Curated OER
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits: Grades 3-5
Young scholars explore the contributions of African Americans of the 20th century. In this African American history lesson, students examine portraits of Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, Lorraine Hansberry, Judith Jamison, and Leontyne...
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How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Students explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Students observe and describe objects and...
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African American Contributions
Students recognize contributions made by African Americans to American society. In this African American history instructional activity, students research contributions made by African Americans and use a graphic organizer to organize...
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African-Americans in California's Heartland
Students read and view video about the pioneers moving west. In this African American pioneer lesson, students become familiar with the problems faced by the pioneers and African-American pioneers. Students complete worksheets and...
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Breaking Barriers
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
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Defining the Images of African American Slavery
Students view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.
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1920s Variety Show
To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...
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Migration - An African-American Adventure During WWI
Sixth graders explore the push/pull factors that influenced the South to North migration. In this African-American migration lesson, 6th graders read an article and answer comprehension questions. Students write a letter to the government.
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We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: The American Revolution
The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts instructional activity. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American...
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Native American Story Necklaces
Combine a study of Native American history and art in this activity. Learners discuss the importance of fetishes in Native American culture, the history of necklaces, and create their own works of art. Your class will find this to be...
Crafting Freedom
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: Lover of Literacy
This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.
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Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts
Twelfth graders examine the impact of African American culture on the United States by inspecting Faith Ringgold's story quilts. Working in groups, they create a collective story quilt about current cultural issues. They research their...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 23
Work together for the higher good. Scholars look at paragraph 10 in the "Atlanta Compromise" speech in which Washington pledges African American cooperation. Readers determine the connection between two central ideas and how they build...
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African American Literature in Art
Students compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."
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World War II Home Front
Eleventh graders examine the political demands put on one of four groups living in America during WWII. Each class member is asked to research and write a paper describing the homefront experience for women, Hispanics, African-Americans,...
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Kwanzaa Window Book
Learners research Kwanzaa, focusing on the seven principles used in celebration, with an artistic lesson. They design their own window books to demonstrate comprehension of the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa in words and pictures.
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Family Origins and American Cultural Pluralism
Students explore, analyze and discuss family origins, special legacies, and racial/cultural groups in literature and art that exposes them to positive examples in African-American history and culture. They encounter examples from dance,...
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African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders become familiar with the role of African Americans during WWII. In this WWII lesson, 5th graders watch a newsreel and discuss its use as a primary source. Students answer questions about the newsreel.
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African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts
Pupils research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans in...
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Entrepreneurs and the African-American Dream
Students make a simple graph of labor supply and labor demand in the North and South in the early twentieth century. They conduct research to identify top contemporary African-American entrepreneurs.
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Black Actors in American Cinema
High schoolers examine the contributions of a few African American actors. After watching different films, they work together to recreate the film and the struggles faced by the actors. In groups, they compare and contrast the acting...
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Understanding and Appreciating Poetry: Afro-Americans and Their Poetry
Sixth graders are introduced to poems written by African-American authors. As a class, they read excerpts of poems from different time periods and discuss how and if anything has changed over time with discrimination and equal rights...
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The Insights of American Blacks During the 19th and 20th Centuries in New Haven, Connecticut
Young scholars examine the contributions of African Americans in New Haven, Connecticut in the 19th and 20th centuries. After being introduced to new vocabulary, they review the elements of autobiographies and read excerpts of African...
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Famous African Americans ABC Book
Students create an ABC book with short biographies of famous African Americans in history. They utilize teacher-selected and/or student-researched library sources about African Americans in history.