Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Yale University
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Curated OER
Roots And Styles Of Black Music - Lesson 1
Students identify many genres of Black music. They identify Black music as a reflection of the culture. They study many historically influential Black music artists, producers, and other contributors.
Curated OER
"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black history,...
Curated OER
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...
Lesson Planet
New Books for Black History Month
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 1
Students identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative and recording studio engineer. They connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry.
Smithsonian Institution
Black Diamond
Score a home run with this packet of information on the very first player of the Negro League to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — cultural groundbreaker and sports legend Satchel Paige. These worksheets include a...
Curated OER
Black History Stamps
Pupils 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 letter.
Curated OER
African American Literature in Art
Learners 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."
Curated OER
The Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow Era
Students explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. Students write a...
Curated OER
Lesson 12- Quincy Jones:What Makes an American Master?
Students study the life of Quincy Jones and research black music for selected decades of the 20th Century. They discuss the qualities that help one create and sustain a successful career. They design a timeline of what their future...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
John F. Kennedy Center
Harriet Tubman: An Informative and Impressionistic Look
Informational text and impressionistic art lead a lesson plan about Harriet Tubman. Working in teams, scholars examine a variety of resources. They analyze, compare, and contrast the work. Using their research findings, pupils create an...
Curated OER
Deep like Rivers: Four African American Poets of the 1920s and 1930s
Students examine work by outstanding African American poets from the time period of the 1920s and 1930s. They study aspects of American and African American social, cultural and artistic history that influenced the content of some of the...
Curated OER
The Invisible People: American Art and Literature Represents the Marginalized and Disenfranchised
Young scholars view various pieces of art and sculptures which demonstrates people who are marginalized and invisible. While viewing the art, they are read excerpts of different pieces of literature in which they determine why the...
Curated OER
Parallel Studies in American/Afro-American Literature, Part II -- Black and White Images in Alienation
Young scholars begin the lesson plan with a review of the elements of poetry. Individually, they read a variety of poems and literature one white and one black author focusing on decay, sterility and alienation. They identify these...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of their...
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America - Lesson 5
High schoolers identify many genres of Black music. They listen to examples of black artists playing songs of social concious, then identify issues that are addressed by today's Black artists.
Curated OER
Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music in America - Episode 3: Can I Get A Witness: Lesson 2
Students watch a video on spiritual music, then engage in a discussion about the artists and styles mentioned in the video. They discuss vocal improvisation, and engage in a call and response to "This Little Light Of Mine.'
Curated OER
Black and Blue
Students create print advertisements that persuade viewers to visit African-American history museums by detailing their artistic, cultural, and historical benefits.
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...
Curated OER
The Motown Dynasty (1969-1980) Part 2
High schoolers connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry. They identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions with the Motown Sound.
Curated OER
The City in Black and White and Color: An interdisciplinary approach to teaching life in the city using literature, social studies, art, and photography.
Learners design an artistic and literary collage of contemporary urban life that seeks to interpret, analyze, and evaluate its mettle. They integrate their impressions of urban life with established views, thereby enriching their...