Curated OER
Breaking the Color Barrier: Jackie Robinson's Combat Against Racism
High schoolers explore Jackie Robinson's career. In this 20th century American history lesson, students complete the provided analysis questions based on the provided primary documents about Jackie Robinson. High schoolers discuss...
National Gallery of Canada
A Unity Wall Drawing
Build class community with an art project. Learners first examine and discuss works of art. They then contribute to a class mural by tracing their hands and decorating them in relation to their own cultures. The final mural...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Black Laws" by Roger Reeves
After investigating the Black Lives Matter movement, class members do a close read of Roger Reeves' "Black Laws." They write down words and phrases that rhyme, consider the kinds of rhymes used and their function in the poem. Scholars...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "When Fannie Lou Hamer Said" by Mahogany L. Browne
After watching an excerpt from a video of Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony before Congress, pupils do a close reading of Mahogany L. Browne's poem "When Fannie Lou Hamer Said," annotate words and phrases that draw their attention and list...
Learning for Justice
Mary McLeod Bethune
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
K20 LEARN
Civil Rights for All: Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning. Using images and a series of queries, learners consider current fights for equality. After viewing video clips profiling the women's rights movement, the American Indian Movement, and...
State Bar of Texas
Plessy v. Ferguson
Where did separate but equal originate and what does it mean? Scholars investigate the Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson. Using a short video clip, they analyze the impact the decision of legal segregation had on society in 1896....
Center for History and New Media
Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...
State Bar of Texas
Brown v. Board of Education
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
US House of Representatives
Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
Learning for Justice
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...
National Woman's History Museum
Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought
An engaging resource introduces young historians to Shirley Chisholm, the woman, the Black congresswoman, the activist, and the candidate for President in 1972. Class members study primary sources, watch a video of her announcing her run...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “Declaration” by Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith's erasure poem "Declaration" challenges scholars to use their noticing skills to make connections between an engraving entitled "The Declaration of Independence" and Smith's poem. Class members record observations and...
K20 Learn
(Mis)Reported and (Mis)Remembered: The Vietnam War
What are the complicated legacies of the Vietnam War? Learners consider the question as they examine videos and primary sources from the conflict. After examining footage and documents such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and an op-ed...
Curated OER
The Battleground: Separate and Unequal Education
Students investigate the history of unequal education in the United States and the impact on African American history. In this unequal history lesson, students discuss the purpose of education and describe an ideal school. Students...
Curated OER
African Rattles
Students locate Africa on the map or globe and tell one important fact about the continent. They follow directions and demonstrate the proper process of making an African Rattle.
Curated OER
Three-Way Match: Famous Black Americans
Students research famous African-Americans using an online resource. They complete a three-way matching activity.
Curated OER
Segregation: From Jim Crow to Linda Brown
Pupils examine the African American social, economic, and political conditions between 1896 and 1953. In this segregation lesson plan, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the plight of African Americans'...
Curated OER
Research Project
After reading books about Black history, complete an outline and research important African Americans in history. Use the included outline to write a report.
Curated OER
A Brightly Colored Past
Middle schoolers read A Brightly Colored Past, choose three things they found out about Middletown's African-American history that they didn't know before, and create slide using Kid Pix Studio Deluxe to be incorporated into classwide...
Curated OER
Flawed Democracies
Ninth graders examine the struggle for equal opportunity. In this American Government lesson, 9th graders create a timeline outlining various groups' struggles for equal opportunity. Students research and construct a timeline to...
Curated OER
It's All in the Making: Our Local Organizations
Young scholars study African American nonprofit organizations. In this nonprofit organizations lesson, students discuss African American organizations. Young scholars research the NAACP and NUL website. Students design posters for both...
Curated OER
Jazz Scenes of the Harlem Renaissance
High schoolers identify and connect themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz. They compare and contrast historical and fictionalized versions of the jazz scenes of the Harlem Renaissance. They...
Curated OER
Fighting for Democracy, Fighting for Me
Pupils explore the contributions of African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Mexican Americans in World War II. In this World War II lesson plan, students research Internet and print sources regarding the...