Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr.
In this Martin Luther King learning exercise, students read a passage about King. They then answer six multiple choice recall questions about the story.
Curated OER
Lady Sings the Blues
Young scholars explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music lesson, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday,...
Curated OER
The Last Day of Slavery
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Last Day of Slavery. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer...
Curated OER
I Have a Metaphor
Learners locate the literary devices used in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. In this figurative language lesson plan, students first distinguish between similes, metaphors, analogies, personification, etc. Learners...
Curated OER
Constitutional Resources
Students survey information on the Constitution. In these history lessons, students explore the founding principle's of the United States.
Curated OER
Detective Fiction for Remedial Readers
Eighth graders in a remedial reading class are introduced to detective fiction by Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After reading about their lives and work, they define new vocabulary and practice using a guided reading...
Curated OER
Decades of Drama
Students explore, examine and study August Wilson's 10-play series where each play focuses on a particular decade. They discuss each play in depth and then speculate on the possible plots for an eleventh play set in the 21st century.
Curated OER
Courage of the Heart
Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination instructional activity, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence
Young scholars explore a local seat of government to examine ways to make changes in their communities. In this local government lesson, students read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his nonviolent protests. Young scholars read...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Heroes
Students explore the actions of people involved in the Civil Rights Movement. They explore the reasons for the movement and its successes and failures, and explain the sacrifices made by those who participated in the movement.
Curated OER
James Van Der Zee
Young scholars recognize James Van Der Zee as an outstanding photographer who documented and reflected life in Harlem during the 1920s. They identify important aspects of Van Der Zee's life and artwork and compose and shoot their own...
Yale University
Avalon Project: African Americans Biography, Autobiography and History
Five primary source materials on African American history: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr., My Bondage and Freedom by Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, Up From...
Smithsonian Institution
Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits
This exhibition by National Portrait Gallery titled "Let Your Motto Be Resistance" presents photographs documenting notable African Americans and their contributions to American culture. The gallery of portraits offers an impressive...
Smithsonian Institution
Anacostia Community Museum: All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak
An online companion site for an exhibit showing at the Anacostia Community Museum. Read biographical information on many African American writers while viewing video clips and photos.
African American Literature Book Club
African American Literature Book Club: Wallace Thurman
This site includes the author's credits as an editor and playwright, a biography, and links to three of his books.
Read Works
Read Works: African American Leaders
[Free Registration/Login Required] Mini-biographical information is shared about the following African American leaders in this passage: Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, and Condoleeza Rice. This passage is a...
Read Works
Read Works: Famous African Americans Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
[Free Registration/Login Required] This biographical passage shares information about the famous African American named Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
Black Past
Black Past: Black Past Resources
Browse this informative site to learn about six centuries of African American history. Contains an online encyclopedia of biographies, primary documents, major speeches, timelines, events, and much more. Very extensive!
African American Literature Book Club
African American Literature Book Club: Dorothy West
This biography of Harlem Renaissance writer Dorothy West includes a video [2:42] of West in New York and links to book reviews for all of West's works.
Other
Bowdoin College: Arctic Museum: Biographies: Matthew Henson
Biographical information about Matthew Henson, an African American explorer who was with Robert Peary's team, in 1909, when he reached the North Pole.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: Anne Spencer
In-depth site on Anne Spencer including an extensive biography of this famous Harlem Renaissance poet. Detailed information on her works, education, and contemporaries. Numerous photographs. Some of her poems are also included.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Becoming Visible: James Baldwin
James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Odyssey: The Booker T. Washington Era
One section of this "Booker T. Washington Era" page of the LOC's African American Odyssey site is devoted to a very brief biography of Booker T. Washington. Other sections of the page summarize the history of African Americans between...
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Odyssey: World War Ii, Segregation at Home and Abroad
Brief references along with posters of the era to document the struggles of African Americans during The Depression and World War II. Brief biography of some of the African American leaders of that era, including A. Philip Randolph.