Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans in Aviation: The 1940s- A Decade of Change

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate African Americans in aviation. In this primary resources lesson, students examine primary resources to research the history of African American in aviation. Students answer two research questions and write an essay...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Experiences: Window to the Past

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary sources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Medieval African Kingdoms

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the geography and political history of West Africa. They role-play as applicants to a company that transports customers to any historic time period. Working in teams, they create promotional products encouraging...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Clay Masks

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students create a clay mask with African characteristics. They discuss what masks are used for. They draw a picture of their own African mask. They apply features to their masks by scoring and applying slip.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep like Rivers: Four African American Poets of the 1920s and 1930s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students 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 of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover the Harlem Renaissance. In this early 20th century lesson, students use various primary sources including handouts, worksheets, maps, music, and poetry to examine aspects of African American culture. Students will...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Ceramic Mask Making

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate a variety of African mask types, design several masks, and create an example of an African ceramic mask in this 5th grade through High School Art lesson. The lesson can take anywhere from 6 lessons to 16 lessons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A South African Storm

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read a letter titled "A South African Storm" on her experiences of discrimination in the country. Individually or as a class, they answer questions about the author's purpose in writing the piece was and how she made herself...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts, Social Studies, African Americans, The Blues, To Kill A Mockingbird

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
African American history during the Jim Crow era includes encounters with poverty, racism, disrespect, and protest. Harper Lee develops all four of these themes in her famous 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To help students understand...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Adventures

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners access the Internet to gather information. They record their observations of African habitats. They create either an electronic slideshow or mural to present a science experiment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: African Banner Boxes

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students write creation stories and design stamps to use on banners accompany them. They discuss the use of stamps in African culture to take the place of words. Students use a handout of stamps and their own creations to create banners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in a discussion regarding images of war we see, how quickly do we see them, and how they affect us? They view and analyze war photographs taken during World War I.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Studies Lessons Islamic Timeline

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students create an Islamic timeline. In this social studies lesson plan, students work in mixed-ability pairs in an attempt to match up eight maps, titles, and descriptions of key historical periods. Once they make all the matches...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diverse Voices -African American Ventures

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore acts of kindness through the eyes of the black community. In this philanthropy instructional activity, students understand that even under inhumane circumstances, people can perform for the common good. Young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A New Birth of Freedom: Black Soldiers in the Union Army

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the history of civil rights by viewing historical photographs.  In this U.S. history lesson, students discuss why Black Soldiers fought for their rights by joining the Union Army in the 1800's.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders learn about this history of jazz music. In this musical influences instructional activity, 5th graders read God Bless the Childand listen to a recording of it. Students create a KWL chart on jazz and early 1900s music and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Defining moments from the past with lessons for a post-9/11 world...

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine extension ideas concerning 9/11, Defining Moments. They analyze a variety of Supreme Court cases, the U.S. Constitution, Mass Media Interpretations, Racism, Immigrant groups and U.S. geography. Many questions are asked...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Swahili Counting Book

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students compare their culture to the Swahili culture of Africa and make counting book. In this Swahili counting book instructional activity, students listen to the book Mojo Means One by Muriel Feelings. They discuss how the African...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Dance and Song

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students participate in a Zulu song game. They listen to African music and discover that is is a part of the culture, ceremonies, and dances. Students learn the dance/song, "Vulani Ringi Ring," and practice it after memorizing the words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Slave No More

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discover what it was like to cross into freedom. In this slavery lesson, students read the "Emancipation Proclamation," and letters written by Abraham Lincoln and John Washington (a former slave). Students identify the key ideas...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King and Writing as a Tool for Social Change

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore writing as an agent for social change. In this Social Studies lesson, students examine the power of writing using Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail.  Students will practice the technique of persuasive writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Middle Passage: a Journey of Endurance

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students determine that thriving African cultures engaged in international trade and exploration before the emergence of European civilization. The study ancient Ghana, its geographic locale, the diversity therein to include its people,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Patriot or Loyalist? A Revolutionary Decision

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers research as a reporter would and present the loyalist and patriot point of view on the American Revolution.  In this patriots versus loyalist lesson, students produce a project such as a video debate or webpage...