Eleventh graders examine the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. After reading a poem, they analyze and identify the difficulties faced by African Americans. In pairs, they complete a worksheet based on the poem and information.

Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...

Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...

The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...

This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...

High schoolers analyze a painting from African-American culture to determine its meaning. Reading slave spirituals, they discover what live was like for African-Americans who were enslaved in the South. They draw conclusions about their...

Students examine the role of John and Mary Jones in the abolitionist movement. Using primary source documents, they discover the importance of an oral history and take notes on the Jones' role. They write a summary of the data to...

Students read about the life and work of John and Mary Jones. Using primary source documents, they draw conclusions about their role in the abolistionist movement. They also examine artifacts from their lives and analyze their portrait...

Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

Seventh graders visit the Smithsonian and are shown different exhibits. They are to make their own drawing about one of the exhibits and write about the experience.

High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...

Students examine the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. Using primary sources, they analyze the material and formulate their own opinions about the past. They write journal entries to share their opinions on photographs from the...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

Students examine the contributions of African Americans in New Haven, Connecticut in the 19th and 20th centuries. After being introduced to new vocabulary, they review the elements of autobiographies and read excerpts of African...

Students explore Civil Rights by analyzing U.S. history. In this African American workforce lesson plan, students discuss the history of African Americans in Baltimore and the need for steady work that formed. Students define vocabulary...

Pupils complete readings, a group activity using cards, and a writing activity to better understand people's lives during the American Revolution. The resource emphasizes people such as the militiamen, women, officers, and children,...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...

Fifth graders focus on their self-esteem and strengths while reading poetry. In groups, they research the contributions and achievements of African-Americans and discuss how they overcame obstacles. They are read a poem, define new...

Sixth graders are introduced to poems written by African-American authors. As a class, they read excerpts of poems from different time periods and discuss how and if anything has changed over time with discrimination and equal rights...

Students are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the lesson, by...

Students read stories by women authors on the characteristics of the African-American family. Using the internet, they research the history of issues that have affected African-American families from the Civil War to the Civil Rights...

Fourth graders explore the African Americans impact on New York.  In this US History lesson, 4th graders examine an archaeological website.  Students research the Five Points neighborhood.