This lesson examines the beginnings of the women’s suffrage movement as an outgrowth of the abolitionist movement. Students will learn about key figures who were involved in both movements and analyze primary source documents to compare abolitionist and women’s suffrage arguments.

C3. Inquiry based lesson plan. Using supporting questions and formative performance assessments, students explore the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Students analyze a summary of the plot of the book, find the main idea(s), look at connected videos, illustrations, and utilize graphic organizers to assess the power of words within this specific historical context.

Students will be engaged in learning about American history prior and during the Civil War. They will be exploring historical documents and learning about the stories of people involved. They will then create a digitial story of what they learned to share with the class. Image attribution: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Students explore what it means to speak out for your beliefs, or to right a wrong. After watching a short video, they will reflect on Douglass’s courage and the importance of literacy in his activism. They will read excerpts from Douglass’s autobiographies and examine an 1850 etching of Douglass being pulled away from a stage prior to giving a speech. Finally, they will reflect on Douglass’s importance as both a historical figure and as a role model for their own lives.

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students learn about the debate over slavery at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Students explore the changing perception of slavery in the new United States and the ways in which the debate over slavery affected the content of the Constitution. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.

In this lesson, students will learn about Sojourner Truth’s egalitarian spirit in the face of institutional discrimination. After viewing a video about her life, students will examine an 1864 photograph of Truth and read excerpts of her most famous speech. The lesson concludes with students choosing a new name for a current-day exemplar of perseverance.