Curated OER
Explore the Elements of Art
Students recognize elements of art such as texture, shape line and color. In this elements of art lesson, students create a still life picture with oil pastel or crayons. Students define elements of art vocabulary. Students relate...
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades 3-5
Through character trait graphic organizers, a vocabulary sorting activity, class discussion, and a civil rights movement slide show, your young historians will be introduced to the amazing story of Ruby Bridges and her experiences as the...
Curated OER
Researching African Americans Who Made a Difference
Celebrate Black History Month with this instructional activity, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas,...
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
National Gallery of Canada
A Unity Wall Drawing
Build class community with an art project. Learners first examine and discuss works of art. They then contribute to a class mural by tracing their hands and decorating them in relation to their own cultures. The final mural incorporates...
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Ghost Boys: Educator Guide
The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Curated OER
Who is Robert M. Glass? - Black History Month
Students research the role of African Americans during the each of the United States' wars. In this African American history lesson, students research information and statistics about the role of African Americans in the following wars:...
Curated OER
A Story on a Vase
Students associate a hydria with Greek myths. In this Greek art and mythology lesson, students examine a scene on a hydria, then choose a Greek myth to illustrate on their own painting.
Curated OER
365 Days of African American History
Students use a calendar template to create a daily calendar of African American historical events. They put one event on each day of the calendar.
Curated OER
Satchel Page
Bring a instructional activity about Negro League Baseball to your Black history unit, or any other research unit throughout the year. While the lesson plan itself is simplistic, there are several good ideas that you could use, such as...
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Students explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Students observe and describe objects and...
Curated OER
A Story on a Vase
Students analyze a scene depicting Herakles and the Hydra. In this Greek art instructional activity, students read Greek myths and choose one scene from a myth to illustrate. Students use tempera paint and a scratch technique using a...
Curated OER
Abstract Art: Line, Shape And Color
Pupils create abstract works of art using techniques learned from the artwork of Piet Mondrian, construction paper, pre-cut shapes, and glue in this early-elementary Art lesson. A great lesson to introduce the concept of Abstract art.
Curated OER
Pop Art Ice Cream Painting
Students create paintings of ice cream treats using Pop Art as an inspiration while developing skills in painting in this 4th through 6th grade Art lesson. Included with the lesson are possible extensions and suggested evaluation rubric.
Curated OER
Black History Stamps
Students explore the lives and contributions of the many black Americans who are honored on U.S. commemorative postage stamps, make a presentation that synthesizes information about a historical figure and time, and write a persuasive...
Curated OER
What's Black and White and Read Later?
Students work cooperatively to research important events or "lasting news" from the year they were born. They complete a WebQuest and write a newspaper based on the research.
Curated OER
African American Literature in Art
Pupils 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."
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Searching for Women and Identity in Chopin's "The Awakening"
The final lesson of a three-part series on Kate Chopin's The Awakening has scholars investigate life as a woman in late nineteenth-century America. They research the role of women in society through the eyes of the characters in the...
Curated OER
Three-Way Match: Famous Black Americans
Pupils research famous African-Americans using an online resource. They complete a three-way matching activity.
Curated OER
Pop Art People
Students research art history by creating an illustration in class. In this popular art lesson plan, students identify Keith Haring by researching information on the web. Students draw people in different athletic poses and mount their...
Curated OER
Utilizing Art, Literature and Film to Teach Black History
Fifth graders are introduced to different aspects of African-American history through literature, art, and films. As a class, they are read a story about the Underground Railroad, identify the main characters and put the events into...