Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parallel Studies in American/Afro-American Literature, Part II -- Black and White Images in Alienation

For Teachers 11th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Harlem Renaissance Births a Black Culture

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the men and women who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Individually, they recreate their favorite pieces of art from the time period and create their own original works after reading poem from the movement. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Learners explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Harlem Renaissance: Awakening the Black Soul

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore, examine and study about the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on the American culture. They assess and explain how the Harlem Renaissance was a "rebirth" for the African American culture through art, music, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

His Story/Her Story/Your Story

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read a variety of biographies to gain insight on the experiences of an African-American's life. Individually, they try to determine the time period it was written and compare the event with ones that occured in their own lives....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Freedom to Fight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the African American troop experiences in the Civil War. In this American history lesson plan, students examine primary and secondary sources regarding the experiences and contributions of African American soldiers who...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Cotillion or One Good Bull is Half the Herd, a Black Arts Movement novel by John O. Killens

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study late twentieth-century African American satirical literature as well as its cultural antecedents. they analyze and discuss, within the contexts of race and gender, the social criticism of the middle classes presented by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Romare Bearden's The Dove - A Meeting of Vision and Sound

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore African american culture of the late 1950's and 60's through various primary sources including literature, music, art and others. They then prepare and conduct a mock interview and present with the class.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Character vs. Society in The Invisible Man

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed Standards
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is difficult to read and difficult to teach. The novel is so highly regarded that it is one of most often listed as an option for the AP Literature and Composition exam. The materials in this packet from PBS...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Remus to Rap: A History in Theory and Practice of the African-American Storytelling Tradition

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the specific form and function of tall tales and toasts. They discover the importance of performance in the telling of a story and the importance of rhythm in the telling of toasts. They create stories of their own, in...
Lesson Plan
Syracuse University

Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students discuss the illustration's allusion to the myth, Pandora's Box. Students locate instances of folk sayings or expressions that make these tales seem authentic to the reader. Students draw a Venn diagram comparing Catskinella and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Multigenre Research Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students research influences on African American literature. They research someone who has influenced the development of African American literature and create a multi-genre research project. They create a photograph poem, character...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visualizing Jazz Scenes From the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan on School Integration in Boston And Nantucket

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use primary sources and timelines to begin a study of school integration; students watch "Nantucket Rock of Changes," and compare the case of Eunice Ross with the story of the Little Rock Nine.
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 7th - 12th
A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...
Lesson Plan
Maryland Department of Education

A Raisin in the Sun and Dreams Deferred

For Teachers 10th Standards
To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature Overview: February

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the phrase Touch and Go, and analyze the poem, Dream Variation by Langston Hughes. They read an African-American folktale and write interpretive paragraphs about the story.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Stereotypes

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students study 'stereotype' in literature and life and give examples. they provide examples from life or literature on the origins and impact of stereotypes. they 3. Cite 3 - 5 individual African Americans from literature or life who...
Lesson Plan
Penguin Books

Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for The Lions of Little Rock

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...