Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Should the Colonists Have Revolted Against Great Britain?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Should the Americans have taken the plunge and revolted against Great Britain? Using documents, including the famed Common Sense and a Loyalist response, pupils conduct a lengthy investigation of the question. The interesting resource...
Primary
PBS

Pbs: African American World History

For Students 9th - 10th
Featuring an excerpt from a memoir written by Ruby Bridges telling of her experience as the first African American child to attend an all white elementary school in New Orleans in the year 1960.
Primary
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: History Now: African Americans in World War Ii

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An article about the contributions of African Americans to the war effort during World War II, despite discrimination.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: African American Soldiers in World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection that uses primary sources to explore the experiences of African American Soldiers in World War I.
Primary
Brigham Young University

Byu: Scott's Official History: American Negro in the World War

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the full text of a book about the military history of African Americans in World War I. Emmett J. Scott wrote this book in 1919 to detail the experiences of African American soldiers in World War I, covering such topics as...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Making of African American Identity: World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
Excerpts from "The Official History of the American Negro in World War I" by Emmett J. Scott, depicting the impact of the Great War on African Americans at home. The doubts that whites voiced about African Americans' loyalty and military...
Primary
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: African Americans at San Jacinto

For Students 9th - 10th
This website from Texas State Library contains a petition for pensions for African-Americans who served in the Battle of San Jacinto. Clicking on the document will enlarge it and will take you to a transcription of the document.
Primary
Rice University

Community in History

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The citizens of Indpendence Heights near Houston, Texas were the subjects of this NEH-funded community history project, which is designed for students to gain a holistic sense of the role of history in understanding the world around...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Image of Community, 1968, Making of African American Identity: V.

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This article describes the history associated with the sculpture Black Unity, an image of African American community in 1968 by Elizabeth Catlett.
Primary
University of Virginia

University of Virginia: The Negro in the Regular Army

For Students 9th - 10th
This etext contains the history of the Philippine-American War. In this passage by Oswald Garrison Villard you will read about African Americans who fought in the War.
Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Black Lost Cause. Colored Service in Confederate Army

For Students 9th - 10th
This well-researched extensive essay by Peter Stam looks at the issue of the number of African Americans serving in the Confederate Army as soldiers. By examining information from many historians, some of whom turn out to be unreliable,...
Primary
US National Archives

Nara: American Originals: 54th Regiment Casualty List

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting webpage in that it contains a brief summary of the history of the Regiment as well as the Casualty List from the assault on Fort Wagner and two historic photos.
Primary
Brigham Young University

Byu: Scott's Official History: Record of the Old Fifteenth

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the 369th United States infantry who were the first black men to fight in France. Includes details on training the regiment and guarding German prisoners, and also a letter from Colonel Hayward. From "The American Negro in...
Primary
Other

Letter From Birminghham Jail [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This letter shares Martin Luther King's reflections about his involvement in peaceful demonstrations. The letter provides historical information about the plight of African Americans throughout history and why he and others are so...
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Atlanta Compromise Speech, 1895

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an excerpt from Booker T. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, in which he stresses accommodation rather than resistance as way to deal with racism. Includes a short audio clip - the only surviving recording of Washington's...
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Seven Letters From the Great Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
These seven letters to the Chicago "Defender," a black newspaper, offer accounts from individuals who chose to leave the South from 1916-1921 in search of better opportunities as a part of what is now known as the Great Migration.
Primary
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: Jim Crow Laws

For Students 9th - 10th
Find Jim Crow laws, see signs, and read restrictive covenants that restricted freedom of movement, housing, and use of public facilities by African Americans in the late 19th and 20 centuries.
Primary
Other

Indiana Historical Society: Digital Image Collections

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Vast database of images and artifacts tells the story of Indiana and its people. Search by keyword or browse preset special collections of notable Hoosiers, the history of African Americans in Indiana, or Indiana military history, among...
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Blackface Minstrelsy in Modern America

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore blackface minstrelsy in modern America.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source: Beyond Busing: School Desegregation in Boston

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore school desegregation in Boston.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Fannie Lou Hamer Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection that uses primary sources to explore Fannie Lou Hamer and the civil rights movement in rural Mississippi.
Primary
Columbia University

Columbia University: The Price of Freedom [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A lengthy interview with Mr. Ferguson who was a very early follower of Malcolm X and who was present at the assassination of the famous African American leader.
Primary
PBS

Africans in America: Revolution: Significance of Dunmore's Proclamation

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief interview with Betty Wood, professor of history, on the significance of Dunmore's Proclamation to Loyalist plantation owners, Patriot plantation owners, and, in particular, the slaves themselves. From PBS.
Primary
Other

American Scientist: Author Interview: Neil De Grasse Tyson

For Students 9th - 10th
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has made "Popularizing science a personal passion." Tyson's latest book, Origins, is the starting point here for a discussion of dark matter, intelligent life in our solar system, the possibility of...