Was the Civil War the result of conflict between small militant anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups? The questions is still debated today. To allow your class to join in on the debate, History Now provides a lesson plan for high school level students exploring Militancy in the Abolition Movement. The lesson provides primary source documents to which students respond. A well chosen bank of questions is included. Certainly worth a look!

The Pennsylvania Historical Society, much more than just compiling the history of the state and collecting artifacts, provides freely lesson plans on the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, abolition in a more general context, and the experience of the free black community in Philadelphia. The seven lessons are for Middle to High School age students. Glossary, primary source material, and even relevant legal cases are included with the lesson plans. Discussion questions are also included. A worthwhile resource.

Abolition and the Underground Railroad from the Pennsylvania Historical Society

PBS did a four part series on slavery in America with supplemental narratives and teacher’s guides online.  One of the parts is Judgement Day focusing on 1831-1865.  The segment of the narrative about the Underground Railroad mentions several people that can be found on House Divided.

I found Levi Coffin, a leader of the Underground Railroad in Indiana, as I was going through the database today and the role that he played in the Underground Railroad.  Upon further research I found this great website created by Wayne County.  There are several pictures of the Levi Coffin House and where the Coffins used to hide the thousands of slaves that came through Indiana on their way to Canada.  The site includes several links to other sites about Levi Coffin and other Underground Railroad characters.  One link I thought was very useful was to K-12 Lesson Plan link.

I found a lesson plan to go with the interactive map of the Lincoln Douglas Debates interactive map I found yesterday! Find more lesson plans at the House Divided’s Underground Railroad Digital Classroom.

PBS has made a film exploring the illustrious and radical abolitionist John Brown. Called “John Brown’s Holy War,” the film explores John Brown’s life and crusade for abolition of slavery, asking if the man was “…a martyr or a madman, a fanatic or a hero…”. PBS provides a webpage advertising the film and also giving an overview of John Brown’s life, including time lines and an interactive map. A teacher’s guide is also included.

The University of Houston has created a “Digital History” website. There are lots of nice features such as lesson plans and student resources, as well as many experts from textbooks. The site also features digital “eXplorations” which allows students to have a more interactive approach in research. Here is a great example of such site titled, John Brown: Hero or Terrorist

Illinois During the Civil War database has a Teacher’s Tent that has a few lesson plans specifically on the legality of slavery. These lesson plans include standards, but I believe they’re only Illinois state standards.

The Underground Railroad Digital Classroom also provides lesson plans for several levels and also includes standards.

Kansas Historical Society has a very comprehensive site that categorizes major events in Kansas history into easily browsed sections. Some of the topics include Civil War and “Bleeding Kansas.” In addition to a search engine the website provides articles and images on the topic pages. This would be a good resource for an expansion on several aspects of the House Divided site. Kansas Historical society website also has a section for teachers.

This National Geographic site would be good for kids. They play the role of a runaway slave and must navigate through the story line to freedom. The kids are called upon several times to make decisions, such as if they are going to approach a “safe house” or hide in the woods. And yes, the wrong choice can get you caught (but, unlike on the real underground railroad, you do always get another chance). The journey is short, only 15 minutes at most even for slow readers. However, there is ton of information packed into the game. Can you make it to Freedom?