Lesson Plans > People in Societies

The following People in Societies Lesson Plans are condensed files that include links, content standards and other resources.
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Who Built the Ohio Earthworks? (3,219 k)
Some Woodland cultures, especially the Adena and Hopewell cultures built mounds and geometric enclosures which were a major focus for much of their social and ceremonial life. This lesson reviews some of the theories we have concerning moundbuilders and their mounds.

Family History (111 k)
This lesson and activities ask the student to discover his/her family history by choosing and finding primary source documents. Using these sources, pupils will then organize the materials and write about their family's history.

Emancipation Proclamation (264 k)
This lesson and activities look at the content of the Emancipation Proclamation and ask the student to complete a map naming the states and depicting which states were affected by this document.

Personal History (137 k)
Much of the history we know today has been passed down through personal accounts of persons who experienced important events. This is oral history. Students are asked to interview a person about and event and write a report.

The following lessons refer to the John Rankin House and the Underground Railroad, and have condensed files that include links, content standards, and other resources.
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Lesson: Choice or No Choice (128 k)
During the 1840s, included factors such as gender and race. These laws, which took their gender, race, and where they lived into consideration, determined the rights of people and therefore the choices they were allowed to make. This exercise examines background information about Rev. John Rankin, Jean Rankin, John Parker, and Arnold Gragston.

Lesson: Is It Breaking the Law? (140 k)
Rev. John Mahan, Rev. John Rankin, and others in Brown County, Ohio were not just making a choice to help slaves to freedom; they were making a conscious choice to break the law. This not only put them in danger of going to jail but also their family (some were left destitute).

Lesson: Freedom Timeline (121 k)
Through the years, under various circumstances, slavery has existed. The issue of whether the buying, selling, and keeping of slaves is morally right is centuries old. In North America, in the 18th and 19th centuries, people were on both sides of the issue and were debating and acting on their beliefs. This lesson focuses on placing many of these events on a timeline.

Lesson: Make a Choice (114 k)
There are many different choices people had to make during the Underground Railroad era - to help; to run; to stay; to do nothing; to break the law; to enforce the law; to make clothing; to feed runaways; or to look the other way, etc. During this the time, in order for the movement to be successful, it took a lot of people doing their own little or big part.

Choose from the available topics listed below, which have been separated based upon 4th grade social studies content standards: