A civil rights movement lesson designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary...

How are short stories from South Africa connected to issues of civil rights in the United States? A unit plan uses South African short stories to discuss issues such as apartheid, colonization, and civil rights. Questions and activities...

Students research African-American participation in the Civil War. In this Civil War activity, students read the article "Fighting Rebels with Only One Hand" and write a persuasive paragraph on whether the participation of the...

Students explain that opportunities for African Americans remained severely limited by slavery until 1783. They examine the 1783 Massachusetts abolishment of slavery and its impact.

Fifth graders examine the role of African-Americans in New Haven, Connecticut. Using two maps, they compare and contrast the differences in the town from the past to today. In groups, they use the internet to research the contributions...

Eighth graders research information on Internet, and demonstrate examineing of African-American experience by writing three facts each about the lives of Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, and W.E. Dubois.

Third graders create a Hyperstudio report on an African-American individual who has had an effect on American History. They use a fact sheet and concept web that they created during previous lessons to produce the report and use the...

Use this New York Times lesson to research contemporary leaders in the African-American community. After reading the article "Blacks Weigh the Impact of the Post-Jackson Years," middle and high schoolers discuss the varying viewpoints of...

Students examine different portrayals of African American women in poems and plays. Individually, they identify the character they want to play and reject the others. After acting out the scene, they hopefully realize that their...

Nine lessons makeup a unit designed to reinforce grammar and vocabulary through practice pages based on readings of African folktales. Each lesson consists of a mini lesson, a vocabulary review, and a worksheet. Topics include...

Learners form an opinion on how voluntary African-American moves really were and then write a persuasive composition supporting their opinion. They access a multi-media narrative imbedded in this plan.

Eighth graders read the short biographical sketch and selected poems of Langston Hughes, 8th graders examine the hardships historically faced by Black Americans through class discussion, interpretation, and journaling.

Students compare and contrast historical and contemporary photographs of important figures in African American history. In this photography analysis lesson, students learn key photography vocabulary and use a Venn Diagram to explore...

Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....

Students examine and analyze struggle for racial and gender equality, influences on African-American culture during the 1920s, and economic boom and social transformation of post-World War II United States.

If you'd like to quickly access a simple graphic organizer designed for a class to divide and conquer a larger subject, then check out this resource. Assign class members to study a specific topic within a historical theme or event, and...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

A biography writing lesson plan with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how...

Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.

Learners research Kwanzaa, focusing on the seven principles used in celebration, with an artistic instructional activity. They design their own window books to demonstrate comprehension of the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa...

Work together for the higher good. Scholars look at paragraph 10 in the "Atlanta Compromise" speech in which Washington pledges African American cooperation. Readers determine the connection between two central ideas and how they build...

America's success depends on everyone. Scholars examine the first two paragraphs of Booker T. Washington’s "Atlanta Compromise" speech. They work in groups to answer questions and discuss Washington's perspective on African Americans'...

Some words leave a lasting impact. After reading paragraph 11 of the text "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," scholars closely examine how Du Bois describes the impact prejudice left on the African American community. They discuss the...

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...