Learning & Education · Featured curriculum

Teaching Laura: A Life Recovered

Name: BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Creator: Amberly R. Carter-Mills
License: https://beforetill.com/terms

One Historical Journey, Three Levels of Inquiry

Before Till uses family history, primary-source records, and interactive storytelling to help learners investigate the past.

Beginning with Laura Tolliver Smith's life, students explore slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, family and community life, and the historical legacies connecting these experiences to civil rights, justice, and historical memory.

The curriculum encourages students to examine evidence, ask historical questions, distinguish documented facts from family traditions, and consider how history is preserved and interpreted. All three levels follow the same seven-chapter Curated Journey.

Curriculum overviews · free, no sign-up

Grade 3

Discovering Family and History

Family and community
Historical memory
Introduction to primary sources
Age-appropriate historical inquiry
Understanding change over time

Overview coming soon

Grade 8

Investigating History Through Evidence

Primary-source analysis
Slavery and emancipation
Reconstruction
Family and community history
Historical interpretation and evidence

Overview coming soon

Grade 12

Evidence, Historical Memory, and Justice

Advanced historical inquiry
Archival research and source evaluation
Competing historical narratives
Civil rights and public memory
Historical ethics and contemporary connections

Overview coming soon

Classroom visual · Generations & descent

Suited to Grade 3 and Grade 8 lessons on generations, cousins and oral history: trace each branch from John Smith and Laura Tolliver to Emmett Till and Amberly Carter-Mills.

Illustrated family tree titled “Shared Roots: The Smith Family Connection.” John Smith and Laura Tolliver sit at the root. Emmett Till's line descends through George Smith, Alma Smith and Mamie Till-Mobley; Amberly Carter-Mills' line descends through Amanda Smith, Kermit Gordon and Magnolia Gordon-Carter. The two branches meet at the bottom as third cousins. — Shared Roots: The Smith Family Connection · created by Amberly R. Carter-Mills.
A visual summary of the documented lineage — interpretive artwork, not a primary source. The evidence for each link lives in the archive records.
Download classroom visual (PNG) · Free for educational use with attribution.

Request Complete Curriculum Kit

First name *

Last name *

Email address *

Educator role *

Grade level(s) requested *

Grade 3Grade 8Grade 12

Intended educational use *

School or organization

City and state

Estimated number of learners

Anticipated implementation date

Additional information or questions

Areas of interest

Send me occasional Before Till educational updates (optional).

Privacy: the information you submit is used only to review your request, provide curriculum materials, and follow up about educational use. It is visible only to Before Till's founder, is never sold or shared, and you will not be added to any mailing list unless you tick the box above. See the privacy policy.