Slavery

Perspectives on the Slave Narrative lesson plan  (O)
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.

PBS Collection of Slavery and Emancipation Resources  (M,O,T)
Large list of resources (including primary sources) relating to abolitionism, slavery and emancipation

Booker T. Washington - Lesson Plans & Teacher Guides  (Y,M,O,T)
From the National Parks Service. To Be a Slave - K-1 Program Lifting the Veil - 2 - 3 Program War on the Home Front - 4 - 5 Program Cast Down Your Bucket! - 5 -7 Program Clash of the Titans - 11th Grade Program

Slavery and the Underground Railroad  (Y,M)
Uses Follow the Drinking Gourd to discuss the Underground Railroad

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site  (Y,M,O,T)
Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass was a runaway slave, abolitionist, civil rights advocate, author and statesmen. Visitors to the site learn about Frederick Douglass' efforts to abolish slavery and his struggle for rights for all oppressed people.

The Constitution for Kids - Grades 4 - 7  (M)
Includes information on the basics, history, slavery, the Bill of Rights Women and how it all works together. Grades 4-7

The Constitution for Kids: 8th - 12th Grade  (O)
Includes information on the basics, history, slavery, the Bill of Rights Women and how it all works together. Grades 8-12

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories  (M,O,T)
"Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories provides the opportunity to listen to former slaves describe their lives. These interviews, conducted between 1932 and 1975, capture the recollections of twenty-three identifiable people born between 1823 and the early 1860s and known to have been former slaves. The almost seven hours of recordings were made in nine Southern states and provide an important glimpse of what life was like for slaves and freedmen."

Teachers' Guide to Follow the Drinking Gourd  (Y,T)
Follow the Drinking Gourd, a song published in 1928 by H.B. Parks, encodes instructions for enslaved peoples to escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. This site contains lyric meanings, astronomy information and activities, and worksheets for elementary, middle school, and high school students.

Did Quilts hold codes to the Underground Railroad?  (Y,M)
An article from National Geographic that explores the symbols and codes that two historians say enslaved people may have used to navigate the Underground Railroad.

Slavery and the making of America  (Y,M,O,T)
K-9 explore the role played by perspective and point-of-view in an examination of American slavery.