Curated OER
Family Traditions, Customs and Beliefs
Students discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.
Curated OER
Keepers
What are some things you think are special enough to keep? Discussing special things launches young learners into reading Keepers. They investigate related vocabulary and practice before, during, and after reading comprehension...
Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Curated OER
Women in Africa: Tradition and Change
Students examine a selection of traditional African artwork that portray women and explore postcolonial African literature created by women in order to gain insight into the lives of some black women in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Learners are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
African Myths
Students discover the role of storytelling in the African culture. In this multicultural lesson, students discuss the elements of the African myth and record them on the board. Students visit an African folktale website and read examples...
Curated OER
Creating and Preserving a Tradition
Students explore folk art and tradition. They work in small groups and produce an essay about folk art or traditions practiced in their community. Students discuss the creation and preservation of a tradition. They discuss various...
Curated OER
Exploring Folk Traditions and Folk Beliefs
Ninth graders work together to brainstorm an idea to focus on the similiarties and differences between various cultures. Individually, they interview family members using questions they created based on their topic. They use their...
Curated OER
African Folk Tales
Seventh graders listen to, recite, and research African folktales. They research African artwork to add to their original folk tales which they write.
Curated OER
Keeping the Past Alive
Students read about the oral histories of West Africa and complete related activities. In this oral histories lesson plan, students read about the importance of oral customs in African cultures. Students interview a family member about...
Curated OER
Theatre: Oral Traditions
Students investigate cultural traditions. In this multi-cultural lesson, students discuss various cultures and research their traditions.
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...
Curated OER
The Percussion Family
Second graders complete a unit to learn about the percussion family and African and Latin drumming. In this percussion lesson, 2nd graders complete 9 lessons to learn about the percussion family. Students learn to use shakers and sticks,...
Curated OER
The Struggles Between "Something Old" and "Something New"
Young scholars explore traditional life in Africa and assess how modern society may be impacting the values of the continent's traditional peoples. Students work in small groups to research various aspects of the infrastructures of...
Curated OER
Christmas Makes Me Think
Third graders discover that Christmas is a time for giving and sharing. In this Christmas spirit lesson, 3rd graders read a book about a child who is excited about Christmas trees and presents, but comes to realize that Christmas is...
Curated OER
Abuela's Weave Teacher's Guide
Students read and response to the book, Abuela's Weave. In this African-American literature lesson, students discuss pre-reading questions, that focus on family traditions and make predictions about the text. Students read the text and...
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.
Curated OER
Africa/United States-How do we compare materially?
Students discuss the material possessions of an African or American family. They examine how the material possessions of a family and the uses of their possessions are affected by their place of living.
Curated OER
Studying the African Immigration Lesson Plan
Students read a narrative, conduct an interview and write an autobiographical piece highlighting their findings about an immigrant's experience leaving their country.
Curated OER
Tribes And Tribulations
Students explore South African history from pre-colonial times to today. They create a timeline of important events in South African history and reflect on connections between this timeline and the existence of tribal traditions in the...
Curated OER
Ways we are Alike/ Ways we are Different
Young scholars complete a chart comparing and contrasting African villages with their own communities. The lesson focuses on the Mbuti and Fulani people. They explore their style of living, their traditions and everyday life in these...
Curated OER
Different Ways We Celebrate
Young scholars examine a variety of ways that families celebrate winter holidays. They complete a graphic organizer comparing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and write a five-sentence paragraph about one of the holidays discussed. ...
Curated OER
Magic, Sass, and Rage
Students are introduced to the characteristics of autobiographies. In groups, they read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and develop their own rules for survival in the classroom. They bring in family photos in an...
Curated OER
Animal Farm
Students work together in small groups to share their knowledge about apartheid in South Africa. They research the role of women in both traditional and contemporary African societies. They focus on such topics as employment, family, and...