Curated OER
Eighteenth-Century Slave Codes
Young scholars explore slavery by reviewing the written laws intended to keep African Americans subservient. In this U.S. slavery lesson, students analyze a time-line of the history of African Americans. Young scholars discuss the...
DocsTeach
Twelve Years a Slave
It's difficult to truly grasp the effects of slavery. Young historians use historical analysis to understand the struggle of slavery on African Americans. The resource provides text from the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave to help...
K12 Reader
African American Inventors: Granville T. Woods
Get to know inventor, Granville T. Woods. Who is he? From what state did Woods come? What did he design? All questions your scholars will find the answers to with this response-to-reading worksheet.
National Woman's History Museum
Unsung Voices: Black Women and Their Role in Women's Suffrage
Reclaim perspectives often left out of the narrative about the suffrage movement with an activity that lifts up the voices of African American women. Using primary sources and biographical details of Fannie Barrier Williams' life, young...
National WWII Museum
The Red Ball Express: Statistics as Historical Evidence
Historians use all kinds of information to make conclusions ... including statistics. Young scholars examine how two historians evaluate The Red Ball Express—a supply line staffed primarily by African Americans—using numbers. The...
World of Teaching
Black History Month: Key Events
Showcase the key events in black history that lead to and resulted from a shift in civil rights and moral consciousness. Beginning with the induction of the Tuskegee Airmen in 1945 and marking every major event through the retirement of...
Curated OER
Family Origins and American Cultural Pluralism
Students explore, analyze and discuss family origins, special legacies, and racial/cultural groups in literature and art that exposes them to positive examples in African-American history and culture. They encounter examples from dance,...
Curated OER
Now This is a Contender, Allow Me to Prove It
Tenth graders persuade others to see their Blank History Month postage stamp as the best choice. In this African-American history instructional activity, 10th graders research noteworthy African-Americans and create postage stamps and...
Curated OER
Buffalo Soldiers
Students investigate the role of the buffalo soldiers. In this African American history lesson plan, students research the African American soldiers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Students discuss their findings and compose songs that...
Curated OER
The Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow Era
High schoolers explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights lesson plan, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated. High...
Curated OER
Three Visions for African Americans
Students consider the plight of African Americans in post-Reconstruction America. In this African American history instructional activity, students discover the visions of African American leaders Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois,...
Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders examine the portrayal of African Americans in the media. In this socio-political instructional activity, 5th graders view various news clips of African Americans and discuss the way they are presented. Students...
Poetry Foundation
Dream in Color — Middle School
Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...
Marybeth Lobiecki
Beyond Baseball with Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball star, he was a prominent activist. The thought-provoking resource focuses on the life and achievements of Jackie Robinson, from his baseball career to his civic participation. Academics listen and...
Education World
Black History 103
Who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the 1949 Arab-Israeli peace accord? Who wrote many famous rock-and-roll songs? Who helped start the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)? A matching...
Curated OER
Entrepreneurs and the African-American Dream
Students make a simple graph of labor supply and labor demand in the North and South in the early twentieth century. They conduct research to identify top contemporary African-American entrepreneurs.
Curated OER
African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts
Students research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans...
Curated OER
The AME Church in U.S. History
Ninth graders explore the history of the African Methodist Church in the United States. In this African American history lesson, 9th graders discover why the church was founded and research its history and noteworthy members. Students...
Curated OER
African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era
Events related to the Civil Rights Movement in Sacramento, California during the 1960s offer class members an opportunity to compare the nonviolent resistance approach favored by Dr. Martin Luther King and the NAACP with those of the...
Curated OER
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits: Grades 3-5
Students explore the contributions of African Americans of the 20th century. In this African American history lesson, students examine portraits of Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, Lorraine Hansberry, Judith Jamison, and Leontyne Price in...
American Battlefield Trust
United States Colored Troops
The debate over slavery contributed to the Civil War, but it didn't stop African Americans from joining the military. Academics complete a series of worksheets, read original letters, and analyze a photo of an African American soldier to...
PBS
African American History: Lunch Counter Closed
Young historians investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies the Civil Rights Movement used to end segregation in the United States. After watching an video interview with Carl Matthews and Bill Stevens who participated...
Smithsonian Institution
Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2013
How successful has American foreign policy been in the past? Pupils consider the question as part of a state examination in American history. Other prompts include a document analysis and essay of important civil rights cases decided by...