Lesson Plan
Crafting Freedom

George Moses Horton: Slavery from a Poet's Perspective

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
After reading about the life of George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry, learners will recall his major accomplishments, provide a summary of the obstacles he faced, and identify common aspects of the...
Lesson Plan
Atlanta History Center

Civil Disobedience and the Atlanta Student Movement

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
What tactics are used in civil disobedience? Learners study the conditions in Alabama that led to the establishment of the Atlanta Student Movement, as well as consider the nature and effectiveness of civil disobedience.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pizza Biography

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
A biography writing instructional activity with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Ruby Bridges

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
Lesson Plan
Atlanta History Center

What if YOU Lived During Jim Crow?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson 3: Essay Organizer

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
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,...
Lesson Plan
Crafting Freedom

The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Tuskegee Weathermen: African-American Meteorologists during World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Research Project

For Teachers 7th - 12th
After reading books about Black history, complete an outline and research important African Americans in history. Use the included outline to write a report.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mrs. Katz and Tush

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students 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 Jewish...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Be Black and American: World War II

For Teachers 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Black Separatism or the Beloved Community? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land and Liberty: The Saga of Sam McCulloch

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: A Compare and Contrast Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a lesson that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz musicians,...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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.
Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Permanent Interests: The Expansion, Organization, and Rising Influence of African Americans in Congress, 1971–2007

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

African American Activists

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Maya Angelou

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance

For Teachers 4th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Singing for Justice: Following the Musical Journey of “This Little Light of Mine”

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
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....
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Rosa Parks: Sources of Information

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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...

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