Education World
Black History Month Rap
Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.
PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
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...
Curated OER
African-American Civil War Soldiers Lesson Plan
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this Civil War lesson, students examine the service of African Americans in the Civil War and consider their plight to secure the rights and...
Look! We're Learning!
Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
Education City
Black History Month
New ReviewEnhance Black History Month with a twenty-page resource designed to boost scholars' knowledge of the great accomplishments made by African Americans. Learners take in fun facts about famous inventors such as George Washington Carver and...
Curated OER
Cut and Paste Biographies
Young scholars explore the influence of African-American artists, writers, and musicians on American culture. After researching different figures in these areas, they create collages representing each person's life and legacy.
K12 Reader
Civil Rights Biography: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Introduce your class to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his many accomplishments through a one-page biography. Class members read the text and respond to three questions included at the end.
Curated OER
His Story/Her Story/Your Story
Students read a variety of biographies to gain insight on the experiences of an African-American's life. Individually, they try to determine the time period it was written and compare the event with ones that occured in their own lives....
Curated OER
Three-Way Match: Famous Black Americans
Students research famous African-Americans using an online resource. They complete a three-way matching activity.
Curated OER
African American Poetry
Students write their own dream poems in the style of African American dream poetry. In this African American poetry lesson plan, students discuss the dreams of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement and read Langston...
Curated OER
Black History Project
Third graders explore and analyze about famous African-Americans by listening to four picture book biographies. They generate a list of 15 famous African-Americans and then create a survey to rank them according to importance of...
Curated OER
Inventors & Trailblazers
Students are introduced to a groups of African American inventors. In groups, they research the role of each person in improving different industries. They also examine the barriers African Americans faced from the Civil War to the...
Curated OER
Celebrate A People!
Young scholars explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all young scholars to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall...
Curated OER
Growing Like Dr. King
Learners explore American History by reading biographical material. In this civil rights instructional activity, students read information about Martin Luther King Jr. and his successful demonstrations which led to equal rights for...
Curated OER
What is a Biography?
Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...
Education World
Black History 102
Ten facts make up an activity in which scholars match the name of a famous Black American to a personal detail or accomplishment.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s “Learning to Read”
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a lesson plan that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The lesson plan introduces them to a brief biography of the poet, includes a video...
Black History Month Report
Black History Month Report
As part of Black History Month, class members investigate in depth the life and work of an African American musician.
National Woman's History Museum
Breaking Through Gender Roles: The Women of NASA
Whether recognized or not, extraordinary women were integral to breaking gender barriers and putting Americans into space. For Women's History Month, explore a series of video clips and biographical information that profile these...
EngageNY
Reading to Determine Important Relationships between People and Events: The Importance of the 1936 Olympics for African Americans (Promises to Keep, Pages 16–19)
Scholars look at cause-and-effect relationships while doing a close read of the 1936 Olympics on pages 16-19 of Promises to Keep. They complete a cause-and-effect note catcher and add their ideas to an anchor chart. Readers then work...
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
Celebrating African Americans and Coins
Students examine the Booker T. Washington commemorative coin and listen to a biography of Washington's life. They develop a list of reasons why his life was commemorated with a coin. They examine other coins and the lives and work of...
Curated OER
Build a Black History Database/Timeline
Students research famous people and events in Black History then break the biographies and events down into specific information related to dates in history. They
Curated OER
After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
Eleventh graders explore how one-third of Patriot soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill were African Americans Census data also reveal that there were slaves and free Blacks living in the Nort