American Institute of Physics
The Physical Sciences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The history of science instruction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is the focus of a lesson that explores the early challenges these institutions faced in accessing equipment for their labs and instructors for...
National Woman's History Museum
Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a lesson that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the text of her speech...
Learning for Justice
Mary McLeod Bethune
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Journey of Reconciliation, 1947
After examining the Jim Crow laws and reading primary source materials about the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, class members create historical markers that honor riders and their journey.
PBS
Keep Your Head Up | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise
Change may be slow in coming, but things do change. Oprah Winfrey and Black Entertainment Television CEO, Robert L. Johnson, discuss the opportunities available to them due to the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil...
National Woman's History Museum
Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought
An engaging resource introduces young historians to Shirley Chisholm, the woman, the Black congresswoman, the activist, and the candidate for President in 1972. Class members study primary sources, watch a video of her announcing her run...
Learning for Justice
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...
Curated OER
Against the Odds: The Trials and Tribulations of the Harlem Renaissance
Students become familiar with the Harlem Renaissance movement. They present information gathered and discuss issues pertaining to African American art through a power point presentation as well as an oral presentation.
Curated OER
Re-Examining Brown
Learners explore and describe the impact of segregation on African Americans and other non-white minorities. In this segregation instructional activity students identify, research and report on the legal cases that led to the Brown...
Curated OER
“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
Students examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
Curated OER
Racism, Gender, Ethnicity, and Aesthetics in the Art of Graffiti
Students describe how graffiti is a part of everyday culture. They develop basic vocabulary terms for thinking and writing about graffiti and make and justify judgments about aesthetics qualities in graffiti art. They compare and...
Curated OER
Apartheid and Segregation
Learners view a television program that depicts the history South African Apartheid and the United States' system of segregation. They discuss how laws were used to uphold these institutions and compare and contrast racism and...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday
Students will recognize the problem of prejudice and racism in the history of America especially during the time of Martin Luther King Jr. They will also recognize that feelings can be expressed through the written medium of poetry.
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Examining the Choices People Made
The choices made by Roy Bryant and J.W. Millam, the men who murdered Emmett Till in 1955, are usually the ones people ponder when they examine the case. But other individuals made choices that contributed to the event and its subsequent...
Curated OER
Baseball, Race Relations and Jackie Robinson
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this race relations lesson, students discover details about how Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in professional baseball.
Curated OER
Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
Learners complete a worksheet and study key vocabulary while researching the biography of Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Movement. They chose another Civil Rights leader to investigate and present to the rest of the class before...
Curated OER
Jackie Steals Home
Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...
Curated OER
The Adarand Case: Affirmative Action and Equal Protection
Eleventh graders examine the Adarand case. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders create a list of reasons for each affirmative action program. Students develop a defense on certain issues and present it to the...
Curated OER
Changing Attitudes in America
Students discuss strategies for confronting destructive stereotypes and mythologies, as well as promoting racial understanding in Students.
Curated OER
Courage of the Heart
Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination lesson plan, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about...
Stanford University
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X: A Common Solution?
Much has been made of the differences between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. But was there any common ground between them? Class members reconsider what they think they know about these two civil rights leaders with...
C-SPAN
14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
Learning to Give
The Beginning of the Storm
Introduce readers to Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with a lesson that sets the context for the novel. Class members research the bigotry in Mississippi during the Great Depression and identify examples in the story of how...
National Park Service
Civil War to Civil Rights: From Pea Ridge to Central High
Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning.