Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Time Marches On

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers discover the times of Colonial America by creating a timeline.  In this U.S. History lesson, students research a teacher-directed website about African Americans in early colonial times.  High schoolers utilize...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate the Underground Railroad. In this African-American history lesson, students listen to the book Clara and the Freedom Quilt and use map skills to identify the various locations in the book. Students create a freedom...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Southern Society during the Civil War: Black Society

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research and discuss the societal changes during the Civil War as it relates to various parts of southern society. In this southern society during the civil war lesson, students examine what life was like for slaves during the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uncle Tom's Cabin as Anti-Slavery Argument

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Pupils read and discuss how African- Americans are depicted in slave auction announcements. They research how Harriet Beecher Stow responds to the sale of slaves.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Resistance and Self-Determination

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine a person's education and their ability to be independent and to resist oppression.  In this American History lesson, 4th graders study the ideas of James McCune Smith. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Steps to Freedom

For Teachers K - 4th
Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history instructional activity, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Angelina and Sarah Grimke: Sisters of Social Reform

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students read about Angelina and Sarah Grimke and answer comprehension questions about them. In this women of social reform lesson plan, students read about women who helped to abolish slavery, discuss having goals and ambitions, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Legend of Freedom Hill

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Legend of Freedom Hill. In this reading lesson plan, 3rd graders complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slaver Code of 1833

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the Africane, the first slave ship to bring slaves to the area, entered the port of Mobile in 1721. In 1724 the French Code Noir was extended into the Mobile area and provided the basic laws and conditions of slavery....
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Comparing Multiple Accounts of the Same Topic: The Story of Bus Desegregation (Promises to Keep, Page 21)

For Teachers 5th Standards
It's all connected. Learners read event details in Promises to Keep to determine the connection between the bus boycott and Jackie Robinson. They watch a video and read Rules for Riding Desegregated Buses to discover even more details to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural Impact of Jim Crow Laws and Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students compare the cultural customs of people from European descent and African Americans between 1900 and 1940. Next students listen to interviews about life during the time of Jim Crow laws, and determine how life might be different...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

'And Maybe I Can Change That Too'

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider their own prejudices and stereotypes. In this social justice lesson, students monitor their own reactions to people who are different from themselves. Students watch a video featuring Toni Morrison that presents a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans During the Civil War

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders work together to discuss the various experiences of African Americans during the Civil War. Using the internet, they identify the laws and reasons African Americans were allowed to join the Union Army. Using their...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

Civil War: Face Jug

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine African American art. For this African American history lesson, students research face jugs created by African American freedmen after they watch a video about the artifact and its significance. Students then create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Call and Response Singing

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate call and response singing.  In this fine arts and U.S. history lesson, students listen to several call and response songs that were sung by African-American slaves during the period before the Civil War. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harriet Tubman

For Teachers K - 4th
Students sing the song "Harriet Tubman" by Walter Robinson. In this African-American history lesson, students review code words that were used during the slave trade and listen to the song "Harriet Tubman". Students create movements to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reach for the Stars

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners investigate the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, students read books about slavery, the Undeground Railroad, and how slaves escaped the south. Learners develop knowledge about coded songs and constellations that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Middle Passage

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore slavery conditions by viewing a video clip on the Internet. In this slave ship lesson, 5th graders discuss the transportation of black men and women from Africa to the United States in the 1700's and how poor the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Historical poetry is lyrical in form and rich with content. After examining the differences between the Northern and Southern states before and during the U.S. Civil War, learners complete a Venn diagram and create an illustration of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Road to California - A Journey to Freedom

For Teachers K - 5th
Students complete a Web quest about Biddy Mason's journey Westward to California as a slave and her ultimate rise to one of the wealthiest and generous woman of the Westward Movement. They present an exhibit of their research.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension: Frederick Douglass

For Students 4th - 6th
For this history worksheet, students read a one page biography about Frederick Douglass. Students then answer 15 short essay questions about the text.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Beat of the Blues

For Teachers All
This lesson plan focuses on how students can learn basic blues percussion patterns by considering the polyrhythms of African drumming and investigating how and why such drums were banned during slavery. Students will listen to several...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil War: A Nation Divided

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the clash between the North and the South. In this Civil War lesson plan, students watch segments of the Discovery video "The Civil War: A Nation Divided". Students conduct further research pertaining to the...