Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celebrating African Americans and Coins

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who's Who In Black History

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the life and achievements of promident African-Americans. As a class, they participate in acting out various scenes of a play which represents the Civil Rights era. They discuss how the world might be different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What was life like for African Americans after the Reconstruction?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the origins and effects of Jim Crow laws and how specific legislation supported segregation. The lesson provides foundational, historical background for unit on the media's role in the social justice campaign of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Technology Integration Lesson Plan: The African-American Experience

For Teachers 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Families: Portraits of African-American Families

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students develop a greater understanding and appreciation for their families. They increase personal self-esteem and pride as a result of studying about families through literature. They assess the importance of family values and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Ancient Maya

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the culture of the Mayans through a variety of activities. For this lesson about Maya, students analyze pictures in books and on websites, produce scale models of Maya architecture, and create Maya mosaics. Students...
Lesson Plan
Library of Virginia

Antebellum Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Holy Land

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Explore the culture, geography, and religion of Ethiopia. Learners complete a viewing guide while watching a film on Ethiopia as the first Christian country in Africa. Additionally, they create group presentations and write paragraphs...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pizza Biography

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
A biography writing instructional activity 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...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

After Charlottesville: Public Memory and the Contested Meaning of Monuments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Are Civil War monuments a kind remembrance or a reminder of a dark past? The activity focuses on the public's memory of the Civil War and the monuments that represent it. Young academics explore past efforts to change historical symbols...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Mass incarceration: A result of a tough stance on crime or racial discrimination, you decide. Academics explore the history and reasons behind mass incarcerations in the United States and its impact on ethnic communities. The...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Parallels Between Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Is history repeating itself? A riveting lesson examines the parallels between mass incarceration in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws of the past. Academics review Jim Crow Laws and compare them to mass incarcerations of African Americans....
Lesson Plan
Museum of the American Revolution

Dunmore's Declaration

For Teachers 4th - 12th
To fight or not to fight, that is the question. A thought-provoking activity focuses on the Dunmore Declaration that promised to free enslaved people who chose to fight for the British during the American Revolution. Scholars read the...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Freedom for All? The Contradictions of Slavery and Freedom in the Maryland Constitution

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Freedom for the few! An interesting lesson focuses on the Maryland Constitution and its lack of freedom for African Americans. Scholars examine the premise of freedom for all—which only extended to a limited few.  Academics complete...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Songs, Sounds and Stories from the Georgia Sea Islands

For Teachers K - 12th
American music is the result of the influence of many cultures, including the traditions brought by the African slaves. Young scholars study the polyrhythms, the call-and-response format, and the vocal improvisations of the Gullah...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music: Off the Wall & Onto the Stage - Composing

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Kids explore Gullah music from Africa and then create original compositions based on what they've learned. They practice traditional melodies and rhythms then make some of their own, which they then perform for the class. 
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Understanding the Prison Label

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Break the chain. An engaging lesson examines why it is so hard to break free of the prison system in the US. Academics participate in a reader's theater, read primary sources, and discuss their thoughts. The lesson explains the hardships...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Separate is Not Equal: Fight for Desegregation

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Separate is not equal! An eye-opening lesson delves into the past to understand the fight for desegregation and how it impacted African American communities. Academics complete two one-hour lessons using documents, photographs, and...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Jim Crow as a Form of Racialized Social Control

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Just because slavery was illegal doesn't mean it went away ... Jim Crow Laws took its place. An eye-opening lesson focuses on how Jim Crow Laws were used as a form of racial social control against African Americans in the United States....
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

The War on Drugs—Mechanisms and Effects

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The war on drugs doesn't have definite results. An interesting lesson examines the social, political, and economic effect of the war on drugs. Academics learn how the war on drugs has led to mass incarcerations and negatively affected...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Teaching Tolerance

Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Dismantling Racial Caste

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's time to end racism. The final installment of the series encourages scholars to consider what is needed to ended the racial caste system in the U.S. Young historians complete group discussion, written prompt, and a hands-on-activity...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...

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