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...

High schoolers describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources you find, and cite arguments for and against these solutions.

Celebrate Black History Month with a packet of materials on African American inventors. Readers discover several inventors' character traits, their inventions, and their lives. They even have the opportunity to conduct further research...

A two-part lesson 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...

Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

A two-part instructional activity introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about...

Pupils research the American Memory collection to explore the African-American experience from 1897 to 1953.

Young scholars analyze life in a village of Tanzania including its language, geography, health, and hygiene issues. In this African village instructional activity, students locate Tanzania and its capital city on a map. Young...

Students describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources found and cite arguments for and against those solutions. Analyze primary...

Why would an African-American slave fight in the Civil War? Read and analyze primary source documents to understand the ex-slave perspective on fighting in the Union Army. Everything to complete this instructional activity is included.

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 ...

Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...

Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...

Students examine African American issue between the years 1897 and 1953. In this African American history instructional activity, students research the social, economic, and political conditions of African Americans during the...

Secondary learners explore the westward movement of African Americans. Segmented into four time periods, the lesson provides an overview of how African Americans experienced westward expansion. Learners view PBS specials on the...

Students utilize an online database to conduct research and analyze the conditions for African-Americans before and after World War I. They consider the role of the 92nd and 93rd divisions in affecting social change.

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...

Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...

Explore the culture, geography, and religion of Ethiopia. Learners complete a viewing guide while watching a film on Ethiopia as the first Christian country in Africa. Additionally, they create group presentations and write paragraphs...

Students discover the responsibilities of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In this New Deal lesson, students analyze the impact that the inclusion of African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps made on race relations in the...

Students analyze what it is like to live in an African village. They locate Tanzania on a map and compare life there to life here in the United States. They write about the health issues in East Africa.

Students study the key figures in African-American military history. They discover how African-American military history reflect both discrimination and the often heroic struggle to overcome discrimination. They examine the key periods...

Learners consider the plight of African Americans in post-Reconstruction America. In this African American history lesson, students discover the visions of African American leaders Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Marcus...