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Heart of the Matter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Most people have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, but few have heard of Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin. Who were these guys and what did they have to do with this famous landmark event in...
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The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
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Character vs. Society in The Invisible Man

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed Standards
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is difficult to read and difficult to teach. The novel is so highly regarded that it is one of most often listed as an option for the AP Literature and Composition exam. The materials in this packet from PBS...
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Teaching Guide: Exploring Beloved

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Toni Morrison's powerful and painful Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved is not easy to read or easy to teach. Here's a teaching guide, loaded with primary source materials, that gives readers the background they need to understand the...
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Malcolm X: Minister and Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...
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Unit Plan
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Slavery and Freedom

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...
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Dream in Color — Middle School

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...
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Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: Lover of Literacy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
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Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with Earnest Research

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Incorporating research and project-based learning while celebrating Native American Heritage Month.
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African American Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 7th - 12th
An excellent resource defines the African-American Civil Rights Movement from the early 1900s through the legacy left in modern times. Every major date, event, and key player is described under clear overarching categories. The NAACP,...
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The Southern Freedom Movement: A Case study of how Social Movements Happen

For Teachers 9th - 12th
There are countless civil rights resources, but this one really stands out. Social movements as they relate to human or civil rights are completely discussed in the context of the Southern Freedom Movement. Slides contain connected or...
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1920s Variety Show

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...
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Melba Pattillo and Ruby Bridges: Two Heroes of School Integration

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Learners put themselves in the shoes of students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1957-58. Note: The primary resources in this activity provide powerful and poignant descriptions of what those students faced.
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Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...
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The Fabric of History

For Teachers 5th - 12th
African-American history is an integral part of what America is. Learners examine important events, read informational texts, and create quilts depicting specific eras in African-American history. Each image created for the quilt will be...
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To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
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Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
New ReviewIt's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
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African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
New ReviewHigh schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
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African Americans and the Civil War: How Did African Americans Experience the Civil War?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
New ReviewTo understand African Americans' involvement in the United States Civil War, high schoolers gather evidence from primary source images, census reports, and documents. As a summative performance task, individuals craft an argument,...
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Reparations: Why Are Reparations Controversial?

For Teachers 8th
New ReviewTo understand why the topic of reparations is controversial, young scholars gather background information by reading articles, watching videos, and examining cases where reparations were made. Learners consider the lasting repercussions...
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African American Soldiers and Civil Rights During WWI

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
New ReviewYoung scholars analyze primary source documents and images to determine how African American soldiers were denied their civil rights during World War I.
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Civil Rights for All: Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
New ReviewThe Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning. Using images and a series of queries, learners consider current fights for equality. After viewing video clips profiling the women's rights movement, the American Indian Movement, and...
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Unit 6: The Genius of the Harlem Renaissance Teacher Guide

For Teachers 7th Standards
Introduce your seventh graders to the Harlem Renaissance with a unit that explores this dynamic period's music, literature, and ideas. The 160-page guide includes a unit calendar, an introduction to the unit, 10 richly detailed lessons...