Jacksonian Era

The Cherokee/Seminole Removal Role Play

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 10 pages.
Role play on the Cherokee-Seminole removal or Trail of Tears.

Democracy & Citizenship, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity

Andrew Jackson and the “Children of the Forest”

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 5 pages.
A lesson in which students develop critical literacy skills by responding to Andrew Jackson’s speech on “Indian Removal.”

Individuals in US History, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity

On the Road to Cultural Bias: A Critique of The Oregon Trail

Background Reading for Teachers PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 13 pages.

Education, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity, Women's History

U.S. Mexico War Tea Party: “We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God”

Teaching Activity PDF. Lesson by Bill Bigelow and student reading by Howard Zinn. 21 pages.
Interactive activity in the form of a tea party introduces students to the history of the U.S. Mexico War.

Imperialism, Individuals in US History, Latino, Slavery, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements

Seneca Falls, 1848: Women Organize for Equality

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
A role play allows students to examine issues of race and class when exploring both the accomplishments and limitations of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Women's History

Hunger on Trial: An Activity on the Irish Potato Famine and Its Meaning for Today

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 5 pages.
Role play in the form of a trial to determine who was responsible for the death of Irish peasants during the potato famine.

Immigration, Social Class

Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom

Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 7 pages.
A lesson to introduce students to the numerous and varied ways African Americans resisted their enslavement, using the autobiographical Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845.

African American, Individuals in US History, Slavery

Reading Between the Lines: An Art Contest Helps Students Imagine the Lives of Runaway Slaves

Teaching Activity PDF. By Thom Thacker and Michael A. Lord. 4 pages.
An art contest is used as the basis from which students can examine primary historical documents (advertisements for runaway slaves) to gain a deeper understanding of the institution of slavery in the North.

African American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery

Reclaiming Hidden History: Students Create a Slavery Walking Tour in Manhattan

Teaching Activity PDF. By Alan Singer. 7 pages.
How a teacher and his students organized a tour of the hidden history of slavery in New York.

African American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery

The Expansion of Empire

Teaching Activity PDF. By Gayle Olson-Raymer. 15 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 12 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on internal dissent over American expansionist policies.

Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements