National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
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African Americans: 1800 - 1870
Students explore living and working environment of both slave and free African Americans from places throughout the United States.
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Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
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Jazz in America
Students learn where Jazz came from and why it is an important part of America's history.
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
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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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The Gullah People of the Sea Islands
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures instructional activity, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United...
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
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...
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The Life and Work of Jacob Lawrence
Black History Month provides a time to talk about the accomplishments of African Americans like Jacob Lawrence.
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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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Catch the Gullah Beat: Rhythm and Percussion
Students explore the Gullah culture. In this social studies lesson, students construct and play instruments similar to those of the Gullah people.
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Exploring Cultural Rituals
Students analyze images and music of common rituals in America with those of other countries. They use worksheets to compare and contrast the events.
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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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A Cure for the School-Day Blues
Lessons on the Blues will have students singing for joy!
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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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Lawson's Many Roles
Students examine the life of John Lawson and his many roles he took on during his life. Using their text, they discover the area in which he traveled and lived. They write an essay about his movements and identifying his contacts in...
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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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Breaking News English: Campaign Against Poverty Begins
In this English worksheet, students read "Campaign Against Poverty Begins," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.
Curated OER
Breaking News English: Campaign Against Poverty Begins
In this English worksheet, students read "Campaign Against Poverty Begins," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.