Desperate Crossing: The untold Story of the Mayflower From: History Channel Grade Level: (MS), (HS), (College) Remote Ready: No Time: 3 hrs (see shorter clip recommended below) Length of Reading: None Link: None Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower provides an overview of the Pilgrim's voyage and settlement. It uses historical re-enactors and commentary from historical experts to tell its story. At 3 hours long, the film has time to examine in depth the religious situation in England. I usually skip that part and start at the segment where the Pilgrims land ("Scouts on Land" at the 1 hr 29 min mark). < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (MS), (HS), (College): We put these in parentheses because there is no specified age group for the activity; however, we think it would be well suited for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Movie: This activity involves a clip, film, or documentary. sailn1. "Plimouth Plantation." Flickr, 19 August 2025, https://www.flickr.com/photos/moondance38/7810295894/in/photolist-cUaNS3-cUaNNh-cUaNso-cUaNoS-cUaNj3-3qgNaz-3qgZtp-3qmrEj-3qmvnq-3qmja3-3qmhJb-3qgPYi-3qgS1g-Aecs1T-3qgVHV-z3Czdz-z3wtom-yogz2g-z3Csrt-7bc34B-4cGKgT-4cGHz6-cUaMYS-2d9te7e-8FbTKJ-8FbRG1-8F8D36-8F8CPZ-34TXrU-8F8DSH-8F8Cpz-8FbScA-8F8HEn-8F8DpZ-8FbNuu-2pDuBFE-8F8Fie-8FbUgb-8F8Hre-8F8Ekk-8FbPvs-8F8BZF-8FbU95-8F8GKD-8FbQzC-8F8BED-8FbQ8m-2oHczeC-8FbSqd-8F8Dg2/ .

Drawing the Color Line: How was the Idea of Race Constructed? From: A People's History of the United States, History is a Weapon, and Zinn Education Project Grade Level: (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period if reading is done for homework Length of Reading: Chapter Link: The Color Line Colonial elites created laws to keep poor white indentured servants, blacks, and Indians apart. Read about it in Chapter 2: "Drawing the Color Line" from A People's History of the United States. This chapter from Howard Zinn's book is made available for free online by History is a Weapon. The Color Line activity at Zinn Education Project goes with this chapter. Using a list of questions (see last page of download), students first predict laws that would keep these parties apart. Then they check their answers by reading the chapter mentioned in the previous paragraph. < 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: Secondary Source: This activity utilizes secondary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Blake, W. O. 1860. “Decks of a Slave Ship” in The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern : the Forms of Slavery that Prevailed in Ancient Nations, Particularly in Greece and Rome : the African Slave Trade and the Political History of Slavery in the United States, Columbus.Ohio : H. Miller. Smithsonian Libraries, https://library.si.edu/image-gallery/68463. Accessed: 7.1.2020.

Inventing Black and White: Bacon's Rebellion From: Facing History and Ourselves Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: Yes! Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Page Link: Inventing Black and White Check out this short reading and questions surrounding race and Bacon's Rebellion. If you log-in, there's a link to a 1-hour documentary on the right side of the screen that you can pair with the reading. The film is called Race: The Power of an Illusion (Episode 2: "The Story We Tell"). < 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: Secondary Source: This activity utilizes secondary sources. Movie: This activity involves a clip, film, or documentary. Pyle, Howard, The Burning of Jamestown . Wikimedia Commons, 19 August 2025, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Howard_Pyle_-_The_Burning_of_Jamestown.jpg .

"Remember the Ladies" From: Gilder Lehrman Grade Level: (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period Length of Reading: Pages Link: "Contagious Liberty": Women in the Revolutionary Age Meets Common Core standards. Break your class into groups of 3. Ideally, you should have 8 groups though you can have more groups. Give EACH group ONE of the 8 provided primary sources (1-2 pages each). These docs are written by women. Each group seeks to answer the 2 essential questions and the questions unique to each document. Each student in the group is tasked with searching for a particular aspect of the document (the link will tell you more about these). Finally, the groups explain their docs to the class. Gilder Lehrman resources are free but you must log in. < 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. Image: Copley, John Singleton. “Mrs. James Warren (Mercy Otis) oil on canvas.” Wikipedia, derived from Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1763, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Otis_Warren#/media/File:Mrs_James_Warren_(Mercy_Otis),_by_John_Singleton_Copley.jpg. Accessed: 7.16.2020.