Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
Willie and Friends: Overcomers in the Land Stories by Faith Ringgold
Young scholars use puppets and plays to examine the role of African Americans throughout history. After being read a story by a puppet, they respond to each one in writing. Individually, they write a story about a place they have wanted...
Curated OER
Celebrate A People!
Young scholars explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all young scholars to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall...
Curated OER
Kwanzaa: An African-American Heritage Celebration
Learners explain some of the symbols of Kwanzaa. They demonstrate their understanding of Kwanzaa by making a book about what they have learned.
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance Births a Black Culture
Students examine the men and women who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Individually, they recreate their favorite pieces of art from the time period and create their own original works after reading poem from the movement. In...
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history instructional activity, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions...
Curated OER
The Cotillion or One Good Bull is Half the Herd, a Black Arts Movement novel by John O. Killens
Students study late twentieth-century African American satirical literature as well as its cultural antecedents. they analyze and discuss, within the contexts of race and gender, the social criticism of the middle classes presented by...
Curated OER
Multigenre Research Project
Students research influences on African American literature. They research someone who has influenced the development of African American literature and create a multi-genre research project. They create a photograph poem, character...
Curated OER
Visualizing Jazz Scenes From the Harlem Renaissance
Learners identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance
Curated OER
1920s Variety Show
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...
Curated OER
Literature: Porgy and Bess
Students examine the various portrayals of African-Americans in literature, focusing on the opera, Porgy and Bess. They conduct Internet research on African-American culture between the two World Wars. Students write fictional or...
Curated OER
We Have a Dream
Students work as partners to study Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech. In this African American history lesson, students work with their cross-grade partner to study, understand, and memorize the speech. Students meet with...
Oklahoma City of Museum Art
Harlem Renaissance
Individuals expressed the Harlem Renaissance in diverse forms of art, ranging from poetry to photography to painting. Learners explore pieces using a carefully curated collection from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Included lessons ask...
Curated OER
The Bus Ride Teacher's Guide
Students examine and respond to the text, The Bus Ride. In this African-American literature instructional activity, students explore pre-reading questions that focus on fairness of laws. Students read the text based on Rosa Parks and...
Curated OER
Children's Literature and African American Culture
Third graders examine various stories and poems and identify characteristics that make each individual unique. After analyzing the readings, they create their own personality poems to accompany self-portrait drawings. The poems and...
Curated OER
Rites of Passage: Initiation Masks in French Speaking Black Africa
Students examine African cultures through the study of masks in the initiation ceremonies in French speaking black Africa. They analyze masks, and create their own masks.
Curated OER
They Put On Masks
Eighth graders examine Native American art. In this mask making lesson plan, 8th graders compare mask making traditions among different cultures. Students watch a demonstration of mask making and construct a mask of their own.
Curated OER
They Put on Masks
Students discover Native American culture by creating masks. In this customs lesson, students create their own masks in class from plaster and paint. Students perform a skit in front of their school showcasing their mask...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Duke Ellington
Pupils read Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of the 20th century composer. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library...
Penguin Books
A Guide to the Works of Jacqueline Woodson
The works of Jacqueline Woodson introduce readers to diverse characters and themes. A guide covers many of the author's best-known books such as Brown Girl Dreaming and Locomotion. Dive & Discuss and Explore & Extend activities...
Curated OER
Rediscovering Forgotten Women Writers
Women's voices are becoming more prominent in the world of literature, but for centuries, this wasn't the case. Young historians research a woman whose writings are considered to be lost, out of print, or forgotten. They develop an oral...
Curated OER
"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...
Curated OER
Myth Connections
Ninth graders present tales and myths in the oral tradition. They discuss the African method of telling a story where each member of the group tells a part of the story. They make up a composite hero and write a story that describes...
Curated OER
Winter Holidays Around the World
How much do you know about the holidays around the world? Second graders put their knowledge to the test with a 14-day lesson about global celebrations. They read informational text, employ KWL charts, and compare and contrast the many...