Democracy in Early America: Servitude and the Treatment of Native Americans and Africans From: Gilder Lehrman Grade Level: HS, College Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: At least 3 class periods if you assign readings as Homework. More if you don't. Length of Reading: Chapters Link: Democracy in Early America: Servitude and the Treatment of Native Americans and Africans prior to 1740 3 Day Activity. Students are divided into 5 groups. Each group is assigned one of the following topics: Indentured Servants, Native Americans, African Americans, Religion, or Early Signs of Democracy. Students read a number of lengthy, predetermined primary and secondary sources on their topics (mostly secondary sources). Each group discuss a the most important facts in their readings in order to create a museum exhibit on their subject. Each group presents to classmates. Finally, each students writes an essay or op-ed answering the 2 overarching questions. Gilder Lehrman resources are free but you must log in. On the first day, each group gets a hefty list of secondary source readings unique to their topic. There are a couple of issues here, but we still recommend this lesson. First, while most of these are web-based readings, in a couple of cases, sections of books, textbooks, or textbook-affiliated readers are recommended. Teachers may find a couple of those books at the library, buy them, or choose to eliminate the sources as there are plenty of others. Also, a few of the links are broken; you may be able to track these down on the internet or eliminate them (again there are many other sources). Teachers may also elect to assign readings as homework to save class time. After reading the, each group discusses their 20 most important key points that answer the 2 key questions. On the second day, students create a museum exhibit based on stated specifications. On the third day, students visit each other's museum exhibits. Each group gives a 5-minute presentation. And audience members write down answers for the 2 overarching questions. Finally, students write an essay or editorial in answer to the 2 overarching questions. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, College: This lesson is meant for high school and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Writing Exercise: This activity requires a writing assignment such as a discussion post, journal entry, or lengthy response to a prompt. Almost all of our activities require students to answer questions with short responses, but this icon refers to a slightly longer writing assignments. "The indenture of Henry Mayer to Abraham Hestant of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on 29 September 1738. The document states that Hestant paid for Mayer's passage from Rotterdam with "Six Pistoles" [sic]. The text also includes the following: "Henry Mayer ... by these Presents doth bind ... him self Servant to the said Abraham Hestant .... [or] his Executors and Assigns, from ... the Date hereof, for ... the full Term of Three Years... During all which Term, the said Servant ... faithfully shall serve ... honestly, and obediently in all Things, as a good and dutiful Servant ought to do. AND the said Abraham Hestant [or] his Executors and Assigns, during the said Term, shall find and provide for the said Henry Mayer sufficient Meat, Drink, Apparrell [sic], Washing and Lodging, and at he Expiration of the said term ... Henry Mayer [is] to be Made free and [to] Recieve [sic] from the said Abraham Hestant two suits of Apparrell [sic] one whereof to be new..." Wikimedia Commons, 19 August 2025, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indenturecertificate.jpg .

Mexican American War: Songs as Primary Sources From: Digital HIstory Grade Level: (HS), College Remote Ready: With minimal modifications Time: 1 class period or less Length of Reading: Pages Link: Songs of Mexican American Resistance and Cultural Pride This lesson features translated songs about Anglo-Mexican relations in the West and events surrounding the Mexican American War. Each has brief contextual explanation. Students answer 2 overarching questions. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Image: Listen. , ca. 1901. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012648364/.

Secession From: Digital Public Library of America Grade Level: (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: Depends Upon Chosen Lesson Plan Length of Reading: Pages Link: Secession of the Southern States The recommended "Classroom activities" (see heading at the bottom of the page) entails assigning groups to a particular state that seceded from the Union. The groups will analyze that state's secession doc and present on its main ideas as well as major happenings. Then the class discusses. Many state secession docs can be found on The Decision to Secede site from the AHA. The secession of the Southern States page also lists 7 "Discussion ideas," each with links to 1 or 2 primary sources. There is also a research and presentation activity. You might use this as a choice board or pick the one(s) you like. You can, for example, compare speeches from Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln. Or you can compare the secession docs of South Carolina and Texas. There are shorter docs as well, a broadside and an lithograph for example. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (HS), (College): There is no specified age group for this activity; however, we think it would be well suited for high school and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. “Bacon's military map of the United States shewing the forts & fortifications,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/16e66ed896e93f911a1adabf6c2fcb1b.

Slave Resistance From: Zinn Education Project Grade Level: MS, HS Remote Ready: With Modifications for Activities 3-5 Time: 4-5 Class Periods for All Activities Length of Reading: Chapter Link: Poetry of Defiance: How Enslaved Resisted In 5 separate activities, students (1) share quotes from slaves; (2) write poems about resisting slavery in groups; (3) read a poem; and (4) create a T-Chart about slave resistance and how owners attempted to crush resistance. Finally (5), you have the option to assign a chapter from Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. (Steps 5-7): Each student is given a quote from a slave (teachers bring your scissors to cut these out). Student go around the room, reading their quotes to one another and filling out a worksheet. (Steps 8-15): Then based on the quotes, each group will write one stanza of a poem about slaves resisting slavery (see example poems). (Step 16): If time, students may read David Williams's essay on slave resistance,"I Freed Myself" (5 pages). Students can answer questions in step 18. (Step 17): Have students "draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and list on one side the ways enslaved African Americans resisted their enslavement and on the other side the ways slave owners and slave catchers tried to prevent resistance. You may also want to assign Howard Zinn's chapter "Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom" from A People's History of the United States and answer discussion questions on step 18. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS: This lesson is meant for middle school and high school students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Writing Exercise: This activity requires a writing assignment such as a discussion post, journal entry, or lengthy response to a prompt. Almost all of our activities require students to answer questions with short responses, but this icon refers to a slightly longer writing assignments. Image: “John Bull’s Monarchy, A Refuge From Brother Jonathan’s Slavery.” Anti-Slavery Almanac , Vol 1, No. 4. 1839, pg 9. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/stream/americanantislav1839chil/americanantislav1839chil#page/9/mode/1up . Accessed: 6.9.2020.

Reconstruction Video Series From: Facing History and Ourselves Grade Level: HS Remote Ready: Videos: Yes! Activities: With Modifications Time: Depends Upon Chosen Activities Length of Reading: Pages if Choose Activities Link: The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy Watch this documentary video series where the experts walk your students through Reconstruction with the aid of photographs. There are 6 videos. They are 12-16 minutes each. There are activities to accompany a few of the videos. Activity for Part 1 in the video series: Students reflect on power structures in their own lives. Then they watch part one in the Reconstruction video series (12 min). They answer questions. Teachers have the option to assign up to 4 primary sources and the class discusses. Activity for Part 3 in the video series: Students analyze 2 political cartoons and answer provided questions. Then they watch 9 min of streaming video (The Political Struggle, part 3 in the series) and answer provided questions. Next, Students read a loyalty oath created by President Andrew Johnson during Presidential Reconstruction. Teachers can set up a "Big Paper" discussion on this doc (students answer questions and respond to other comments on large pieces of paper). Thereafter, students watch the second part (7 min) of the Reconstruction video; this part is on Radical Reconstruction. And students answer questions. Finally, students read about the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and do another Big Paper Discussion. Activity for Part 6 in the video series: Students watch a 13 min video (part 6 in the series) and read a primary source. Students answer questions about each and then discuss what they will do to about race relations moving forward. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS: This lesson is meant for high school students This Activity Involves: Movie: This activity involves a clip, film, or documentary. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas by Mrs. Charles Stephenson via Wikimedia Commons

1860 Election From: Zinn Education Project Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: No Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: The Election of 1860 Role Play Role Play. Each of 5 groups is assigned a role: Abraham Lincoln, Western Farmers, Northern Factory Owners and Merchants, Southern Plantation Owners, or Northern Workers. Each role has a one page description group members read. Then each group discusses and answers provided questions about what their group's issues are going into the 1860 election. Next, half of each group travels to another group to discuss common issues and differences. The Lincoln group will weigh their campaign strategy then all members will go to different groups to campaign and listen to groups concerns. In the next class period, the teacher (or a volunteer) gives a speech for each 1860 election candidates Douglas, Bell, and Breckinridge based on a provided outline. Anti-textbook suggests handing out the provided platform outline of each candidate instead of the speeches. The Lincoln group gives a speech that they have prepared. Finally, each group votes for the candidate that most aligns to their wants and needs. After the votes are tallied, the class discusses the outcome in character. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. J. Sage & Sons. Lincoln & Douglas in a presidential footrace . No. 1. Buffalo, N.Y.: Published by J. Sage & Sons. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .

The Constitutional Convention of 1787, Lesson 1 From: EDSITEment! Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: Depends on which activity you choose Length of Reading: Pages Link: Lesson 1: The Road to the Constitutional Convention This lesson focuses on the Articles of Confederation and its problems. All 3 activities within this lesson use primary sources. The second activity involves a short role-playing activity. And the third involves creating a timeline. Though long, this lesson is definitely worthwhile. So let's see if we can help break it down so you can pick the parts you like. Activity 1: Each of 7 groups gets 1 primary source on the issues colonists had with the Articles of Confederation (1 page each). Students answer written questions and then groups present to the class on their document. The class fills out a graphic organizer with info from the presentations. Activity 2: Students read the Articles of Confederation (2 pages). Each of 7 groups answers a discussion question. Groups then present their answers to the class. Then, as part of a role playing game on the issues Congress had under the Articles of Confederation, each group is assigned a state. The state representatives debate a resolution. Each state gives a 1 minute speech on their support or dissention to the resolution. Each state (group) gets one vote. The teacher reads the potential consequences of each vote outcome (provided). Activity 3: All students read Federalist No 15 (2 printed pages with small print). Then each group of 2-3 students is assigned a primary source (1-2 pages each) on an event leading up to the Constitutional Convention. Groups each make a 5x7" card with essential info on their event and present on that material to the class. Then the teacher creates a timeline with the cards. Lesson 2 in the same series is under the "Constitution" heading. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Howard Chandler Christy, Signing of the Constitution, Oil on Canvas, Architect of the Capitol, 5/23/25, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/signing-constitution .

John Smith and Pocahontas From: Digital Inquiry Group Grade Level: (MS), (HS) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period or Less Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Pocahontas Did Pocahontas really rescue John Smith? Play the clip of the rescue from the animated movie; you might find this on YouTube. Then read 2 very short accounts from the actual John Smith. Both describe his capture and encounter with Powhatan (Pocahontas's father). But the accounts have some key differences. Students fill in the graphic organizers with a partner. Teachers have the option to assign short documents on what a historian said about each account in the longer version of this lesson. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (MS), (HS): There is no specified age group for this activity; however, we think it would be well suited for middle school and high school students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Frost, John. A history of the United States; for the use of schools and academies Year: 1854 . Wikimedia Commons, 19 August 2025, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Smith_Pocahontas_Image_from_page_44_of_A_history_of_the_United_States_for_the_use_of_schools_and_academies_(1854).jpg .

How and When Did People Originally Come to the Americas? From: James W. Loewen's Book Teaching What Really Happened, Chapter 6 Grade Level: (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: None There were no humans in the Americas up until about 16,000ish years ago (although estimates vary widely). When and how humans migrated to North America, depends upon who you ask. In his book, Loewen recommends the following. Put students in groups of 2-3. Have each group conduct internet research on a particular field of study and how experts in that field explain the migration of people to North America. Then have students put their findings into their own words and present. Those fields of study interested in the migration, according to Loewen, are: History (including oral history and ethnohistory) Cultural Anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures) Physical Anthropology (the study of physiological and biological characteristics and how they developed) Archaeology (the study of prehistory and history via the excavation and study of artifacts and remains) Glottochronology (the study of languages and how they change) Epidemiology (medical discipline studying diseases) Human Genetics (chromosomes, traits, and that jazz) Botany (the study of plants. How did cotton and Sweet potatoes come to the Americas?) < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (HS), (College): There is no specified age group for this activity; however, we think it would be well suited for high school and college students This Activity Involves: Research: This activity requires that students do research. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: AlexCaelus, Early human migration, footsteps across continents, the great journey of our ancestors , File # 746284108, AI Generated, 5/23/25, Adobe Stock - stock.adobe.com .

Ads Recruiting Black Soldiers and Laborers From: Docs Teach Grade Level: MS Remote Ready: Yes! Time: 1 Class Period or Less Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters Students compare a Union ad recruiting black soldiers with a Confederate ad asking slave owners to provide slave laborers. Students answer 4 questions. Armed with their teacher's email address, students can write the answers to the provided questions and send them to their teacher within the Docs Teach site. Teachers will have to click through an email link from each student though. So Anti-textbook recommends paraphrasing the questions into your LMS so that written answers are easier to grade. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS: This lesson is meant for middle school students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Two unidentified soldiers in Union cavalry uniforms with Sharps rifles and Colt revolvers. [Between 1861 and 1865] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .

Constitution Scavenger Hunt From: Teaching American History Grade Level: MS, HS, (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: A Walking Tour of the Constitution Day 1: In groups, students create an outline of the Constitution. Here's an example: "I. Article I: Everything about Congress." Day 2 (or as homework): Students complete a Constitution Scavenger hunt, using their outlines as a road map. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, (College): This lesson is meant for middle school and high school students; however, we think it would be well suited for college too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Howard Chandler Christy, Signing of the Constitution , Oil on Canvas, Architect of the Capitol, 5/23/25, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/signing-constitution.

Nullification Crisis From: Gilder Lehrman Grade Level: MS, HS, College Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 2 class periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: The Nullification Crisis Students read an excerpt of the Tariff of 1828. They are divided into groups; each group reads a particular (1-4 page) response to it. On the second day, the class does a fishbowl discussion of the tariff and responses to it while answering provided discussion questions. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, College: This lesson is meant for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion.