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...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

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.

Seventh graders visit the Smithsonian and are shown different exhibits. They are to make their own drawing about one of the exhibits and write about the experience.

The feelings and attitudes of African-Americans during World War II are examined by high schoolers. After watching various clips from "The War," they answer comprehension questions for each section. In groups, they create their own...

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,...

New ReviewHere's a new take on a new year. After watching and discussing the video of Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman performing her "New Day's Lyric," young poets craft poems that reflect their feelings about the past year and their resolutions...

New ReviewYoung scholars analyze primary source documents and images to determine how African American soldiers were denied their civil rights during World War I.

New ReviewScholars examine a document from 1928 featuring a mystery invention. Following their observations and discussion, the document reveals the invention of the permanent wave machine by Marjorie S. Joyner. Class members read about Joyner,...

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...

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a lesson plan that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The lesson plan introduces them to a brief biography of the poet, includes a video...

A lesson points the spotlight at Misty Copeland, the first African American Principal Dancer. A thoughtful discussion prompts pupils to think of their career aspirations and identify ways role models and stereotypes influence young...

Middle schoolers explore the history of the African-American troops that served during the American Civil War. After reading primary source documents that detail the controversies about permitting freemen and former slaves to serve,...

Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and A. Philip Randolph developed different views on how to advance civil rights for African Americans. Class members research these famous figures and their strategies before developing...

The American Civil War is the theme of this packet of materials prepared for Black History Month. Class members learn about the roles that African Americans played during the Civil War and examine the African-American experience after...

Learners evaluate primary sources from the antebellum era to determine the accuracy of textbooks. They examine narratives from enslaved people, then compare them to their own text. Extension activities include the opportunity to write a...

To understand the challenges Black voters faced in Mississippi, middle schoolers first gather background information about Fannie Lou Hamer and then read her testimony given during the 1964 Democratic Nation Convention. After a...

The history of science instruction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is the focus of a lesson plan that explores the early challenges these institutions faced in accessing equipment for their labs and instructors...

Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...

Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson plan first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type...

Imagine the lure of being offered a job at a secret site, working on a secret project, and earning higher wages! Such was the approach used to recruit African Americans to Hanford, Washington, one of several sites used to develop...

A two-part instructional activity focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by...

Phillis Wheatley's poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" is the focus of a lesson that asks readers to consider how the poem is a critique of slavery. Groups comprise a list of words and phrases they notice as well as questions...

Disrespect can be as subtle as a frown or a turn of a head. To prepare for a study of Toi Derricote's poem "The Weakness" class members create wordless skits that demonstrate subtle or not so subtle signs of disrespect. After a...