Curriculum Materials

Trail of Tears Lesson Plan

The Forgotten Warriors of the Civil War is the story of the tragic effect that the American Civil War had upon the tribes of the Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). More than any other particular group in the United States at the time, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole (the Five Civilized Tribes) were divided between loyalty to the Union and the secessionist Southern states. This lesson will teach students about why this “civil war within a civil war” occurred.

We live in a nation of laws. Our rights are protected by the Constitution. There are national laws, state or territorial laws, and local laws that exist to protect those rights. What happens when laws are passed that restrict those rights? What then? What happens when those in power choose which laws to enforce and who to administer justice to?

Is it fair to make decisions based on biased laws? This program recreates a court case that was tried at Fort Scott in the 1850s, The issue involved a land squabble between two men on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The court was left to decide the issue based on territorial law that favored the proslavery side based on the fact that proslavery men held the majority in the territorial legislature and decided territorial law in their favor.

Who were the key figures in the Brown v. Board of Education court case? How did they contribute to desegregation?

Trail of Tears Lesson Plan

During this in-class lesson, students will learn about the Trail of Tears.

Federal Court: Western District of Arkansas & Indian Territory 1872-1896

Highlights and talking points for teachers leading a self guided tour of the visitor center.

High School level lesson plan allowing students to learn about the strategy behind Civil War battles.

By investigating how the Civil War impacted one small canal town in Ohio, students find connections to the history of their own hometown, which may help them look to the future.

Students create a timeline of events leading to the Civil War based on a series of articles from the National Park Service. Students will explore the issue of slavery as a major cause starting with the Missouri Compromise, The Dred Scott Decision, The Election of Lincoln, John Brown's Raid, and the numerous states secessions. Then, students become part of a regiment and complete hands-on activities as they discover the structure of an army.

Students analyze the primary document, the Emancipation Proclamation and how it affected the Civil War and southern states. They work in teams to creatively share learned information from NPS videos about one of the final pushes in the Civil War, the Atlanta Campaign through Georgia. They listen to and draw meaning from soldier and author, Ambrose Bierce.

Lesson Plan detailing African American involvement during the American Civil War in both combatant and noncombatant roles. Lesson also highlights individual involvement and contributions to the war effort as well as document analysis.

Students will read and evaluate primary and secondary resources to learn about the impact Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation had on African-Americans both enslaved and free and on white Americans.

Map depicts the best evidence of the Freedmen's Camp near Fort Donelson, Dover, TN, 1867

This is the 3rd of 3 lessons that help students learn about the nuances of romanticized myth and incomplete histories in western North Carolina (WNC). This lesson enables high school students to analyze the Lost Cause narrative that rose after the Civil War. Students will use primary and secondary sources to study the foundations of the Lost Cause revisionist history, from racism to regionalism. Students will develop analytical skills to study history that still divides the American people.

The Graves of Andersonville in August

Scott's Great Snake also known as the Anaconda Plan.