Curated OER
James Van Der Zee
Students recognize James Van Der Zee as an outstanding photographer who documented and reflected life in Harlem during the 1920s. They identify important aspects of Van Der Zee's life and artwork and compose and shoot their own...
Curated OER
Making Akan Gold Weights and Understanding their Proverbial Meanings
Students examine a variety of gold weights used by the Asante in West Africa. In groups, they discuss the purpose of the gold weights and practice saying proverbs associated with different pieces of art. To end the lesson plan, they...
Curated OER
Heroes and Heroines of the Underground Railroad System (UGRR)
Fourth graders choose one leader, either Tubman or Coffin, and write a persuasive summary paragraph that explains why the leader displays the character traits of a hero/heroine in the UGRR
Curated OER
The foreign and domestic policies of Lyndon B. Johnson
Eleventh graders study and evaluate the successes and failures of LBJ's domestic and foreign policies. They formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation. Each student identifies, analyzes and...
Curated OER
Archeological Pow-Wow
Students, in groups, examine the use of artifacts and fossils to study people, plants and animals from the past.
Curated OER
The Impact of AIDS in Africa and its Effect on the United States
Eleventh graders explain the social devastation visited on seven nations of sub-Saharan Africa by the AIDS pandemic, with particular emphasis on the damage to educational systems, women, and Students.
Curated OER
John Lawson's Emigration Impact: Review Writing and Answer Questions
Students review the writings of John Lawson. Using his writings, they read comments about them to determine how his writings might have affected emigration to America. They answer discussion questions and share their answers with the...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Fugitive Slave Law and Migration
Students examine the Fugitive Slave Law as a motivating factor for slaves to emigrate outside the United States. After discussing the relationships between fugitive slaves and North American and Caribbean countries, they write essays...
Curated OER
The Western Migration Lesson Plan: Socratic Seminar
Students participate in a Socratic Seminar and explore Western Migration.
Curated OER
Raising Cane: Building a Cane Flute From Scratch
Eighth graders create their own cane flute. They use a model flute to gain the correct measurements and use the scientific method to construct the flute to have sound quality and pitch accuracy.
Curated OER
John Lawson's Emigration Impact: Short Essay
Students review John Lawson's writings to discover the impact they had on emigration to America. Using the writings, they analyze the influence of them and review the early settlement of the colonies. They write their own essay sharing...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will examine African American slave spirituals, a painting, and a personal narrative to analyze the underlying messages of these materials.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Famous African Americans
During this unit students will study the lives of famous African-Americans who have had an impact upon history or present day society. This interdisciplinary hands-on unit will incorporate the subjects of social studies, reading,...
University of California
History Project: Chicago Race Riot, 1919
This lesson plan for high school learners explores the race riot in Chicago in the summer of 1919. Students are asked to explain the reasons for the riot and address the questions in the lesson plan. Included are excerpts from 26 primary...
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: Teacher's Guide
Go directly to the teacher's guide developed to supplement the PBS documentary "Africans in America," which chronicles the history of slavery in the United States. Find lessons, many of which provide links to related primary sources,...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Exploring African Tribal Masks
This activity allows students to learn about a very important aspect of African culture. It features the use of technology for research and also hands-on experience in creating an African Mask. The activity can be used as a part of a...
US National Archives
Docsteach: From Dred Scott to Civil Rights Act of 1875: Eighteen Years of Change
In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott decision that African-Americans were not citizens of the United States. Yet within 18 years, Black Americans would not only have citizenship, but would be guaranteed the right to...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Extending Suffrage to Women
In this activity, students will analyze documents pertaining to the women's suffrage movement as it intensified following passage of the 15th Amendment that guaranteed the right to vote for African American males. Documents were chosen...
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: The Two Williamsburgs
This lesson plan on daily life in Colonial Williamsburg challenges students to compare and contrast the lives of the African and European populations.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
This comprehensive site from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) describes the history of the participation of colored troops in the Civil War and government efforts to research and compile records about them....
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Albright Knox Art Gallery: It All Adds Up to Art
Lorna Simpson creates evocative works that examine how combinations of pictures and texts create new meanings that do not exist in the images or words alone. This lesson plan explores the concepts she works with, including African...
HotChalk
Hot Chalk: Lesson Plans Page: The Civil Rights Movement (A Web Project)
This comprehensive lesson plan has students thoroughly researching and creating a Civil Rights Movement project.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Three Principles of Civil Disobedience
Both Mahatmas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were influenced by Henry David Thoreau's essay, "Civil Disobedience." Have young scholars research and read, using the Internet, the first part of Thoreau's essay. Then have students write...