C-SPAN
Presidential Candidate Firsts
Hilary Clinton may have been the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket, but she was only one example of an historic candidacy. Class members use video clips curated from C-SPAN to examine historical firsts in...
Library of Congress
To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
Curated OER
The Flower and the Fly
It's like a biological "Beauty and the Beast!" The fascinating mutualism between a South African meganosed fly and a deep-throated geranium builds a case study in coevolution for your biology buffs to analyze. After reading about this...
Curated OER
Continent of Africa
Fifth graders explore Africa and take a trip to the Smithsonian to see and musical instruments of African tribes.
Curated OER
The Movement Before the Movement: Civil Rights Activism in the 1940s
Many educators focus on the civil rights movement as it occurred after Rosa Parks incited the bus boycott. Extend the understanding of the fight for civil rights in the United States with this post-WWII lesson. Learners examine and...
Stanford University
Observing Human Rights Day
How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...
Curated OER
African American Inventors Study
Students learn about African American inventors. In this inventing lesson, students are assigned an African American inventor to research. Students work in pairs to complete their research. Students write a compare and contrast paragraph...
Curated OER
African-American Civil War Soldiers Lesson Plan
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this Civil War lesson, students examine the service of African Americans in the Civil War and consider their plight to secure the rights and...
Curated OER
Looking At African Art
For this social studies worksheet, middle schoolers find the words that are related to the concept of African art and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Cinderella Stories: An African Tale
Students read and analyze an African version of the Cinderella story. They listen to John Steptoe's story, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," locate Africa on a map, compare and contrast the story with Cinderella, and identify fairytale and...
Curated OER
A Case Study: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Philadelphia, PA, (17th-19th Centuries)
Eleventh graders work in teams of three. Each team visits a workstation to interpret, analyze, and apply information from documents for their final project. The final project is an exhibit at Independence National Historic Park
Curated OER
African Country Report
Sixth graders describe the relationship between the people of Africa and their environment. They examine the climate, economy and inhabitants of this land. Using maps graphic organizers and writing a report, 6th graders demonstrate how...
Curated OER
African Migration: Case Study Questions
Focus your attention on Bantu Migration. Answer 5 different questions to better understand why particular populations choose to migrate to new places. Referenced is the use of lesson notes, students will need background knowledge to...
Council for Economic Education
Mansa Musa: Inflation Then and Now
Mansa Musa was so rich that his gifts of gold made the value of the metal drop throughout Africa. As he traveled from Mali to the Middle East to make hajj, his gifts were so extravagant, they devalued the gold already in circulation....
Curated OER
Famous African Americans Mini-book
Young scholars develop understanding of prejudice as they study famous African Americans. For this African American lesson, students become familiar with various African Americans and the obstacles they faced and overcame. Young...
Curated OER
A Celebration of Africa
Students investigate early African civilizations. They create Kufi hats, musical instruments, pottery and African masks, sing songs, play African studenT games, and participate in a feast and tour of a museum where their artwork is...
City University of New York
Jim Crow and Voting Rights
Class groups examine primary source documents to determine how the voting rights of African Americans were restricted after the failure of Reconstruction, and how African American participation in World War II lead to change.
Curated OER
Life in Ancient Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
Learners study the ancient African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. They brainstorm what they know about ancient African kingdoms before investigating the trade and barter situations, and researching one of the kingdoms for an oral...
Curated OER
The Effects of Slavery
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and...
Library of Virginia
Antebellum Freedom
From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...
Teaching for Change
A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act
How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...
Curated OER
Making a Living and Leisure Activities
Students investigate the economic and daily activities in a typical African community. They design and construct a small scale house, play an African board game, create African money, discuss vocabulary, and write an essay.
Curated OER
Get Your Mojo Workin': Part 1 Writing Your Very Own Blues Tune!
Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...