Curated OER
The War Lesson Plan
High schoolers view video clips of the film "The War". Several classroom activities are included and address major themes found in the film. The lessons incorporate video clips from the film as well as additional resources provided.
Curated OER
African Clothing
Students explore African clothing. In this African culture social studies lesson, students brainstorm types of clothing they wear for different occasions. Students view photographs of Africans wearing Western clothing and "special...
Curated OER
Interpreting Selected Works of Art from the 20th Century African-American Experience
Students examine pieces of art by African-American artists in the 20th Century. For each piece, they are shown slides of the artwork and others by the artist to identify the techniques used. In groups, they discuss and research the...
Curated OER
African Country Study and PowerPoint Presentation
Young scholars investigate the geography of Africa. In this African culture lesson, students research the lifestyles of African residents and create a PowerPoint presentation based on a single African country. Young scholars share...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Students are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
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."
Curated OER
A New Deal for African Americans
Students consider how New Deal programs impacted African Americans. For this New Deal lesson, students collaborate to research Internet and print sources regarding selected New Deal programs and African Americans. Students write essays...
John F. Kennedy Center
Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a instructional activity that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz...
Northern Nevada Council for the Social Studies
What Are the Origins and Influences of Rap Music?
Considered an American art form, rap has its roots in places from Jamaica to the Bronx. Using a series of readings, comprehension questions, and videos, scholars explore the history of rap and its connections to the African diaspora....
Curated OER
African Folktales Lesson
Students explore what a folktale consists of as it relates to oral tradition. In this folktale lesson, students are told the African folktale, Why the Sun is Lives in the Sky and make personal inferences about what the folktale is...
Curated OER
African Art is Alive: Drum, Dance, Storytelling....
Students investigate and experience African culture through various art forms. Students explore the physical and political geographies of Africa through mapping activities. Students, in groups, prepare presentations about different...
Curated OER
West African Art
Students engage in a lesson plan that is concerned with the concept of West African Art. They conduct research using a variety of resources. They focus upon the history, geography, economics, and political systems. The information is...
Curated OER
Water: A Source of Life and Culture
Students explore water as a feature of culture. In this visual arts instructional activity, students consider the necessity of water in every culture. Students select water symbols and use their artistic skills to create water symbol...
Crafting Freedom
George Moses Horton: Crafting Virtual Freedom Through Poetry
What is "virtual freedom"? How about "enslaved entrepreneurship"? Class members will learn about these terms and much more as they read the poems and examine the life of George Moses Horton.
Crafting Freedom
Harriet Jabocs and Elizabeth Keckly: The Material and Emotional Realities of Childhood in Slavery
Through the journals written by Harriet Jacobs and Elizabeth Keckly, young readers gain insight into the lives of two enslaved children on nineteenth-century plantations.
Curated OER
Lesson 4: Author's Purpose
Learners identify the author's purpose in various poems from the book Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. In order to determine the purpose, pupils first observe as the teacher completes a PIES char...
Curated OER
American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Learners describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100 years.
Curated OER
Art Exploration-A Global Approach
A high school unit focuses on a discipline-based study of artworks from many times, places, and cultures. Addressing historical works of art as well as modern techniques, the unit illustrates how a traditional organizational structure...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Defining the Images of African American Slavery
Students view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance Births a Black Culture
Students examine the men and women who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Individually, they recreate their favorite pieces of art from the time period and create their own original works after reading poem from the movement. In...
Curated OER
Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
National Gallery of Canada
My Mask, My Voice
Recognize Black History Month with an examination of the African diaspora and a hands-on mask-making project. Learners first view and discuss images of artwork before creating their own plaster masks.
Curated OER
Pizza Biography
A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...