Lesson Plan
Atlanta History Center

What if YOU Lived During Jim Crow?

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 
Handout
PBS

Democracy in Action: Freedom Riders

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
This is a must-have resource for every social studies teacher covering the civil rights movement. Through an engaging video and detailed viewing guide, young historians learn about the Freedom Riders, and discover how everyday...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Black Diamond

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Score a home run with this packet of information on the very first player of the Negro League to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — cultural groundbreaker and sports legend Satchel Paige. These worksheets include a...
Lesson Plan
Middle Tennessee State University

Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Making Choices

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What factors go into a decision to enter a war? Use a collection of primary source documents and images to prompt a discussion about the American Revolution and the reasons for entering a war against Britain.
Handout
Education World

Remembering Jackie Robinson

For Students 2nd - 6th Standards
A four-paragraph informational text details the life of the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. A prompt challenges scholars to write or discuss a time in their life when they were not included and how that made them feel. 
Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Norbert Rillieux, Thermodynamics and Chemical Engineering

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Solomon G. Brown: Letter Writing

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Personal correspondence in the form of letters is not as common as it once was. This resource presents an opportunity for you to introduce your class to letter writing and cover topics in social studies. Learners read a letter written in...
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Civil Rights Movement Veterans

Timeline of Events: 1960’s Civil Rights Movement of St. Augustine, Florida

For Students 9th - 12th
A timeline can be a powerful learning tool because it reveals a pattern in events. While few would consider St. Augustine, Florida a hotbed of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, a selection of background information and a timeline of...
Handout
Penguin Books

Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
A reading of Tanya Lee Stones' biography of Ella Fitzgerald lets middle schoolers get up close and personal with the First Lady of Jazz. Stone recounts details of Fitzgerald's life from her early days through her experiences as a teenage...
Handout
The History Place

The History Place: African Americans in World War Ii

For Students 9th - 10th
An excellent overview of ground-breaking African Americans who participated in the World War II effort in the European and Pacific fronts. Also highlights awards, honors and African American women in the War.
Handout
Other

Ohio Trek: African Americans in Cleveland 1809 1925

For Students 9th - 10th
Cleveland's famous African Americans - Garrett Morgan, George Peake, Charles Chestnutt, and others - are discussed here in the context of general information about African American history in Ohio.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Sites in the Digital Collections

For Students 9th - 10th
American Memory, online exhibits and other areas of the Library's Web site provide a broad range of digitized materials pertaining to the African American experience.
Handout
Alabama Humanities Foundation

Encyclopedia of Alabama: African American Union Troops

For Students 9th - 10th
Following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, African Americans were granted the right to join the U.S. Army, but this article takes a closer look at how this new right worked.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Perspectives: Timeline of African American Hist, 1852 1880

For Students 9th - 10th
A timeline of important points of interest in African American history from 1852 to 1880.
Handout
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: 75 Remarkable African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
A bibliography collection of 75 notable African Americans. A valuable compilation of famous African American writers, CEOs, scientists, performers, athletes, politicians, and leaders in their field.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: African American Veterans and the Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Many African American veterans joined the Civil Rights Movement after World War II when they found themselves facing continued discrimination at home. Learn about some of the veterans who were prominent activists.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive compilation of information that examines the complexities of the African American experience, especially the achievements of individual African Americans. Includes many useful extras, such as a timeline, an image gallery,...
Handout
University of Richmond

University of Richmond: History Engine: Maggie L. Walker

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief biography of Maggie L. Walker outlines her rise to success as the first African American bank owner in the United States.
Handout
TexasHistory.com

Texas history.com: African Americans in Uniform on the Texas Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
Examines the history of the buffalo soldiers in Texas after the Civil War, the obstacles they faced due to racism, and how other African Americans perceived them.
Handout
History Link

Bertha Pitts Campbell: An Oral History

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Washington State Oral History Project comes this captivating interview with Bertha Pitts Campbell, an African American woman and early Seattle civil rights worker. Campbell talks about the discrimination and segregation she...
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: December 1: Rosa Parks & Pas De Deux

For Students 9th - 10th
Two important events in U.S. history are described here. The first looks at Rosa Parks with quotes from Parks herself. The second looks at the New York City Ballet and the collaboration between Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and...
Handout
Countries and Their Cultures

Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: South African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of South African Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: February 1: Victor Herbert and Langston Hughes

For Students 9th - 10th
This section of Today in History tells about the lives of Victor Herbert and Langston Hughes and gives links to pertinent historical primary materials relating to them.