Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
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...
Curated OER
Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
Students 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 desire...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Young scholars explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson plan, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Young scholars observe and...
Curated OER
Seven Famous African-American Masters of American Art
Students examine seven different African-American artists. In groups, they use the internet to identify their contribution and techniques to the art world and examine the time period in which the artwork was produced. To end the...
Curated OER
The Art and Culture of the Afro-American
Your high schoolers will examine the community in which they live and discuss with the class. Using the Internet, they identify the importance of African-American art and how it relates to the African-American culture. Individually, they...
Curated OER
Interpreting Selected Works of Art from the 20th Century African-American Experience
Students examine pieces of art by African-American artists in the 20th Century. For each piece, they are shown slides of the artwork and others by the artist to identify the techniques used. In groups, they discuss and research the...
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Curated OER
Defining the Images of African American Slavery
Students view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.
Maryland Department of Education
Our Children Can Soar
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
Joy Uzarraga
Famous American Research Project
Designed specifically for lower elementary pupils, this is a great biographical research project in which students research a famous American, and then design creative poster boards to help them "become" the famous American they have...
Curated OER
AFRICAN-AMERICAN POETRY BEFORE EMANCIPATION
Explore poetry written by African-Americans before emancipation. 8th graders create collages, and explain why they chose specific stanzas. They display the collages on the class bulletin board that demonstrate an understanding of the...
Curated OER
African-American Art and the Political Dissent during the Harlem Renaissance
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...
Curated OER
African-American Musicians
Students research three African-American musicians and compose a report based upon their research in this Music Appreciation lesson for the middle level classroom. The lesson could be adapted for various student levels and abilities.
Curated OER
Studying African American Artists
Third graders use the internet to search for a teacher assigned African American artist. They create a PowerPoint slide displaying a sample of the artists work with brief bits of information about their artist. Students write a short...
Curated OER
Our Side of the Story: African Americans Share Their Experiences of Slavery
Seventh graders listen to a variety of folktales sharing experiences of slavery. As a class, they compare and contrast reading a story and telling a story. They participate in a role play activity to discover the journey of a slave and...
Curated OER
African-American Artists
Pupils conduct research on a chosen African-American artist. They research how the artist's community influenced his art, analyze how themes are conveyed through the art, and create a collage depicting the artist's themes.
Curated OER
Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. As a class, they are introduced to five artists and discuss their art and techniques. Using the internet, they also research the philosophers of the time period and how...
Curated OER
Jazz Talk
Students analyze the origins of jazz music by examining work songs, spirituals, blues, and gospel songs as well as works of poetry from African American artists. They create their own poems from either the narrative, dramatic, or lyric...
Curated OER
African American Literature in Art
Learners compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."
Curated OER
African Ceramic Portrait Vessel
Students create a piece of art inspired by traditional African pieces.
Curated OER
Kwanzaa Window Book
Learners research Kwanzaa, focusing on the seven principles used in celebration, with an artistic lesson. They design their own window books to demonstrate comprehension of the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa in words and pictures.
Curated OER
Drama and African American Folktales: Addressing the Social Development Needs of My Students
Fifth graders develop cultural awareness of their heritage, therefore building their self-esteem. They discover the link between learning and social skills and recognize that learning is an integral part of their lives. The recognize...