Learning New Content/New Angles on Familiar Content

This week has been an excellent review of material for me. Though I was a history major in college, I have spent the past five years teaching high school English. This fall marks my first foray into teaching social studies, specifically Modern American History. Discussing such topics as abolitionism, temperance, women's rights, and the Great Awakening has refreshed my mind about the Antebellum era.



The major political events of this period--Missouri Compromise, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Decision, Fugitive Slave Act-- are things I haven't thought about in a long time. Thinking about them in the context of teaching has been useful.



Because I teach Modern American History (focusing predominantly on 20th century U.S. history), I will spend little time on the Antebellum era. Instead, I plan to design 3-4 lessons that will serve as a review of major reform figures and movements. I will use these as a lead-up to a review of the Civil War and Reconstruction.