Brown versus Board of Education: Rhetoric and realities
In this lesson, students will listen to three oral histories that shed light on political and personal reactions toward the 1954 Supreme Court ruling Brown versus Board of Education. Though the ruling itself is not mentioned, words like "integration" and "forced busing" refer to the social outcomes as perceived by the speakers.

Child Labor in Cotton Mills of the Early 20th Century
This lesson will provide students with a look into mill life and child labor in the South in the early 20th century, as part of the story of American industrialization. Students will examine a poster from a mill village as a focus and review activity and students will read a document calling for an end to child labor in Southern cotton mills, especially focusing on ending the employment of females under 14 years of age.

Critical Inquiry of Propaganda Posters from World War I
This lesson is designed so that students will examine posters from WW I to determine the use of propaganda. The posters reflect economics, patriotism, environmental issues, recruitment, fear, and investment. These primary sources can be found in Documenting the American South (UNC-CH Libraries)which provides an wide array of posters which will help avoid repetition by students.

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.

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.

Interracial "Harmony" and the Great Awakening
The students will be introduced to two episodes in 19th century American history, around the time of the Great Awakening, that show glipses of some positive and negative consequences of interracial interaction in a religious context. The students will examine primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection to then be able to write a "sermon" from the perspective of a southern itinerant preacher during the Great Awakening arguing for or against religion as a cure for the social ill of racism and slavery.

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.

"Letters Back Home" World War I: A Soldier's Perspective
World War I traumatized many of the soldiers that participated in the war. It had a lasting effect on the political, economic, social, and cultural lives of Americans during the 1920?s. By reading letters that one soldier wrote to his family back home. Students can gain insight into the reasons why the "Great War" had such a profound impact on the United States in years foolowing the war.

Liberation and Deliberation: The North Carolina Ratification Debates of 1788
This lesson focuses on the deliberations over ratification of the US Constitution by the North Carolina legislators. In particular it traces the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-federalists found in the primary sources digitized in the Documenting the American South collection.

The Middle Passage According to Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano is perhaps one of the most well-known abolitionist writers and former slaves to live in America. His narrative has been digitized as a part of the Documenting the American South "North American Slave Narratives" collection. His vivid retelling of his trip onboard a slave ship bound for the New World illustrates the horrific and dehumanizing experience.

Outfitting a World War I Soldier - Teaching US History with Primary Sources
What do soldiers wear? Students will say a uniform and mention boots. However, many of the necessities of soldiers are often overlooked by civilians whether the items be standard issue or personal.This lesson gives students the opportunity to not only look at William B. Umstead's artifacts from World War I, but gain insight into how and why each item was used.

Native Americans and Jamestown
Using primary sources, students will investigate the role of Native Americans in the successes and failures of Jamestown. Students will identify and analyze inaccurate portrayals of Pocahontas and Powhatan by comparing historical facts with literary fiction.

War Time Propaganda: American Posters of the Great War
This lesson correlates with students' study of the World War I period. In particular, students will examine war time propaganda, in the form of posters that appeared on the home front digitized in the Documenting the American South "North Carolina and the Great War" collection.

Welcome to the New World
This lesson provides students an opportunity to read and interpret writings of the late 1500's and to transfer the information provided in the writings into a visual medium as a means of understanding and interpretation. The lesson also provides students practice in persuasive techniques.

Who started the Civil War? Comparing Perspectives on the Causes of the War
This lesson plans presents the account of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, a confederate spy during the Civil War. Students are encouraged to find confirming and disconfirming evidence of her perspective on what caused the Civil War by browsing the Documenting the American South Collection of digitized primary sources.