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National Endowment for the Humanities

A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Celebration

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research the role of the Catholic church in the experiences of Haitian immigration. They organize a celebration of African and African-American cultures around the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, a saint of African descent.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the role music played in African American history and research events of the Civil Rights movement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Migration Internet Research

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use maps, narratives and the Internet to research the Great Migration. They investigate the circumstances which led to the migration, notable individuals who made advances for African-Americans and the legacy of this movement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Martin Luther King Jr. Day

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore civil rights by researching the late Dr. King. In this African American leader lesson, 3rd graders read the book Martin's Big Words which explore the foundation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s principals and...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Baseball: The Tenth Inning - Bases Divided

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Baseball is a relatively high-interest topic through which social studies classes can explore racial prejudice in the US. Video clips provide much of the background information that groups record on their handout and then share with the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts

For Teachers 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

David Walker vs. John Day: Two Nineteenth-Century Free Black Men

For Teachers 6th - 11th Standards
What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colonial New York Slave Codes: Law and Order

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Matthew Henson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Jacket: Journal Templates Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Explore this story involving prejudice and racism to enhance learners' comprehension skills. The story The Jacket by Andrew Clements involves an African American boy who is falsely accused of stealing someone's jacket. This teacher's...
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Curated OER

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Folk Speech and Figurative Language

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kwanzaa

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students explore African American holiday of Kwanzaa, orally share ideas about whom they want to invite to classroom Kwanzaa celebration, create and print invitation to Kwanzaa using Publisher or Print Shop, and share completed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Twentieth Century African-American Migration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop their analytical skills when examining maps by comparing, contrasting, and sequencing information. They assess how geographical features such as the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River impacted settlement.
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

For Teachers 9th - 12th
1964: A victory for the civil rights movement! Scholars read a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discuss what affirmative actions means to them. The resource is a jigsaw activity, with each group focusing on one section of the...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s “Learning to Read”

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a lesson that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The lesson introduces them to a brief biography of the poet, includes a video reading, and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing the Cotton Gin Patent

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Decode primary sources in a fast-paced activity. A quick guessing game helps pupils use visual clues to understand primary sources. Academics look at a picture of the cotton gin and must guess what it is without other knowledge or clues....
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women in the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War. 
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Making Choices

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What factors go into a decision to enter a war? Use a collection of primary source documents and images to prompt a discussion about the American Revolution and the reasons for entering a war against Britain.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Minorities in Mainstream American Society

For Teachers 11th Standards
So many people fought for Civil Rights in the United States. Read about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and discuss what the act guarantees. Then pass out a slew of magazines and encourage them to observe how often minorities appear in...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Should the Colonists Have Revolted Against Great Britain?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Should the Americans have taken the plunge and revolted against Great Britain? Using documents, including the famed Common Sense and a Loyalist response, pupils conduct a lengthy investigation of the question. The interesting resource...
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Worksheet
Scholastic

Harriet Tubman: Moses of Her People

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Who was Harriet Tubman, and what was her place on the Underground Railroad? Recall the bravery and achievements of this extraordinary figure with a short, engaging informational text and crossword puzzle.

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