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Returning to the South
Students reinforce their knowledge of the Great Migration by reading a narrative to investigate reasons why African-Americans chose to migrate from the South. Students then write editorials for a local newspaper that outlines the reasons...
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The Poet's Message-"The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes
Young scholars analyze the poem, "The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes to gain a greater experience of how poets use language to create meaning, influence thinking and thus become pioneers of change in American society. They work on...
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Holidays
Students compare the holidays celebrated in the Middle Ages to those celebrated in American culture today. In this cultural tradition lesson, students read Internet-linked articles about holidays of the Middle Ages. Students create...
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Is All Cinema Verité?
Learners explore the relationship between movies and culture, looking at movies as both a part of and a reflection of popular culture. They research the specific historical and cultural realities present during the run of a particular...
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It Ain't Necessarily So
Students examine characterization of African Americans in literature, popular culture, and opera. In this stereotypes lessons, students conduct research that requires them to analyze the origins and content of stereotypes perpetuated...
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What's Old Is New Again
Students explore cultural trends in the United States in the 20th century and examine the resurgence of some of those trends in today's society.
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Pieces of Mind: What's In A Dream?
Learners explore the five stages of sleep. They view video footage of sleep labs and discuss the findings. Students conduct experiments by keeping a sleep journal to track their sleep and dream activity. They find examples of ways...
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Jews and Blues
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
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Jazz and World War II: A Rally to Resistance, A Catalyst for Victory
Students examine the impact of WWII on the development of jazz music and consider how jazz music helped to boost morale of both soldiers and those left at home. They identify the function of jazz as a cultural export and discuss its...
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Cultural Comparisons Interview
Students interview a family member and give an oral report. In this oral history lesson, students create interview questions relevant to an American historical period. Students interview a family member and present an oral report to the...
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Collage of Kwanzaa Colors
Students explore African cultures by creating a holiday collage. In this Kwanzaa art instructional activity, students identify the popular colors associated with the African holiday and create a collage using them. Students present their...
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Beisbol! Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends
Students explore Latin America by researching the favorite past time, baseball. In this Latin culture lesson, students identify the leaders in the Latin American baseball movement such as Felipe Alou, Jose Mendze, and the great Roberto...
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Freedom, Power and the People
Students analyze how social change has affected artistic expression and popular culture. the explain the influence of media on contemporary American culture.
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Symbolism in China's Material Goods
Students make a generalization about the process of 'looking' and 'grouping', hoping to show that we, as Americans, show preferences and shared choices. They study examples of American art through time and create a class chart...
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Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Louis Armstrong
Students listen to selections of New Orleans street band music. They explore the culture of New Orleans in the 1920's, and perform a closer examination of Armstrong's music.
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Americas Idols
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concept of American Idol and the controversy that surrounds the broadcast. They conduct research using a variety of resources and write paragraphs that state opinions about the...
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Jazz in America Lesson Plan 8
Young scholars explore the present and juture of jazz. They identify terms associated with jazz and listen to contemporary recordings. They participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American...
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Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
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Approaching Walden
Eleventh graders examine their natural surroundings as a way to begin thinking about an abstract idea. They analyze and compare or contrast the rhetorical stategies of two essayists. Students interpret and evaluate images culled from...
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Social Studies: The Ideology of Slavery
Students examine the development of racial stereotyping beginning with the antebellum years. They research how blackface minstrel songs reinforced the antebellum mindset of African-Americans. Secondly, students investigate "Uncle Tom's...
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Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing lesson plan, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used....
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Vietnam Revisited
Students explore the impact of the Vietnam War. In this Vietnam and popular culture lesson, students research and plot major events in the conflict. Students interview people regarding their memories of the war and watch the movie " The...
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Having Fun: Leisure and Entertainment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Students explore how the innovations in culture and technology influenced the development of a leisure industry in America at the turn of the twentieth century.
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Jazz in America Lesson Plan 5
Students survey Bebop and identify the basic terms associated with jazz.They experience the music of Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday and participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American...