Curated OER
The Empires of Africa
Students, in groups, compare and chart the different African kingdoms and city-states. They write a short essay detailing the aspects of African history that most fascinates them.
Curated OER
The Jim Crow Era
Learners examine how African-Americans were affected by the Great Depression. In this African-American history lesson, students conduct independent research on the social conditions of the time period using the suggested resources....
Curated OER
African American Scientists
Students study several important African American scientists and explore their lives. They recreate scientists' experiences through journal entries.
Curated OER
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits: Grades 3-5
Students explore the contributions of African Americans of the 20th century. In this African American history lesson, students examine portraits of Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, Lorraine Hansberry, Judith Jamison, and Leontyne Price in...
Curated OER
African-American Iowans: History, contributions & Accomplishments.
Students explore lives of African-Americans in Iowa. Students will examine biographies and discuss perspectives of African-Americans. They will then create posters illustrating elements of those lives finally, putting on a five act play...
Curated OER
African American Contributions
Students recognize contributions made by African Americans to American society. In this African American history lesson, students research contributions made by African Americans and use a graphic organizer to organize their research....
Curated OER
History: An African American Cultural Celebration
Students prepare and organize a cultural celebration of African migration and immigration. Working in groups or individually, they research topics and present the information, including dance demonstrations, instrumental or vocal...
Curated OER
African Studies Lessons Islamic Timeline
Students create an Islamic timeline. In this social studies lesson plan, students work in mixed-ability pairs in an attempt to match up eight maps, titles, and descriptions of key historical periods. Once they make all the matches...
PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
American Battlefield Trust
United States Colored Troops
The debate over slavery contributed to the Civil War, but it didn't stop African Americans from joining the military. Academics complete a series of worksheets, read original letters, and analyze a photo of an African American soldier to...
City University of New York
African Americans and the Populist Movement
Why did the Populist Party fail to ally itself with African American farmers? To answer this essential question, class members investigate the Populist Era (188-1900) and read an article written by Tom Watson, a Populist leader.
National Woman's History Museum
Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson plan focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
American Chemical Society
Norbert Rillieux, Thermodynamics and Chemical Engineering
The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of...
National Woman's History Museum
Unsung Voices: Black Women and Their Role in Women's Suffrage
Reclaim perspectives often left out of the narrative about the suffrage movement with an activity that lifts up the voices of African American women. Using primary sources and biographical details of Fannie Barrier Williams' life, young...
US House of Representatives
“The Fifteenth Amendment in Flesh and Blood,” The Symbolic Generation of Black Americans in Congress, 1870–1887
The reading of a contextual essay launches a study of Black Americans who served in Congress from 1870 through 1887. Young historians identify the African Americans who served during this period, investigate the ways they won national...
National Woman's History Museum
Breaking Through Gender Roles: The Women of NASA
Whether recognized or not, extraordinary women were integral to breaking gender barriers and putting Americans into space. For Women's History Month, explore a series of video clips and biographical information that profile these...
Curated OER
Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...
Curated OER
Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"
Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...
Curated OER
The African Burial Ground
Students analyze African American burial grounds. In this African American history lesson, students draw conclusions about African American communities in early New York and consider how archeology made it possible to study the communities.
Curated OER
African American Community and Culture
Eighth graders explore the community of enslaved African Americans. For this American History lesson, 8th graders evaluate the importance of cultural expression in the black community. Students study the contributions made by...
Curated OER
African American Soldiers in World War I
Eleventh graders analyze the fight of African Americans. In this American History lesson, 11th graders analyze the attitudes towards blacks in the military during WWI. Students debate the performance of the 92nd division.
Curated OER
Mapping the African American Past
Fourth graders explore the African Americans impact on New York. In this US History lesson, 4th graders examine an archaeological website. Students research the Five Points neighborhood.
Curated OER
African American Identity in the Gilded Age
Ninth graders examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society. In this American History...