Facing History and Ourselves
What Aspects of Our Identities Do We Show to Others?
Sixth graders consider how they present their personal identities. In this character education lesson plan, 6th graders define themselves as they create masks that represent their personalities. Students share their masks and discuss...
ARKive
Biodiversity and Evolution
Why is diversity in biology so important for an ecosystem? Explore biodiversity, evolution, and natural selection with a presentation for your biology class. It features clear information, activities for further understanding, and...
Curated OER
Kwanzaa
Learners recognize that families can be strengthened as a result of a holiday. They identify things about holidays that have strengthened their families. They explain some of the symbols of Kwanzaa. They draw one of the purposes of Kwanzaa.
Curated OER
Comprehension Questions for Stitching Stars
In this comprehension questions for Stitching Stars worksheet, students answer 30 comprehension questions after reading the book about quilts made by slaves in the 17-19th centuries.
Curated OER
Act it Out
Students discuss racial stereotypes. For this racial stereotypes lesson, students develop a character from information given to them on an index card. Students give their character a race different from their own and write a...
Curated OER
Lake Tahoe Then and Now
Students investigate the differences in Lake Tahoe from the past to the present. In this geography instructional activity, students read the book Washoe Seasons of Life and identify the descriptions of the land and lake. Students create...
Curated OER
The Million Man March
Students investigate the founding and applications of having The Million Man March while writing about the founder Louis Farrakhan. They communicate the intentions of the march that included the responsibility men are to take for the...
Curated OER
Perspective on the Slave Narrative
High schoolers work with the slave narrative as a resource for historical study and evaluate it as a work of literature; students then examine the narrative in the context of political controversy as an argument for abolition.
Curated OER
Theatre: Oral Traditions
Students investigate cultural traditions. In this multi-cultural lesson, students discuss various cultures and research their traditions.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] Young scholars will examine African American slave spirituals, a painting, and a personal narrative to analyze the underlying messages of these materials.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Slavery and Freedom: Sorrow Songs
Sorrow Songs are examined as the music the African American slaves of the antebellum South to express both sadness and despair as well as well as hope for better. See "Sorrow Songs Activities" for related artifacts and activities.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Slave Religion
What religions did slaves bring from Africa to America? This PBS series site provides the historical overview of how early African Americans preserved African spiritual beliefs and practices while enslaved, converted to Christianity, and...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Singing, Making of African American Identity: V. 3
An analysis of the role music played in the civil rights movement. The well known spiritual, "We Shall Overcome," is referenced as playing a key role in supporting this movement.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Religion, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
A series of songs, narratives, and memoirs that examine the spiritual beliefs of and experiences with religion among slaves in southern plantation communities.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Realism: Spirituals
This lesson focuses on the spirituals sung by the African American slaves as a way to express feeling and relay information in coded messages. as well as, to pass the time. It includes a PDF of the lyrics to two spirituals, "Go Down,...
PBS
Pbs: This Far by Faith
Follow the spiritual journey of African Americans as you move along a timeline of major events and eras. Excellent coverage of the importance of spiritualism, religions, and faith in the African American community. Major religious...
Smithsonian Institution
Anacostia Community Museum: Speak to My Heart: Communities of Faith
This site delves into the role that religious institutions and spiritual traditions have and continue to play in the civic, social and cultural lives of African Americans.
Digital History
Digital History: Slave Culture
Find out about the contributions African slaves and African American slaves made to not only their culture, but American culture in general. See what words have African roots, how African culture influenced food and music, and how there...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Hiram Rhoades Revels
Biography of Hiram Rhoades Revels, who is best remembered as not only the first African American to hold a seat in the U.S. Senate, but also for his dedication to improving the spiritual and educational needs of the African American...
Black Past
Black Past: Fisk Jubilee Singers
In this interesting encyclopedia article, you can read about the beginning of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a gospel group which performed spirituals all over the country and the world.
PBS
Pbs: God in America
Site has much to offer on the topic of the 400-year history of religion and public life in America. At this point in time the full videos are available to watch for free. Topics include: American Scripture, God in the White House, Sacred...
PBS
Pbs: This Far by Faith: Thomas Dorsey
A biography of Thomas Dorsey, the man known as "the father of gospel music," from the producers of "This Far by Faith," a series on African-American spiritual journeys. (The series premiered on PBS stations in June 2003.) The site...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song
This ArtsEdge instructional activity, part of a larger unit about Harriet Tubman, not only teaches students about spirituals but effectively illustrates the struggle for freedom from slavery.
PBS
Pbs: Music, Slavery and the Civil War
This lesson plan could serve as the basis of a curriculum unit on slavery and/or the Civil War. Spirituals are analyzed, especially their cultural implications.