| NC History | US History | African American History |
Cherokee Relocation
Using primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection, students will investigate the boundaries
of the Cherokee lands set for North Carolina after the Revolutionary War.
Confederate Currency: An Inflation Simulation
Using primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection, this lesson provides a brief simulation of
inflation during the Civil War while introducing students to issues faced on the home front.
Interpreting Diaries of the American South
Students will read diaries of individuals who lived in the American South from 1865-1917. After reading these diaries the students
will use a visual means of displaying their interpretation. Visual presentations will be one of the following: shadow box, poster,
PowerPoint using drawings done by the student, brochure, or presenting an item that would have been used during the time that their
diary was written.
Selecting Evidence to Support an Argument
This is a strategy lesson to teach students how to select evidence from a text to support an argument for an essay.
It was designed to take two class periods and is comprised of three mini-lessons; these lessons include teacher modeling
strategy to large group, student practice with strategy in small groups, and student practice with strategy individually
on what will ultimately be the essay that they write.
A Visit to Colonial North Carolina
This lesson plan extends student learning about the colonial period in North Carolina history by incorporating primary sources
from the Documenting the American South collection. After reading first-hand accounts of travelers to colonial America, students
will create their own travel brochure advertising North Carolina.
Exploring First Person Female Narratives Related to Sherman's March to the Sea
This lesson plan uses first person narratives from the Documenting the American South collection to demonstrate differences
in perspective related to historical events, in this case, Sherman's march to the sea. It encourages students to compare the
views of two southern ladies with that of a Union soldier.
Join Up
This lesson is designed to help students look more closely at the reasons why Paul and his friends from the novel All Quiet on the
Western Front, along with other soldiers joined the armed forces in WWI. Through primary sources and the novel, students will
have a better understanding of propaganda and how it affects people.
Exploring the Church in the Southern Black Community
Students explore the Documenting the American South Collection titled, the "Church in the Southern Black Community." Beginning with a
historian's interpretation of the primary sources that make up the collection, students search the collection for evidence to
describe the experiences of African Americans living in the south during the Antebellum through the Reconstruction Period centering
on their community churches. The activity culminates in student presentations of a digital scrap book.
Fugitive Slave Law
Simulation
Students face the crisis issue of the Fugitive Slave Bill which gave southerners the right to regain their runaway slaves and return
them to bondage. It is also considered by many to have contributed to growing sectionalism in the U.S. and eventually the Civil War.
In order to take on the roles of historical actors, students will examine primary source documents from the Documenting the American
South collection and critique arguments in favor and opposed to the Bill.
Religion and Slavery in the American South: Comparing Perspectives
In this lesson plan, students consult a variety of primary sources from the Documenting the American South Collection to uncover the
varied impacts of religion in the lives of slaves in the American South. They are encouraged to seek out multiple,
and sometimes contradictory, perspectives of this history.