developed in each region of North Carolina and how regional differences created a variety of slave experiences.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Dayna Durbin Gleaves.

Spirituals and the power of music in slave narratives

In this lesson, students will learn about the importance of music in the lives of slaves by reading slave narratives and listening to recordings.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Music Education and Social Studies)

By Dayna Durbin Gleaves.

Teaching about slavery through newspaper advertisements

In this lesson for grades 8 and 11, students will analyze a selection of advertisements related to slavery from an 1837 newspaper in order to enhance their understanding of antebellum North Carolina, U.S. history, and the history of American slavery.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Kathryn Walbert.

Underground Railroad quilts: Fact or folklore?

In this lesson, students explore the controversy surrounding a book entitled Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, which was published as a non-fiction account of fugitive slaves sending coded messages through quilt patterns. Students evaluate numerous sources and assess the validity of each in an attempt to determine if the quilt codes are fact or folklore.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies)

By Abby Stotsenberg.

The Walking Classroom

Lesson plans and podcasts aligned to the fifth grade curriculum.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Resources on the web

African American World

A multifaceted resource providing information from PBS, NPR, and the Encylopaedia Britannica about African Americans. This website targets many audiences and age groups and encourages discussion of their materials via online forums. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: PBS

Africans in America

Chronicles the history of racial slavery in the United States using historical documents and interactive maps to accompany in-depth articles (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: PBS

EDSITEment - Lesson Plans for History and Social Studies

The lesson plans available on this site are organized into U.S. History and World History, with subcategories within each group. The main History and Social Studies page is divided into two content area tabs: Lesson pLans and Websites. The Subject Navigator... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Families in Bondage

This two-part lesson plan draws on letters written by African Americans in slavery and by free blacks to loved ones still in bondage, singling out a few among the many slave experiences to offer students a glimpse into slavery and its effects on African... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

The great migration

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about the migration of African Americans to Harlem, beginning with the original migration of blacks to North America. Students explore paintings by Jacob Lawrence to understand the experience of blacks who migrated... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

A Harlem Renaissance retrospective: Connecting art, music, dance, and poetry

The Harlem Renaissance was a vibrant time that was characterized by innovations in art, literature, music, poetry, and dance. In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students conduct Internet research, work with an interactive Venn diagram tool, and create a museum... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Musical Harlem

Students will learn to identify musical styles and musicians associated with Harlem, focusing on jazz. They will learn about the special role of music in Harlem as a unifier of a community and of a culture. Students can listen to audio samples and analyze... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–4 Music Education and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Perspectives on the slave narrative

This lesson plan introduces students to one of the most widely-read genres of 19th-century American literature and an important influence within the African American literary tradition even today. The lesson focuses on The Narrative of William W.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment