Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 16 pages. Rethinking Schools.
In this lesson, students explore many of the real challenges faced by abolitionists with a focus on the American Anti-Slavery Society.
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Teaching Activity. By Gayle Olson-Raymer.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 2 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on early American slavery, resistance, and rebellion.
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Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Charles M. Payne and Carol Sills Strickland. Foreword by Charles E. Cobb Jr. 2008. 304 pages.
Documents the history of the use of education as a tool of collective liberation by African Americans.
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Film clip. Voices of a People's History.
Dramatic reading of Maria Stewart's "Address Delivered at the African Masonic Hall" (1833) by Alfre Woodard.
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Song. By Anne Feeney.
A classic American protest song sung by Peter, Paul & Mary.
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Teaching Activity. Essay by Howard Zinn and lesson by Bill Bigelow. 17 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Students research and share stories about unsung heroes in U.S. history.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Horace Randall Williams and Ben Beard. 2009. 368 pages.
A full page description of a key event in the history of the Civil Rights Movement for each day of the year.
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Film. Produced by Judy Richardson, Northern Light Productions for History Channel. 2005. 100 min.
Documentary on the many rebellions by enslaved people and other forms of resistance.
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Book - Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. Introduction by Marilyn B. Young. 2011. 272 pages.
Essays spanning 1962 to 2006 that examine specific wars, wartime incidents, and the force of non-violence to move beyond war, if we are to survive.
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Profile.
Brief biography of Judy Richardson, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) veteran, author, and filmmaker.
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Book — Fiction. By Harriette Gillem Robinet. 1998. 144 pages.
Historical fiction featuring 12-year-old Pascal, 8-year-old Nellie, and their older brother Gideon, a Union Army aide, as they claim and farm the land promised to them during Reconstruction.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2005, with a new introduction by Anthony Arnove in 2015. 784 pages.
Howard Zinn's groundbreaking work on U.S. history. This book details lives and facts rarely included in textbooks—an indispensable teacher and student resource.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 12 pages.
A role play based on the election of 1860 allows students to explore the political debates of the time and the real reasons for the Civil War.
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Article. By Bob Peterson.
A critique of social studies textbooks and the rationale for a campaign to rethink them.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 24 pages.
The U.S. Constitution endorsed slavery and favored the interests of the owning classes. What kind of Constitution would have resulted from founders who were representative of the entire country? That is the question addressed in this role play activity.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
What led up to the Trail of Tears? In this lesson, students learn about the decision to remove the Cherokee and Seminole people from their lands.
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Student Handout. By Bill Bigelow. 3 pages.
This timeline can be used as a resource for lessons on the Civil War, President Lincoln, the 54th Regiment, and the end of slavery.
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Teaching Activity. By Bob Peterson. Rethinking Schools. 7 pages.
How a 5th grade teacher and his students conducted research to answer the question: “Which presidents owned people?” Available in Spanish.
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Teaching Activity. By Bob Peterson. 14 pages. Rethinking Schools.
A role play on the Constitutional Convention which brings to life the social forces active during and immediately following the American Revolution with focus on two key topics: suffrage and slavery. An elementary school adaptation of the Constitution Role Play by Bill Bigelow. Roles available in Spanish.
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Teaching Activity. Lesson by Bill Bigelow and student reading by Howard Zinn. 21 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Interactive activity introduces students to the history and often untold story of the U.S.-Mexico War. Roles available in Spanish.
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Film. By William Elwood. 1990. 56 min.
The little known story of Charles Hamilton Houston who paved the road to Brown v. Board.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Clarence Lusane. 2010. 544 pages.
The untold story of African Americans in the White House from the 18th century to the present, including the presidents who held people in bondage.
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Teaching Activity. By Thom Thacker and Michael A. Lord. Rethinking Schools. 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.
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Teaching Activity. By Gayle Olson-Raymer. 16 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 5 of Voices of a People's History of the United States on the Revolutionary War as "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight," as well as the failure of early Americans to complete a full revolution.
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Book — Non-fiction. By William Loren Katz. 2012. 272 pages.
History book for ages 10 to adult that traces relations between Blacks and American Indians since the time of the conquest.
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