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Lesson Plan
Atlanta History Center

What if YOU Lived During Jim Crow?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African American Inventors in History

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A two-part lesson introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of their...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: Retelling History Through Dance and Drama

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars listen to several pieces of music in preparation for a discussion about how instruments and lyrics convey emotions. With Harriet Tubman as the focus, small groups create an original song or dance. A reflection piece concludes...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sharing African Culture

For Teachers Pre-K - 5th
Students investigate African American culture by reading aloud an African folk tale and illustrating the tale. They use their illustrations to create a book or a bulletin board that retells the folk tale.
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

African American Troops in the Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve,...
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

African American Inventors: Elijah McCoy

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
What do a folding iron board, lawn sprinklers, and a device for oiling engines on trains all have in common? They were all invented by Elijah McCoy, an African American inventor with 57 patents to his credit. McCoy is the subject of a...
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Unit Plan
Poetry Foundation

Dream in Color - High School

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Whether focusing on African American poets, Black History Month, or the poetic experience, an amazing toolkit that encourages learners to develop unique poetic voices deserves a place in your curriculum. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Celebrate Black History Month

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study about the culture, heritage, family, church, and politics of the African-American and why we honor their accomplishments. Then they make class presentations. This is a very meaningful lesson on an important part of...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Black History Month

For Students 4th - 5th
In this cloze activity worksheet, students explore black history. Students read about black history in a short passage where they are to fill in the blanks with the correct word.
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Twelve Years a Slave

For Teachers 8th - 12th
It's difficult to truly grasp the effects of slavery. Young historians use historical analysis to understand the struggle of slavery on African Americans. The resource provides text from the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave to help...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans and Life in a Secret City

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Imagine the lure of being offered a job at a secret site, working on a secret project, and earning higher wages! Such was the approach used to recruit African Americans to Hanford, Washington, one of several sites used to develop...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans and the Manhattan Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A activity about the Manhattan Project will explode young physicists' understanding of the racial attitudes in the United States during and after World war II. Groups select an African American scientist or technician that worked on the...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Physicist's War: Dr. Herman Branson and the Scientific Training of African Americans during World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African American Physicists in the 1960s

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Meet Four Pioneering African American Astronauts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
An out-of-this-world resource introduces young scientists to four African American astronauts: Michael P. Anderson, Ronald E. McNair, Guion S. Bluford Jr., and Jeanette J. Epps. Groups read biographies of these individuals and prepare...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Concentration

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study African American history month. In this culture activity, students discuss the origins of African American history and play a concentration game by matching the picture to the name of a famous African American.
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Lesson Planet Article
Lesson Planet

New Books for Black History Month

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
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Worksheet
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Education World

Black History 102

For Students 5th - 6th
Ten facts make up an activity in which scholars match the name of a famous Black American to a personal detail or accomplishment.
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Worksheet
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Education World

Black History 104

For Students 9th - 12th
Who was the originator of the Blood Bank? What fur and grain trader founded the city of Chicago? Who invented the ironing board and lawn sprinklers? A 10-clue matching activity launches a scavenger hunt for information about famous, yet...
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Lesson Plan
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BrainPOP

Civil Rights Lesson Plan: Tracking History Through Timelines

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Use the accompanying assessment to determine your class's prior knowledge on Martin Luther King, Jr. before beginning a lesson on the famous civil rights movement leader. The resource has young historians thinking about life for African...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Black History Month

For Students 6th - 8th
In this holiday worksheet, students find the words that are associated with Black History Month and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.