Smithsonian Institution
African American Pioneers in Aviation
Bessie Coleman. William Powell. Willa Brown. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. While these names may not be familiar to many Americans, they are African American pioneers in aviation history. Class members have an opportunity to research the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Wangechi Mutu
Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...
Curated OER
African Folk Tales
Seventh graders listen to, recite, and research African folktales. They research African artwork to add to their original folk tales which they write.
Curated OER
Seven Famous African-American Masters of American Art
Learners 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
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...
Curated OER
Women in Africa: Tradition and Change
Students examine a selection of traditional African artwork that portray women and explore postcolonial African literature created by women in order to gain insight into the lives of some black women in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Learners explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Learners observe and describe objects and...
National Gallery of Canada
My Mask, My Voice
Recognize Black History Month with an examination of the African diaspora and a hands-on mask-making project. Learners first view and discuss images of artwork before creating their own plaster masks.
Curated OER
South Africa's Apartheid
Discuss South African apartheid, the anti-apartheid movement, and the literature and music it inspired. Slides contain images and facts about life in South Africa during apartheid, social uprisings such as Soweto, and the various...
Curated OER
Class Experience: African Masks
Young scholars discover the many diverse artwork produced in Africa while focusing upon masks created in tribal groups. They conduct research using a variety of resources and then use the information as samples for inspiration to create...
National Gallery of Canada
From Africa to Canada
Represent the African diaspora with figurines. Using a discussion on the contributions of people of African descent as inspiration, class members prepare sketches of a figure and put together a small sculpture from those sketches.
Curated OER
Africa: Art and Culture
Posing an introductory question about the reflection of culture within art, this lecture on African art forms will garner intrigue and imagination. From oral tradition (the African griot), to images of African masks and Western...
Curated OER
Cyberspace Safari
Middle schoolers go on an information gathering hunt on the Internet to study West African empires. They work in teams; meteorologists, bankers, writers, and archaeologists. They collect data on all sorts of topics related to West...
Curated OER
A Celebration of Africa
Students investigate early African civilizations. They create Kufi hats, musical instruments, pottery and African masks, sing songs, play African studenT games, and participate in a feast and tour of a museum where their artwork is...
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Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Shinique Smith
A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the lesson. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where the clothing came...
Curated OER
Habari Gani: What is the News?
Display creative works of art after learning about Kwanzaa. Kindergartners hear stories about the history of Kwanzaa and its celebrations. They then create artwork, practice African dances and listen to African music.
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...
Center for History Education
Understanding the Great Migration
What would make someone leave home and travel thousands of miles to find another one? Young historians look at letters, demographic data, and artwork to answer the question for the Great Migration, or the movement of thousands of African...
Curated OER
Utilizing Art, Literature and Film to Teach Black History
Fifth graders are introduced to different aspects of African-American history through literature, art, and films. As a class, they are read a story about the Underground Railroad, identify the main characters and put the events into...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Movement: Closing Day
Young scholars explore the American Civil Rights Movement. In this African American history instructional activity, students close a Civil Rights unit by preparing Civil Rights Open House exhibits for an audience.
Curated OER
Constructing a Timeline of African History
Students create a timeline of African History. In groups, they research and describe eight different important periods in the country's history. They apply this information to compare and contrast them and how it has allowed Africa to...
Curated OER
African-American Artists
Students 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
Suffering and Sunset: An African American Artist's Impression of World War I
Students study paintings by a Pennsylvania artist, Horace Pippin, to explore African-American contributions in World War I. They create presentations based on their impressions of the artwork.
Curated OER
Clay Magic Pots
Fifth graders create clay artwork that resembles African and Egyptian monolithic sculptures. In this visual arts lesson, 5th graders are shown examples of monolithic and figural sculpture from Egyptian and African cultures, then...