Curated OER
Black History Stamps
Students 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...
Curated OER
The Stock Market and the Great Depression
How does the Stock Market work, what was Black Tuesday, and how did the Market crass of 1929 lead to the Great Depression? Have your class play this stock market game for two weeks to better explain how the stock market works.
Curated OER
Pizza Biography
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...
Stanford University
Ruby Bridges
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...
Scholastic
Lesson 3: Essay Organizer
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,...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
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...
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
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...
PBS
Explore Art and Movement Inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series
Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...
Curated OER
Mrs. Katz and Tush
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...
Curated OER
Research Project
After reading books about Black history, complete an outline and research important African Americans in history. Use the included outline to write a report.
Curated OER
Ancient Hebrews
Sixth graders analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of the Ancient Hebrews, and write an essay.
PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
Stanford University
Civil Rights or Human Rights?
Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study...
Center Science Education
Paleoclimates and Pollen
Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...
Curated OER
Making a Living and Leisure Activities
Learners investigate the economic and daily activities in a typical African community. They design and construct a small scale house, play an African board game, create African money, discuss vocabulary, and write an essay.
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Students develop computer research skills while searching facts about Harriet Tubman. Students learn about ways in which Harriet Tubman's childhood influenced her future. Students learn to use primary documents to learn about the...
National Woman's History Museum
Sally Hemings: Raising a Family Amidst the Brutality of Slavery
Pupils may know about early American figures such as Phyllis Wheatley and Abigail Adams, but what about Sally Hemings? Sally Hemings was the mother of Thomas Jefferson's children, but she is often left in the shadows of history....
Curated OER
An Academic, Economic, Cultural, and Political Lesson Plan
Students reflect on how many board games they've played have African Americans, their culture or history incorporated within. They identify four street games and three card games that appeal to African Americans. They play the...
Curated OER
CyberHunt: Ancient China
Young scholars participate in various web based activities about ancient China in order to discover the accomplishments of this extraordinary culture. For this history lesson, students explore the Chinese paper making recipes, and the...
Curated OER
Social Activism In The United States
Students explore justice issues. In this social activism instructional activity, students watch "Social Activism in the United States," and then locate newspaper articles from the 1960's and 1970's about events during the era.
Curated OER
Famous Black Americans
Students recognize famous Black Americans and their roles in America's society. They create a database and slideshow presenting famous Black Americans and relevant facts of their lives.
Curated OER
African American History Challenge
Students research and retrieve information from the Internet. They participate in an online quiz. They identify areas of cultural diversity in United States history.
Judicial Branch of California
Separate But Equal - Is It Black or White?
The story of Ruby Bridges and the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education are fantastic tools for discussing the concept of separate but equal. Kids tackle some big questions about what is fair, what is civil, and what rights or laws...
Curated OER
The Journey to Civil Rights
Students explore Civil Rights. In this Civil Rights lesson, students read about Ruby Bridges and define the words segregation and supremacy. Students make a timeline of important events in Civil Rights and write a paragraph about why the...