Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 

A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic,...

In a hands-on learning activity, pupils read about and recreate the experience of Harriet Jacobs, author of one of the most famous slave narratives of all time in which she describes her years of hiding from her master in a confined...

Chances are good that young scholars have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen but few would predict that these pilots had their own support in the form of the Tuskegee Weathermen. These Black meteorologists were recruited and trained to provide...

Students explore African American migration. In this black culture and history instructional activity, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Students observe and...

After reading books about Black history, complete an outline and research important African Americans in history. Use the included outline to write a report.

Young scholars read Patricia Polacco's Mrs. Katz and Tush before comparing Jewish heritage with Black history using a Venn Diagram. They complete the diagram either as a whole group or in a small group setting. Next, they sample the...

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...

Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this African American history lesson, students compare and contrast the tactics employed by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King,...

The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...

Two great men, one time period, and one purpose; it sounds like a movie trailer, but it's not. It's a very good comparative analysis lesson focused on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Learners will research and read informational...

Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a instructional activity that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz...

Informational text and impressionistic art lead a lesson 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...

The third lesson in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to Congress...

Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.

The fourth installment of the seven-lesson unit focused on African Americans elected to and serving in the US Congress looks at the period from 1971 through 2007. Class members read a contextual essay that provides background information...

Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lour Hammer are three African American activists who stood up for change. Though living in different time periods, all three women sought justice and equality. Class members examine primary source...

Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...

A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...

Scholars go on a musical journey to discover the origin, importance, and evolution of the song, "This Little Light of Mine". Class members boost their voice talents and clap to the beat while learning the lyrics in both English and Zulu....

Young scholars show what they know about Rosa Parks and the incident on one of the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Groups discuss and identify where they receive most of their information. They examine the importance of having a complete...

No need to look any further. This resource has everything for a solid exploration of the role of African Americans in the Vietnam War. Class members read primary sources, including a Martin Luther King speech, political cartoons of the...

Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...

Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and A. Philip Randolph developed different views on how to advance civil rights for African Americans. Class members research these famous figures and their strategies before developing...