Social Studies
Civics, Geography, History, U.S. History, Sociology
Grade
3-5
6-8
9-12
Brief Description
Students read a slave's account of his or her life of slavery, then write accounts
of what that person's life might have been like after the Emancipation
Proclamation.
Objectives
Students
read a slave's account of his or her life as a slave.
read the Emancipation Proclamation.
write "first-person" accounts of what that person's life might have been like after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Explain to students that they will compare a life of slavery with a life of
freedom before and after the Civil War.
Ask each student to read one of the Slave
Accounts at the Spartacus Web site, either online or in a print
version.
Have students read, or read aloud to students, pertinent paragraphs
in The
Emancipation Proclamation. Discuss the document's meaning.
Ask students to use print or online resources to research life immediately
after the Civil War. Remind each student to concentrate on the state
or region where the slave he or she was assigned lived.
Have each student write an account of the life of that slave after
he or she was freed.
Extension: Ask students to research and
write editorials on the following topic: Should the descendents of slaves
be financially compensated for the suffering of their ancestors?
Assessment
Evaluate students on the historical accuracy of the accounts they write.
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics GRADES K - 4 NSS-C.K-4.1
What Is Government? NSS-C.K-4.2
Values and Principles of Democracy NSS-C.K-4.3
Principles of Democracy NSS-C.K-4.5
Roles of the Citizen GRADES 5 - 8 NSS-C.5-8.1
Civic Life, Politics, and Government NSS-C.5-8.2
Foundations of the American Political System NSS-C.5-8.3
Principles of Democracy NSS-C.5-8.5
Roles of the Citizen GRADES 9 - 12 NSS-C.9-12.1
Civic Life, Politics, and Government NSS-C.9-12.3
Principles of Democracy NSS-C.9-12.5
Roles of the Citizen
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography GRADES K - 12 NSS-G.K-12.5
Environment and Society NSS-G.K-12.6
Uses of Geography
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES K - 4 NSS-USH.K-4.1
Living and Working Together in Families and Communities, Now and Long
Ago NSS-USH.K-4.3
The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and
the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic,
and Political Heritage GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.5
Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
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African American History lesson plan page.
Originally published 02/01/2002
Last updated 01/17/2006
