National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
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...
American Institute of Physics
Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
American Institute of Physics
African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics
A two-part lesson focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by examining his...
Academy of American Poets
The African American Experience
Disrespect can be as subtle as a frown or a turn of a head. To prepare for a study of Toi Derricote's poem "The Weakness" class members create wordless skits that demonstrate subtle or not so subtle signs of disrespect. After a...
BrainPOP
Civil Rights Lesson Plan: Tracking History Through Timelines
Use the accompanying assessment to determine your class's prior knowledge on Martin Luther King, Jr. before beginning a lesson on the famous civil rights movement leader. The resource has young historians thinking about life for African...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson plan that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars...
Curated OER
From Jim Crow To Linda Brown: A Retrospective of the African-American Experience from 1897 to 1953
Students examine African American issue between the years 1897 and 1953. In this African American history lesson, students research the social, economic, and political conditions of African Americans during the aforementioned time span...
Curated OER
Gullah Contributions to South Carolina History
Learners research the Gullah people and their impact on South Carolina. For this South Carolina history lesson, students study, locate, and color the region of Africa the Gullah people came from. Learners listen to Gullah music and watch...
Curated OER
African Mask
Students make masks. For this African art lesson, students review background information about African art and the use of masks. Students use geometric shapes and other designs to create their masks.
Curated OER
African Americans after the Civil War
Students explore the events of Reconstruction after the Civil War. In this US History lesson plan, students complete several activities and worksheets that reinforce challenges and social upheaval experienced in the South after the...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
An African American Represents Alabama during Reconstruction
The era after the Civil War saw a flourishing of African Americans exercising their rights. Using graphic organizers and Internet research, pupils consider the legacy of Benjamin Sterling Turner, who sat in Congress. Afterward, they...
Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture
Packed with a wealth of information about African-Americans of note, this packet, and the links it provides to other resources, could be used as is for a month-long study of Black history or to supplement lessons already in your curriculum.
Curated OER
African American Women Trailblazers
Students take a closer look at the accomplishments of African-American women. In this African-American history lesson, students explore the work of Bessie Coleman, Gwendolyn Bennett, Lulu Madison White, and Zelma Watson George as they...
Curated OER
Migration of the African American Family
Learners investigate the influence Africa has had on African-American families as they have migrated from Africa to various sections of the United States. They utilize map skills to locate regions in Africa and in the United States.
Curated OER
Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
High schoolers analyze a painting from African-American culture to determine its meaning. Reading slave spirituals, they discover what live was like for African-Americans who were enslaved in the South. They draw conclusions about their...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
History of Immigration Through the 1850s
Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...
Curated OER
Breaking Barriers
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
Curated OER
African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.
Carolina K-12
African Americans and the Vietnam War
No need to look any further. This resource has everything for a solid exploration of the role of African Americans in the Vietnam War. Class members read primary sources, including a Martin Luther King speech, political cartoons of the...
Center for History Education
Continuity or Change? African Americans in World War II
While World War II was a pivotal moment in history, historians debate its importance to the civil rights movement. Class members consider the implications of segregation and the war using a series of documents and a jigsaw activity....
National Park Service
Lesson 1: Journaling with Songs of Freedom
There's more to music than a memorable tune. The songs of those who were enslaved reveal the harsh realities of their lives. Using both songs and slave narratives, historians uncover this hidden history. The lesson incorporates a variety...
Curated OER
The AME Church in U.S. History
Ninth graders explore the history of the African Methodist Church in the United States. In this African American history lesson, 9th graders discover why the church was founded and research its history and noteworthy members. Students...