Smithsonian Institution
Braiding Rhythms: The Role of Bell Patterns in West African and Afro-Caribbean Music
Africans transported to the Caribbean as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought with them a rich tradition of music and dance. Four lessons teach young musicians the rumba clave rhythm, cascara rhythm, and the 6/8 bell patterns...
Curated OER
Black Separatism or the Beloved Community? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
High schoolers interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. For this African American history lesson, students compare and contrast the tactics employed by Malcolm X and Martin...
Curated OER
Marcus Garvey and the Rise of Black Nationalism
Fourth graders explore the differing beliefs of African American activists. In this American history lesson, 4th graders examine the views of racism resistance that Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey held.
National Woman's History Museum
Sally Hemings: Raising a Family Amidst the Brutality of Slavery
Pupils may know about early American figures such as Phyllis Wheatley and Abigail Adams, but what about Sally Hemings? Sally Hemings was the mother of Thomas Jefferson's children, but she is often left in the shadows of history....
Curated OER
Black Panther Party Lesson Plan
Why did the Black Panther Party feel colonized, and what methods did they employ to achieve empowerment? Your class members will engage in an online PowerPoint presentation, analysis of several documents, and discussion in order to...
K20 LEARN
Power to the People
Black berets, black leather jackets, raised black fists, chants of "Power to the People!" These are the images that many associate with the Black Panther Party. Often forgotten are the programs the party created during the Civil Rights...
US House of Representatives
Objects in Time
Artifacts can be used to study people and events of the past. That's the takeaway from the fifth lesson plan in a unit study of African Americans who served in Congress. Groups select an artifact associated with a Black Congress Member...
National Woman's History Museum
Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought
An engaging resource introduces young historians to Shirley Chisholm, the woman, the Black congresswoman, the activist, and the candidate for President in 1972. Class members study primary sources, watch a video of her announcing her run...
Learning for Justice
Mary McLeod Bethune
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
Speak Truth to Power
John Lewis: Non-Violent Activism
After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social justice...
PBS
Race and Vaccine Hesitancy in the US
What does race have to do with COVID vaccine hesitancy? That is the question young scholars pursue in a video lesson that looks at the impacts of such things as the Tuskegee Experiment, the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks's cancer...
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
K20 LEARN
Oklahoma and Segregation
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Imagine" by Kamilah Aisha Moon
A lesson about Kamilah Aisha Moon's poem "Imagine" asks young scholars to imagine, "What would happen if...?" If Dr. Martin Luther King's dream became a reality. If Renisha McBride was a white girl and crashed her car in a black...
National Woman's History Museum
Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a lesson that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the text of her speech...
PBS
Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist
Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...
American Institute of Physics
Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
While many have heard of Harriet Tubman, few are aware of the many ways this remarkable woman was involved in the United States Civil War, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad. Young historians examine primary source...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Old South Meeting House" by January Gill O'Neil
The vaulted ceiling of the Old South Meeting House has heard many voices. Young scholars read an excerpt about its importance in American history and then do a close reading January Gill O'Neil's poem, "Old South Meeting House." After...
Curated OER
Lesson: Younger Than Jesus: Understanding, Looking at, Making Abstract Art
Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The lesson...
Curated OER
Steps to Freedom
Students complete discussion and reading comprehension activities for the novel Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheax Nelson. In this African American history lesson, students discuss the Underground Railroad and complete a reading...
Curated OER
An Experiment in Unfair Treatment/Prejudice
A rigged spelling bee gives class members a chance to experience some of the feelings associated with unfair treatment. Team one is given easy words while team two is given difficult words. As teams realize the unfairness the instructor...
Curated OER
Free Black Entrepreneur
Students research using the Internet, study books, reference sources, newspapers, and magazines for information about successful black business people and write a research paper. They may also interview entrepreneurs in their community...
Curated OER
The Journey to Civil Rights
Students explore Civil Rights. In this Civil Rights lesson, students read about Ruby Bridges and define the words segregation and supremacy. Students make a timeline of important events in Civil Rights and write a paragraph about why the...