PBS
Race and Vaccine Hesitancy in the US
What does race have to do with COVID vaccine hesitancy? That is the question young scholars pursue in a video lesson that looks at the impacts of such things as the Tuskegee Experiment, the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks's cancer...
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
K20 LEARN
Oklahoma and Segregation
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Imagine" by Kamilah Aisha Moon
A activity about Kamilah Aisha Moon's poem "Imagine" asks young scholars to imagine, "What would happen if...?" If Dr. Martin Luther King's dream became a reality. If Renisha McBride was a white girl and crashed her car in a black...
National Woman's History Museum
Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a instructional activity that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the...
PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
American Institute of Physics
Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
While many have heard of Harriet Tubman, few are aware of the many ways this remarkable woman was involved in the United States Civil War, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad. Young historians examine primary source...
Curated OER
Jim Crow Lesson Plan
Jackie Robinson's attempt to earn a spot on the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers provides learners with an opportunity to examine the Jim Crow laws and revisit issues of segregation and integration. "The Unconquerable Doing the Impossible: Jackie...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Old South Meeting House" by January Gill O'Neil
The vaulted ceiling of the Old South Meeting House has heard many voices. Young scholars read an excerpt about its importance in American history and then do a close reading January Gill O'Neil's poem, "Old South Meeting House." After...
Academy of American Poets
Voice
Four lessons make up a poetry unit that introduces high schoolers to spoken and written poetry. Class members also examine poems as social commentary and connect these poems to various novels and plays. A great way to incorporate poetry...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
One Land, Many Trails: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 5)
English is not the only subject that requires its own set of vocabulary words—geography does too! A series of language development lessons designed to be used with Theme 5: One Land, Many Trails helps introduce readers to key vocabulary...
Curated OER
Lesson: Younger Than Jesus: Understanding, Looking at, Making Abstract Art
Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The lesson...
Curated OER
Incorporate Black History into Math
February is Black History Month. So why not highlight lessons that connect mathematics to Africans and African Americans?
Curated OER
Steps to Freedom
Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history instructional activity, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a...
Curated OER
Free Black Entrepreneur
High schoolers research using the Internet, study books, reference sources, newspapers, and magazines for information about successful black business people and write a research paper. They may also interview entrepreneurs in their...
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...
Curated OER
The Jim Crow Era
Learners examine how African-Americans were affected by the Great Depression. In this African-American history lesson, students conduct independent research on the social conditions of the time period using the suggested resources....
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades 3-5
Through character trait graphic organizers, a vocabulary sorting activity, class discussion, and a civil rights movement slide show, your young historians will be introduced to the amazing story of Ruby Bridges and her experiences as the...
Smithsonian Institution
Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions
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.
National Woman's History Museum
Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson plan focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a...
Curated OER
Lesson: Emory Douglas: Here and Now: Looking at Contemporary Struggle
After looking into the life, art, and social contributions of artist Emory Douglas, learners analyze several social art pieces. They use Emory Douglas as an example of social art, then consider 10 other pieces. They write a paper...
C3 Teachers
Celebrity Social Responsibility: Does Celebrity Require Social Responsibility?
Is much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...
Curated OER
Past Presence
Students examine British Black History. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites to research the history of Blacks in Great Britain. Several lesson enhancement ideas are included.