Students explore a West African folktale. In this folktale lesson, students read the book The Clever Monkey Rides Again and discuss the trickster characters from the tale. Students participate in a discussion about the folktale and...

Students explore Carnival. In this Puerto Rico Carnival lesson, students discover the history of the cultural celebration as well as the significance of the elaborate masks worn for the festivities. Students create their own Carnival masks.

Learners explore and play rhythm sticks while listening to songs from around the world. They locate the countries of origin on a map, and tap their rhythm sticks to the beat of the music.

Students investigate a variety of sites to gather relevant information for a presentation about African American musical forms in this general Music lesson for middle school and high school. Resource links are provided to aid instruction.

Students sing music representing the Caribbean culture in the calypso style. They discover the role that the event of African slavery and the history of Carribean culture played in generating calypso music.

A reading of Tanya Lee Stones' biography of Ella Fitzgerald lets middle schoolers get up close and personal with the First Lady of Jazz. Stone recounts details of Fitzgerald's life from her early days through her experiences as a teenage...

In this Caribbean music worksheet, 8th graders read about the background of and musical instruments used in Compas music which is the popular music of Haiti. They answer 4 questions based on the reading. They complete an extension...

Students demonstrate dances of colonial America. In this colonial American lesson plan, students learn forms of colonial social dancing including the Juba and Virginia Reel. Students examine the history of the 2 dances as well.

Students examine the Caribbean in terms of its music, art, and folklore. As a class, they listen to a folktale and discuss the difference between telling a story and reading a story. In groups, they write their own folktale and share...

Students identify the plant parts and bee structures that are involved in pollination. They simulate pollination in a group activity and process the information.

Learners explore African spirituals. In this slavery instructional activity, students listen to and analyze the spiritual song "Wade in the Water" line by line. Learners share their interpretations with their classmates.

Young scholars examine the use of the Underground Railroad. For this Underground Railroad lesson, students determine the meaning of the word slavery. They study the Underground Railroad through the use of literature and Internet...

Students study the life of Quincy Jones and research black music for selected decades of the 20th Century. They discuss the qualities that help one create and sustain a successful career. They design a timeline of what their future...

In this music learning exercise, students circle names of Native American tribes or nations. They answer three true/false questions. Students answer 3 multiple choice question about the history of Native America. They name 8 music...

Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...

Students view the AMERICAN MASTERS film "Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied" and research him using the Guided Reading strategy. They examine the influential musician's childhood and trace his journey from the Mississippi Delta to...

Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...

Students engage in creative bead making while discussing Africa. In this diversity and arts lesson, students create African necklaces while being introduced to the African culture.

Students examine the various portrayals of African-Americans in literature, focusing on the opera, Porgy and Bess. They conduct Internet research on African-American culture between the two World Wars. Students write fictional or...

Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. For this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...

Students study the state of the world before the slave trade. They explain the geography and economics of the slave trade. They explore primary sources and how historians use these sources to create historical interpretations.

Students study the stories that go with masks from two cultures. They examine Native American masks used by tribes that lived in the Northeastern United States.. These include these Algonquian-speaking: Micmac, Pequot, Delaware....

Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.

Young scholars study songs of mass and individual protest. They view a video clip and discuss the song and words the protesters sing. They study the song, "We Shall Overcome" and discuss the characteristics of the song and chant and sing...