Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Tuskegee Weathermen: African-American Meteorologists during World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Chances are good that young scholars have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen but few would predict that these pilots had their own support in the form of the Tuskegee Weathermen. These Black meteorologists were recruited and trained to provide...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African American Physicists in the 1960s

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Dr. Gates and the Nature of the Universe

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do Russian nesting dolls have to do with physics? They make a great demonstration tool for explaining Dr. Sylvester James Gates, Jr.'s string theory to young scientists. A two-part lesson first introduces learners to Dr. Gates'...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Learning for Justice

Mary Church Terrell

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Fannie Lou Hamer and Voting Rights

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
To understand the challenges Black voters faced in Mississippi, middle schoolers first gather background information about Fannie Lou Hamer and then read her testimony given during the 1964 Democratic Nation Convention. After a...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Race and Vaccine Hesitancy in the US

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What does race have to do with COVID vaccine hesitancy? That is the question young scholars pursue in a video lesson that looks at the impacts of such things as the Tuskegee Experiment, the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks's cancer...
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
It's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Jackie Robinson

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners complete a six-page coloring book featuring Major League Baseball's first African American player, Jackie Robinson. To bring the pages to life, scholars follow directions adding color and pictures where directed. 
Interactive
DocsTeach

Integration of the US Armed Forces

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Uncle Sam wants you to integrate the military! The activity uses images and documents to help scholars understand the integration of African Americans into the mainstream military. Academics analyze a series of military photos and...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Imagine" by Kamilah Aisha Moon

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A lesson about Kamilah Aisha Moon's poem "Imagine" asks young scholars to imagine, "What would happen if...?" If Dr. Martin Luther King's dream became a reality. If Renisha McBride was a white girl and crashed her car in a black...
Interactive
Mr. Nussbaum

Martin Luther King Reading Comprehension

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Boost reading comprehension with an interactive website featuring an informational passage about Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars read, or listen to, several paragraphs detailing MLK's life in order to answer seven...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson 2: Values and Barriers

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
Handout
Education World

Remembering Jackie Robinson

For Students 2nd - 6th Standards
A four-paragraph informational text details the life of the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. A prompt challenges scholars to write or discuss a time in their life when they were not included and how that made them feel. 
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Institut Obert de Catalunya

20th Century Music: Jazz

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A 67-page packet provides instructors with a complete course in the history of Jazz. Lessons look at the roots of jazz in early 20th century African American communities in the southern United States and continues to the New Orleans...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans and the Manhattan Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A lesson about the Manhattan Project will explode young physicists' understanding of the racial attitudes in the United States during and after World war II. Groups select an African American scientist or technician that worked on the...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A two-part instructional activity focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Old South Meeting House" by January Gill O'Neil

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The vaulted ceiling of the Old South Meeting House has heard many voices. Young scholars read an excerpt about its importance in American history and then do a close reading January Gill O'Neil's poem, "Old South Meeting House." After...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Physicist's War: Dr. Herman Branson and the Scientific Training of African Americans during World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Optics and Anthony Johnson

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...
Worksheet
2
2
K12 Reader

Civil Rights Biography: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Why do schools and government offices close one day every January to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Young learners discover the achievements and lasting significance of this influential figure in American history...
Worksheet
Student Handouts

Geography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Young geographers follow Dr. Martin Luther King's journey during the civil rights movement by identifying major events on a map of the eastern United States, such as his birth in Atlanta, Georgia and his famous...

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