The final lesson of a three-part series on Kate Chopin's The Awakening has scholars investigate life as a woman in late nineteenth-century America. They research the role of women in society through the eyes of the characters in the...

The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...

Introduce young historians to primary source analysis with a lesson that teaches them how to use a four-step process to analyze a photograph of a 1913 Suffrage Parade. Groups practice the process and share their observations with the...

A unit by Core Knowledge begins with information about early United States presidents. Pupils then explore social reformers such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas, abolitionism, women's rights, and more. Participants listen and...

To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...

Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...

An engaging resource provides many primary source materials to inform a study of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Suggestions include building a timeline of the fight, using the documents as the basis of a DBQ, and/or using a Venn...

A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...

A two-part lesson plan asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to total internal...

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...

The third lesson in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to Congress...

A civil rights movement instructional activity designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white...

Through character trait graphic organizers, a vocabulary sorting activity, class discussion, and a civil rights movement slide show, your young historians will be introduced to the amazing story of Ruby Bridges and her experiences as the...

The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...

A packet of 13 primary sources provides young historians with insight into the anti-lynching activism of civil rights Ida B. Wells. Included are images of Wells, her letters, a political cartoon, newspaper lynching announcements, and a...

Artifacts can be used to study people and events of the past. That's the takeaway from the fifth lesson in a unit study of African Americans who served in Congress. Groups select an artifact associated with a Black Congress Member from...

Young people played significant roles in the Civil Rights movement. Class members examine the contributions of Barbara Johns, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, and the children of Birmingham,...

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

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...

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....

Literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather laws? Scholars study the systematic ways African-Americans were kept from voting even after it was made a law. They analyze a series of primary source documents, complete a worksheet, and engaged...

Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a instructional activity that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the...

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...

Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...