Activity
Orlando Shakes

The Best of Enemies

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
History comes to life with the play The Best of Enemie. Scholars learn literary elements as well explore racial issues in American history. The play is based on a true story and addresses the universal truth that people are capable of...
Lesson Plan
Maryland Department of Education

A Raisin in the Sun and Dreams Deferred

For Teachers 10th Standards
To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...
Lesson Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Ray Charles

For Students K - 3rd Standards
Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...
Worksheet
Look! We're Learning!

Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson Integration or Separation?

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What happens when change you imagined, the change you were promised, is slow in coming or doesn't happen at all? What do you do with the frustration and disenchantment? Class members watch two clips from the Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Teaching with Historic Places: Discover the Jackie Robinson Ballpark

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Can sports and popular culture change public opinion? That's the essential question asked by a lesson plan that looks at the role Jackie Robinson's appearance at City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida played in the desegregation...
Lesson Plan
Free Library of Philadelphia

Resources for Ghost Boys

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, wanted to bring the historical legacy of Emmett Till and the current topic of racial prejudice into today's young readers' mindsets. Use a reading guide and set of discussion questions to...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson Taking the Measure of a Man

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
During his first few games as the first black player in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson proved that he could withstand the wily curveball of Johnny Sain as well as the racial epithets shouted from opposing teams' dugouts. A short...
Lesson Plan
Pace University

The Harlem Renaissance - The Journey to Freedom: An Interdisciplinary

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The Harlem Renaissance if the focus of a carefully crafted, interdisciplinary unit designed to introduce middle schoolers to the contributions key figures made to American art and culture during the period. Class members select...
Interactive
University of Richmond

Renewing Inequality: Family Displacements through Urban Renewal 1950-1966

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What is progress? Who bears its cost? High schoolers consider the questions as they review data on families displaced by urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s. An interactive, curated data project asks historians to consider the...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

Race and War in the Pacific: A Propaganda Gallery Walk

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Race played a key role in the war in the Pacific during World War II. Using images from both American and Japanese sources, learners consider racial propaganda and how leaders used it to rally popular support during the conflict. After...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

The Legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird: Continuing Atticus’s Fight for Justice

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Tom Robinson was only one man in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, but he represents many people throughout history who have not found justice in the American justice system. Language arts students discuss the theme of social justice...
Lesson Plan
National WWII Museum

More Than Words Can Say: Analyzing Visual Materials as Primary Sources

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The propaganda of World War II was a key factor in galvanizing the home front. Class members examine images—without their text—to consider their messages, including those around race and gender. Using pictures and discussion questions,...
Lesson Plan1:30
PBS

Who Are Latinos?

For Teachers 4th - 12th
What does it mean to be Latino? With an eye-opening lesson plan, pupils discover what it means to be Latino in the United States. They participate in classroom discussions, use graphic organizers, and watch a short video to help...
Interactive
1
1
PBS

Setting in To Kill a Mockingbird

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Can you understand more about how a person acts by learning about how that person lives? An interactive resource explores the setting of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with several slides discussing the location, social...
Worksheet
Great Books Foundation

I Shall Not Beg for My Rights

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
An excerpt from Henry MacNeal Turner's address to the Georgia legislature provides class members with an opportunity to develop their literary analysis skills. Prompted by the provided factual, evaluative, and interpretive questions,...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Anti-Immigration Sentiment

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The debate about immigration reform continues. To gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved, class members first examine a photo of an anti-immigration rally. Groups then conduct an internet search for an image that presents an...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Teaching Tolerance

Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Why Do We (Still) Celebrate Columbus Day?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What are we really celebrating on Columbus Day? The resource explores the narrative behind Columbus Day and ways for people to change the perception. Scholars also review vocabulary terms associated with the topic and how attitudes have...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Protesting Discrimination in Bristol

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Using the Bristol Bus Boycott as a case study, class members examine the strategies and levels of power protesters used to effect change. The two-day lesson concludes with individuals reflecting on the actions they might take in face of...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

When Differences Matter

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Jane Elliott's controversial blue eyes/brown eyes experiment detailed in the film A Class Divided leads to a discussion of privilege, social power, and opportunity. Viewers note how the children react to the experiment, share their...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Blending In and Standing Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
An excerpt from Sarfraz Manzoor's memoir about how his experiences as a Pakistani growing up in England shaped the way he though about his identify provides a stimulus for a discussion of how experiences can shape our concept of identity...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Facing History and Ourselves

Defining Our Obligations to Others

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Introduce young learners to the concept of a Universe of Obligation, a term coined by sociologist Helen Fein, with a lesson that asks learners to consider the extent to which they feel a responsibility for others. Class members read and...

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