Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
High schoolers examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. As a class, they are introduced to five artists and discuss their art and techniques. Using the internet, they also research the philosophers of the time period and how...
Curated OER
The Life and Work of Jacob Lawrence
Black History Month provides a time to talk about the accomplishments of African Americans like Jacob Lawrence.
Curated OER
Habari Gani: What is the News?
Display creative works of art after learning about Kwanzaa. Kindergartners hear stories about the history of Kwanzaa and its celebrations. They then create artwork, practice African dances and listen to African music.
Curated OER
Federal Holidays
Third graders complete various activities pertaining to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veteran's Day. They conduct research and complete writing and art activities on the...
TCI
Dreams Progress
Has society progressed to the dream Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his famous address during the civil rights movement? Learners work with a partner to analyze one excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech and find a current...
Curated OER
Our Brand of Segregation - West Texas
Students explore the concept of segregation. In this oral history activity, students conduct interviews and research primary sources to learn about segregation practices that affected African Americans. Students present their research...
Curated OER
Torn From Each Other's Arms
Students explore the transformations that the institution of slavery underwent in the English Colonies. They study the impact of slavery on black families.
Curated OER
African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts
Students research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans...
Curated OER
Mystery and Mayhem
Students use literature to examine the violence and loss of innocence during the 1960s. In this U.S. history lesson, students read Robert McCammon's Boy's Life to investigate the social unrest, violence and loss of innocence in the...
Curated OER
Poetry - Landscape, Comparison, and Critical Response
Students compare and evaluate landscape poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read poetry by Owen Sheers that describes place/landscapes. They read and compare two similar poems before looking at visual images related to the poems....
Educa Madrid
Prehistory
Images of the Atapuerca Caves, the cave paintings at Altamira, and a Neanderthal skull found at Forbes' Quarry on Gibraltar serve to introduce kids to prehistoric sites in Spain. Designed to support a study of prehistoric Spain, the...
Curated OER
Mosaic Masks
Students discover the history of mosaics through teacher-lead lectures and discussions. Individuals spend 3-4 weeks creatively constructing mosaic masks using step-by-step design instructions.
Curated OER
Seasonal Poetry Reflective Journal
Pull quotes from a text and craft responses to the quotes you chose. First, read a short excerpt from Mary Claire Wilfert's oral history. Then, read the contemporary poem "Robert's Cove," pulling quotes and writing responses as...
Curated OER
Poetry Appreciation – "The Raven"
Introduce your class to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe with this series of activities, exercises, and worksheets. Class members examine an image, analyze a movie trailer, read a prose version of the poem, look up vocabulary, and pick out...
Curated OER
Kooky Spider
Students create "Kooky spiders" using toilet paper tubes, twist ties, marbles, buttons, paint, and a hot glue gun in this Art activity for the early-elementary classroom. The activity is ideal for the Halloween season. Take safety...
Curated OER
O Greek Shape! O Fair Pose!
Students analyze the black-figure painting style of ancient Greece and its influence on Neoclassical artists during the 18th century, as seen in drawing, painting and silhouettes, or shadow portraits. In this ancient art...
Curated OER
Four Armed Men From the Renaissance!
Students study the Renaissance and the important art from the period. In this Renaissance lesson, students discuss the black plague and religion during the Renaissance. Students read the Renaissance worksheet and learn vocabulary words...
Curated OER
Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream
Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class. In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South and...
Curated OER
The Middle Passage
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...
Curated OER
Kente Cloths
Second graders create examples of Kente cloths using paper, markers, and paints in this multi-cultural Art activity for the second grade. The two part activity includes an introduction of Kente Cloth designs and can be accomplished in...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance: Awakening the Black Soul
Eleventh graders explore, examine and study about the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on the American culture. They assess and explain how the Harlem Renaissance was a "rebirth" for the African American culture through art, music, and...
Curated OER
Ideal Performance
Students analyze the art of theatrical costumes and modern art designs. In this art analysis lesson, students compare two different designs for theatrical costumes by artists Oskar Schlemmer and El Lissitzky. Students complete image...