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...

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 ...

High schoolers examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. As a class, they are introduced to five artists and discuss their art and techniques. Using the internet, they also research the philosophers of the time period and how...

Students examine how race played a critical role in Lena Horne's life. They conduct Internet research, participate in a class debate, write a letter, and create a presentation based on their Internet research.

Learners are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the lesson, by...

Each student or student team creates a web page. Students research and make decisions for content of the page. Each web page should contain at least six images and six links, as well as any necessary commentary. Students indicate on the...

Students explore the lives and contributions of the many black Americans who are honored on U.S. commemorative postage stamps, make a presentation that synthesizes information about a historical figure and time, and write a persuasive...

Students explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. Students write a...

A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the instructional activity. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where...

Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...

Students study the life of Quincy Jones and research black music for selected decades of the 20th Century. They discuss the qualities that help one create and sustain a successful career. They design a timeline of what their future...

Informational text and impressionistic art lead a lesson about Harriet Tubman. Working in teams, scholars examine a variety of resources. They analyze, compare, and contrast the work.  Using their research findings, pupils create an...

Young scholars examine work by outstanding African American poets from the time period of the 1920s and 1930s. They study aspects of American and African American social, cultural and artistic history that influenced the content of some...

First graders explore the practices and products of the two cultures. They build log cabins and teepees or Hogans, make costumes, use vocabulary and Native American symbols to write stories, create art products such as pinch pots and...

Students begin the lesson with a review of the elements of poetry. Individually, they read a variety of poems and literature one white and one black author focusing on decay, sterility and alienation. They identify these images within...

Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of their...

Students research and write about three African American composers from Arkansas: Scott Joplin, Florence Price and William Grant Still.

Students create print advertisements that persuade viewers to visit African-American history museums by detailing their artistic, cultural, and historical benefits.

Learners 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...

Learners examine the life and works of Langston Hughes. In groups, they research the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance and how Hughes' poems relate to the era. They use the themes in his writings and relate it to the Great...

Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a lesson that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz musicians,...

Students explore 1960's America. In this American history lesson, students read about and research 1960's political and entertainment figures, social activism, the Civil Rights Movement, and environmentalism as they complete writing and...

Middle schoolers study a commercial art form and explore its historic and social meaning. They apply linear color to a shape, bending and forming the lines in much the same way a sign artist would form glass tubing. They design their own...

Upper elementary and middle school learners study Manga cartooning and create a Japanese character based on their own features and personalities. This style of cartooning is easily-accessible for most students. With a little practice,...