Curated OER
Facts, Feats and Folklore: Spiders
Students review and discuss a variety of sayings, folklore and superstitions about spiders. They discuss this information and choose either an interesting fact or appealing foklore tradition to illustrate.
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Young scholars make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages of looking at a historical event from the multiple points of view of...
Curated OER
Underground Travelers
Students are introduced to new vocabulary associated with the Underground Railroad. Using primary sources, they evaluate the railroad's impact on society in the past and today. They also make a judgment about the morality of the railroad...
Curated OER
James Van Der Zee
Young scholars 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
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
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.
Other
The History Makers
Thehistorymakers.com features the stories of African Americans who have succeeded and made achievements in the areas of art, business, education, law, politics, science, religion, and sports. There is a great timeline of African American...
South Carolina Educational Television
Etv: Gullah Net: Gullah Music
Explore aspects of African music as reflected in the songs and music of slaves who lived in coastal South Carolina.
Other
3rd Ear Music: The Music of South Africa
3rd Ear Music is a comprehensive resource of South African music, past and present. The organization started its collection in 1964 and it now offers links to several South African artists, history of SA music and recordings.
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music
If teaching a unit about the history of popular music in America, this PBS web site supporting their four-part TV broadcast of a few years ago would make a great resource. Includes lesson plans and oral histories too.
Other
Zadonu African Music and Dance Company
There are many videos of several African dance styles. Learn about the culture and history of these dances at this entertaining site.
Black Past
Black Past: Rap/hip Hop
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief history of rap and hip hop and the influences of the music on modern culture.
York University
York University: African Canadian Online: Music
African-Canadian music encompasses the West Indies, Africa, the United States, South American and the Maritimes. This excellent reference resource provides information about the many kinds of music and the talented individuals who make it.
Other
Carnegie Hall: A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy
Trace the history of African American music from 1600-2000 and examine the styles, influences, artists and listen to samples presented by Carnegie Hall.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Teacher Tools: African Arts and Music Lesson Plans
Explore the world of African Art and Music when you check out this lesson plan. This site features learning objectives, activities and more.
Other
Black History Canada : The Arts
An informative look at the influence of African music in Canada.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Understanding Poetry of Maya Angelou Through Rap Lyric
By examining the lives and lyrics of popular, positive black female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill, students can trace a direct line back to the inspirational writer and poet, Maya Angelou. Rap lyrics will help explicate...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz
Smithsonian Jazz is home to several online exhibits, an interactive "Duke Ellington class," recordings, publications, oral histories, and similar resources.
Indiana University
Archives of African American Music and Culture
Contains resources on black culture and music from the early 1900s to the present.
George Mason University
Chnm: World History Sources: Music
An overview of how music has influenced history throughout time. Choose links from common questions to music resources.
Library of Congress
Loc: The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
Online exhibit from the Library of Congress explores black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Exhibit contains a wealth of items including books, government documents, manuscripts,...
Other
Brand South Africa: The a to Z of South African Culture
Presented as an ABC list of cultural features of South Africa. Each letter links to a topic, and each topic has a paragraph with a link to more in-depth, and often fascinating, information about that topic, and about the history of South...
Countries and Their Cultures
Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: South African Americans
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of South African Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Freedom Riders and Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
In this lesson plan, students will consider "The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.