National Endowment for the Humanities
Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty uses...
Curated OER
Hispanic Arts: Visual Arts, Dance and Music
Students observe global cultures by listening to music and watching videos. In this Latin American dance lesson, students define merengue, salsa and other dances from the Hispanic culture while listening to Latin rhythm music. Students...
Curated OER
Heaven, Hell, and Baltimore Lesson Plan
Students read the narrative "Return South Migration" and discuss a quotation. They write a half page reflection of what they think the quotation means. They research further and write a paper comparing present understanding with their...
Curated OER
African Americans: 1800 - 1870
Learners explore living and working environment of both slave and free African Americans from places throughout the United States.
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Voices from the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade
Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.
Curated OER
Shattered Glass Study Guide
Students view a movie about ethical journalism and Stephen Glass' rise at The New Republic. In this news ethics lesson, students view "Shattered Glass" and explore Glass' descent into an ethical black hole. Students complete the study...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
Young scholars explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson plan, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Students read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. In this Progressive Movement lesson plan, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Students discuss...
Curated OER
The Gullah People of the Sea Islands
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States. Students...
Learning to Give
Africa - The Great Southland
Applying the five themes of geography, preteen explorers develop a visual aid for younger learners in celebration African American History Month. They investigate the political, geographic, economic, and social aspects of the continent...
Curated OER
What price Freedom! Civil War and Reconstruction
Fifth graders become familiar with the events of Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In this reconstruction lesson, 5th graders work in pairs where each student creates a building with blocks and draws it. Their...
Curated OER
The Complexities of Reconstruction
Fourth graders critically analyze the social, economic, and political impact of the Federalization of the South. They develop a PowerPoint presentation relative to the Post Civil War South.
Curated OER
Romare Bearden's The Dove - A Meeting of Vision and Sound
Students explore African american culture of the late 1950's and 60's through various primary sources including literature, music, art and others. They then prepare and conduct a mock interview and present with the class.
Curated OER
Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream
Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class. In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of the...
Curated OER
Botanical Diversity in South Africa
Ninth graders explore the history and culture of South Africa. In this South African lesson, 9th graders create individual art pieces to be joined in the construction of a quilt.
Curated OER
Creating an Ethnic Student Newspaper
Students examine the role of the Black Press. In this African American history lesson, students watch segments of a video titled, " Too Long to Have Others Spoken for Us." Students respond to discussion questions regarding each of the...
Curated OER
Discovering Swahili
Students investigate the African language of Swahili by translating vocabulary words. For this foreign language lesson, students write 26 English words that define Africa and utilize the Internet to translate them into Swahili....
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. For this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real...
Curated OER
Folktales (African American, Chinese, Japanese and Korean)
Students participate in a variety of activities that are concerned with comparing different cultures through the literary genre of folktales. The stories are used to stimulate student interest and provide a context for how a society...
Curated OER
Kaffir Boy
Students explore the concepts of intolerance and racism in the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. The lesson reveals the story's depiction of the terrible toll of apartheid on the lives of individuals.
Curated OER
Need for Reconstruction: Devasation and Liberation in the South
Eighth graders examine the amount of destruction in the South following the Civil War. They explore the reasons why Reconstruction was needed.
Curated OER
A Bird's Eye View of the Caribbean: Art, Folklore, and Music
Students examine the Caribbean in terms of its music, art, and folklore. As a class, they listen to a folktale and discuss the difference between telling a story and reading a story. In groups, they write their own folktale and share...
Curated OER
The Old South In Children's Books
Students discuss what is meant by the "Old South". In groups, they read stories about the Old South and discover this was not how the area actually was in that time period. They use a database to examine the covers of books and...