Yale University
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
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Reading Teammates
Fourth graders read the book "Teammate" after participating in pre-reading activities that include examining the concepts of segregation and discrimination. In this six week literature study, they make timelines, discuss what they know...
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Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
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Jazz in America
Students learn where Jazz came from and why it is an important part of America's history.
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American Colonization Society Lesson Plan
Students read an article online "Colonization and Emigration" and break into debating groups. They research points that support their side, namely whether or not the American Colonization Society was for or against segregation. They...
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Kaffir Boy
Students explore the concepts of intolerance and racism in the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. The lesson reveals the story's depiction of the terrible toll of apartheid on the lives of individuals.
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Southeastern Native Americans' Lifestyles
Students complete activities to learn about Southeastern Native Americans. In this lifestyles lesson plan, students watch a PowerPoint about Southeastern Native Americans, view artifacts from the region and discuss the objects with a...
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Islamic Art; Exploring the Visual Arts of the Middle East
Students create a monogram, based of the idea of a Turkish Tughra. They examine the connection between writing for communication and writing as an art form. They explore the vocabulary related to the use of art media in the classroom.
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Low-country Rice Planting and Cooking
Eighth graders compare the use of rice in the 1700s to the modern use of rice. In this instructional activity examining the importance of rice in US history, 8th graders learn about the role of rice in the early 1700s and compare the use...
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Slavery, Manumission, and Freedom: Free Blacks in Charleston before the Civil War
Students explore the concept of slavery and manumission through a variety of activities. In this civil rights lesson, students gather information from primary sources, then analyze the politics and historical context of the time....
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A Voice for the Times
Students make connections with events of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's with songs made popular by Aretha Franklin.
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Separate Lives
Young scholars read a New York Times article to explain apartheid and its legacies. They examine prejudice in their own lives by looking a the perception of discriminatory traits.
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A Bird's Eye View of the Caribbean: Art, Folklore, and Music
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...
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Extraordinary Women in the Great Plains
Eighth graders write what they predict were the roles women played in the Great Plains. Using the internet, they research and identify the roles they did play and use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast their predictions to the...
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SOS from Sudan
Students examine the Darfur crisis. In this current events instructional activity, students visit selected websites to discover details about the history of Sudan, ethnic cleansing by the Arab Janjaweed militias, and the condition of...
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This Land is Your Land
Students consider the concept of borders and their development by looking at maps and documents. They create a presentation highlighting a current border dispute and propose solutions.
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Visual Art: Romare Bearden and Group 306
Students examine the life and art of Romare Bearden. Using his "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket" for inspiration, they write a first chapter for a book. Students observe numerous other works of his art and discuss them from artistic and...
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Human Settlement and Movement
Learners are introduced to the way humans have settled and moved throughout history. In groups, they compare and contrast the settlement and movement of two different ethnic groups. They discover why some are more dominate in an area...
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Basic Animal Behavior in Domesticated Animals
Students investigate animal behavior, examining the nervous system and the physiology of the brain and the fight or flight response. They simulate animal behaviors and discuss the difference between an instinct and a behavior.
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Off Times of Slaves on the Sea Islands
Sixth graders explore the aspect of slave life on the Sea Islands. They explore the Gullah language, folk tales, music and games during the "off" times of slaves. Students read and interpret Gullah folk tales. They recognize music in the...
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Trusting Statistics Lesson Plan
Young scholars read a section of the Runaway Journey narrative and conduct a survey. They use survey statistics to question their validity and decide why a respondent might not answer truthfully.
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The Fugitive Slave Law and Migration
Students examine the Fugitive Slave Law as a motivating factor for slaves to emigrate outside the United States. After discussing the relationships between fugitive slaves and North American and Caribbean countries, they write essays...
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Artist Unknown
Students examine how Lennie Gardner's process of discovery about his bronze mask parallels a personal discovery process. They receive an introduction to the art, history, and religion of Benin
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Great Gullah Story Telling Packet
Sixth graders examine the Creole language known as Gullah which is a form of speech comprised of a number of unrelated languages. They determine how slaves used this to communicate so that slave masters would not be able to understand...