National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
Curated OER
The Struggle to End Apartheid
Motivate your class with this activity on apartheid. After responding to several pre-reading questions, learners read and mark 2 articles: 1 about the Soweto Uprising and 1 about Nelson Mandela. They then respond to 4 short answer...
Curated OER
His Story/Her Story/Your Story
Students read a variety of biographies to gain insight on the experiences of an African-American's life. Individually, they try to determine the time period it was written and compare the event with ones that occured in their own lives....
Curated OER
Ancient Origins: The Role of Archaeology in Reconstructing the Past
Students read information about the ancient origins of art and archaeology with a focus on the Malian culture. In this art origins lesson, students read background information for the topic and compare ancient and contemporary objects....
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Olympic Continent
Students read "Team Ethiopia Dazzles in Going the Distance" from The New York Times and discuss the impact these athletes have had on their country. Students work in groups to research different African nations that have participated in...
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Africa Colors a Destiny
Students discover the peace corps and the culture of Chad. In this cultural awareness lesson plan, students watch a slide show and examine various primary sources from peace corps volunteers in Africa. This lesson plan includes...
Cornell College
Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court Decision
Dred Scott was a harbinger of the Civil War. An enslaved man claimed freedom because his owner had taken him into free territory. Not only did the Supreme Court rule that Dred Scott and his wife were to remain enslaved, but it also ruled...
Curated OER
African life VS American life: Food and 3rd World and 1st World counties
Third graders explore the difference in 3rd world and 1st world countries. In this social studies lesson, 3rd graders are divided into groups and given varying amounts of food. Students discuss the unfair distribution of the food....
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Low-country Rice Planting and Cooking
Eighth graders compare the use of rice in the 1700s to the modern use of rice. In this lesson examining the importance of rice in US history, 8th graders learn about the role of rice in the early 1700s and compare the use of rice in...
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African Americans in World War I - Lesson Two
Students explore the decision to allow African Americans enlist in the military. In teams of three to four, students debate allowing Muslim Americans to enlist in the war. Students not participating in the debate serve as legislatures....
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Constructing a Timeline of African History
Students create a timeline of African History. In groups, they research and describe eight different important periods in the country's history. They apply this information to compare and contrast them and how it has allowed Africa to...
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Africans and African Americans
Students complete small group tasks related to racism as it applies to African Americans, African immigrants, and white immigrants. Through discussion of their findings, students explain of challenges in society that African immigrants...
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Africa Review
Seventh graders trace the major events in African history. In this social studies instructional activity students, create a flowchart depicting the things they learned during this instructional activity. Students understand the...
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Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts
Twelfth graders examine the impact of African American culture on the United States by inspecting Faith Ringgold's story quilts. Working in groups, they create a collective story quilt about current cultural issues. They research their...
Curated OER
December Holidays:Create A Comparison Chart
How are Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, and Ramadan similar? How are they different? Learners research the different December holiday celebrations around the world and compare the dates, symbols, countries, foods, and stories...
Curated OER
Barrels and Buckets: Access to Water - What Would It Be Like to Live in Africa?
Students compare water access in the United States with that of Africa. In this water access lesson, students located Ghana and Kenya on a globe before reading Peace Corps Volunteer accounts of the difficulty of accessing clean water....
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
The Geography of Europe
What is the European Union? Where is it? Why is it? To begin a study of the EU, class members examine the physical geography of Europe and the size and population density of 28-member countries in comparison to non-member countries like...
Curated OER
Book: Crossing the Seas
As learners read each chapter of Eric Schwartz's Crossing the Seas, they analyze the actions of United States in Venezuela, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the intent of the Monroe Doctrine. They then compare American...
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Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
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Prudence Crandall House and Little Rock High School
Students examine how Prudence Crandall influenced the education of African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and compare and contrast events in Canterbury, CN in the 1830's to those in Little Rock, AR in the 1950's.
Curated OER
African Safari
Students create an Excel spreadsheet that show a budget for a trip to Africa to see wildlife. In small groups, they complete internet research to determine the countries and sites to visit then calculate the costs involved for the trip....
Curated OER
Far and Near
Students compare and contrast their life to that of children in Africa. In this multicultural instructional activity, students read the book A Country Far Away and list ways that their life is similar to the children in Africa.
Curated OER
Not the Stereotypical Immigrant?
Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the stereotypes of modern African immigrants to those of other major immigrant groups in the U.S. They write an essay on their observations.
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It Takes a Village
Learners consider the contributions of the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref). In this current events instructional activity, students research the listed Web sites that include information about Uganda's education, relief,...