Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: The Children's March
What was the Children's Crusade and how did it impact the civil rights movement in the United States? Your young learners will learn about this incredible event through a variety of instructional activities, from reading a poem and...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Academy of American Poets
On Marilyn Nelson's Poem “1905”
Marilyn Nelson's poem, "1905," asks young scholars to compare and contrast George Washington Carver and Albert Einstein. After studying images of the two scientists and listing their observations, class members listen to several readings...
Library of Congress
To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
Curated OER
Rosa Parks
Second graders discover who Rosa Parks was and the significance of her role in Black History. Students place events in Rosa Park's life in chronological order.
Crafting Freedom
Man in the Middle: Thomas Day and the Free Black Experience
How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...
PBS
Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War
Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...
Curated OER
Black Panther Party Lesson Plan
Why did the Black Panther Party feel colonized, and what methods did they employ to achieve empowerment? Your class members will engage in an online PowerPoint presentation, analysis of several documents, and discussion in order to...
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
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...
Country Music Hall of Fame
Ray Charles and Country Music
Ray Charles used the pain and adversity from his life to influence an entire genre of American music. Learn about the musician's daily life, struggles and success, and powerful musical style with a thorough resource.
Curated OER
Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History
Middle schoolers complete activities for Black History month. In this Black history month lesson, students complete assignments their teacher chooses after they have examined the do's and don'ts of teaching the subject.
Anti-Defamation League
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought, Unbossed and Unforgotten
A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...
Atlanta History Center
What if YOU Lived During Jim Crow?
Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities.
Center for History Education
Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Exploring the Lives of Black Women During the 19th Century
Young historians investigate the often-hidden history of free and enslaved African American women before the Civil War. Using a collection of primary and secondary sources, including speeches, diaries, and poems, they evaluate the often...
Center for History Education
The Untold Story: The Black Struggle for Freedom during the Revolutionary War in Maryland
The American Revolution brought freedom to select groups and ignored others. An enlightening resource highlights the struggle of African Americans during the American Revolution and their efforts to escape slavery. Scholars analyze...
Curated OER
Southern Society during the Civil War: Black Society
Students research and discuss the societal changes during the Civil War as it relates to various parts of southern society. In this southern society during the civil war lesson, students examine what life was like for slaves during the...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...
Benjamin Banneker Association
Celebrate Benjamin Banneker
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...
BrainPOP
Civil Rights Lesson Plan: Tracking History Through Timelines
Use the accompanying assessment to determine your class's prior knowledge on Martin Luther King, Jr. before beginning a lesson on the famous civil rights movement leader. The resource has young historians thinking about life for African...
Curated OER
John and Mary Jones and the Importance of Oral History
Students examine the role of John and Mary Jones in the abolitionist movement. Using primary source documents, they discover the importance of an oral history and take notes on the Jones' role. They write a summary of the data to...
Curated OER
The Black Death and HIV/AIDS: Which is the Worse Plague?
Exploring the similarities and differences between the Black Death and HIV/AIDS, students write persuasive essays answering which is the "worse plague." This cross-curricular activity between Language Arts and Social Studies addresses...
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades K-2
A civil rights movement lesson designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary...
Curated OER
Black Tiger Academy Martial Arts Fitness Unit – Lesson 4
“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”—William James. Black Tiger Academy’s martial arts lesson four of 20 introduces several other styles of martial arts and a little...