Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
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...
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Ghost Boys: Educator Guide
The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Curated OER
Who is Robert M. Glass? - Black History Month
Pupils research the role of African Americans during the each of the United States' wars. For this African American history lesson, students research information and statistics about the role of African Americans in the following wars:...
Curated OER
A Story on a Vase
Students associate a hydria with Greek myths. In this Greek art and mythology lesson plan, students examine a scene on a hydria, then choose a Greek myth to illustrate on their own painting.
Curated OER
Satchel Page
Bring a lesson about Negro League Baseball to your Black history unit, or any other research unit throughout the year. While the lesson plan itself is simplistic, there are several good ideas that you could use, such as creating trading...
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...
Curated OER
A Story on a Vase
Students analyze a scene depicting Herakles and the Hydra. In this Greek art lesson, students read Greek myths and choose one scene from a myth to illustrate. Students use tempera paint and a scratch technique using a wooden...
Curated OER
Abstract Art: Line, Shape And Color
Students create abstract works of art using techniques learned from the artwork of Piet Mondrian, construction paper, pre-cut shapes, and glue in this early-elementary Art activity. A great activity to introduce the concept of Abstract...
Curated OER
Pop Art Ice Cream Painting
Students create paintings of ice cream treats using Pop Art as an inspiration while developing skills in painting in this 4th through 6th grade Art lesson. Included with the lesson are possible extensions and suggested evaluation rubric.
Curated OER
Black History Stamps
Students explore the lives and contributions of the many black Americans who are honored on U.S. commemorative postage stamps, make a presentation that synthesizes information about a historical figure and time, and write a persuasive...
Curated OER
African American Literature in Art
Young scholars compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Searching for Women and Identity in Chopin's "The Awakening"
The final lesson of a three-part series on Kate Chopin's The Awakening has scholars investigate life as a woman in late nineteenth-century America. They research the role of women in society through the eyes of the characters in the...
Curated OER
Pop Art People
Students research art history by creating an illustration in class. For this popular art lesson, students identify Keith Haring by researching information on the web. Students draw people in different athletic poses and mount their...
Curated OER
Utilizing Art, Literature and Film to Teach Black History
Fifth graders are introduced to different aspects of African-American history through literature, art, and films. As a class, they are read a story about the Underground Railroad, identify the main characters and put the events into...
Curated OER
Black And Asian Involvement in World War 2
Students read story excerpts from the BBC WW2 People's War archive to discover the contributions and obstacles faced by Asian and Black participants in World War 2 British forces. They prepare a radio report describing the commonwealth...
Curated OER
Greek Story Vases
There are so many ways to tell a story! Develop visual storytelling skills while facilitating an understanding of Greek art and culture. Learners design Greek style images to tell a story through art. They add their designs to Styrofoam...
Stanford University
Voices of the Struggle: The Continual Struggle for Equality
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history....
Curated OER
Overglaze Decoration on Tile
Students explore majolica. In this art and history lesson, students glaze and decorate pottery using the decorative ceramic technique of Majolica. Students discuss visual arts and make connections with history.
Curated OER
To Be Black and American: World War II
Twelfth graders research wartime conditions African American had to endure during World War II. They explain what role African Americans played in World War II and describe what life was like for African Americans in the United States...
Digital Forsyth
Photo Analysis for Visual Impact
A instructional activity on photo analysis, compare and contrast, and an art project are here for the taking. Fourth graders analyze photographs of gas stations from now and from the past, focusing on how the cars and building designs...
Curated OER
Black Soldiers in the Civil War
High schoolers explain how a history of slavery distinguishes American society from other societies. They study posters and documents from different eras in our history which document the practice of slavery, and civil rights violations.