Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Booker T. Washington and w.e.b. Du Bois

For Teachers 6th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart compares and contrasts the African American leaders of the late 1800's and early 1900's. It includes Venn Diagrams, quotes, pictures, and poetry.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Archie Shepp

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the life of Archie Shepp, African American tenor saxophonist, composer, dramatist, teacher, and pioneer of the free jazz movement.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Black Heroes Throughout Us Military History

For Students 9th - 10th
Meet the standout soldiers, spies and homefront forces who fought for America, from the Revolution to World War II. During the American Revolution, thousands of Black Americans fought -- on both sides of the conflict. As America's Civil...
Primary
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: Post Civil War America

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] "A variety of materials demonstrates the rise and fall of civil rights for African Americans during the latter half of the nineteenth century, including constitutional amendments, sharecropper...
Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Radical Republicans

For Students 9th - 10th
A good description of the beginnings of the Republican Party before the Civil War, and the transformation to Radical Republicanism during Reconstruction as they attempted to guarantee equal rights for African Americans. Information is...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Digital Library: Congo Expedition: 1909 15

For Students 9th - 10th
A rich-media website that traces a major expedition into the Belgian Congo (the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) at the dawn of the twentieth century. Includes maps, diary entries, specimens, and recordings as well as a...
Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1860s: The 1858 69 Constututional Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
With the freeing of slaves following the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans, including former slaves, began to take part in the government. Read about African-American Charles W. Bryant, Constitutional Convention delegate, and...
Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: The Constitutional Convention of 1875

For Students 9th - 10th
A Constitutional Convention was held in Texas in 1875 as a reaction to Reconstruction. See how the gains made by the Republican Party, which included African American legislators, were negated by the Democratic Party when it gained control.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "George Washington Carver" by Barbara Radner

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with "George Washington Carver" by Barbara Radner accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Marian's Revolution" by Sudipta Bardhan Quallen

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the "Marian's Revolution" by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Website
New York Times

New York Times: Helene Johnson, Poet of Harlem, 89, Dies

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An obituary for Helene Johnson, a famous Harlem Renaissance poet. Includes quotations from some of her poems.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Story of Ida B. Wells" by Shannon Moreau

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the biography "The Story of Ida B. Wells" by Shannon Moreau, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Fastest Woman in the World" by Pat Parker

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Fastest Woman in the World" by Pat Parker, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Showdown in Little Rock" by Us history.org

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Showdown in Little Rock," accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

For Students 9th - 10th
Maya Angelou recounts her coming of age story as a mature but apprehensive girl in the American South and California during the Jim Crow era. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 7-10) to pair with "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by...
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Juneteenth Celebration

For Students 3rd - 8th
This resource is a brief article about Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, which celebrates the day when Union soldiers arrived in Texas and spread the word that slaves were free.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Akron at Night by Teri Ellen Cross Davis

For Students 7th - 8th
Teri Ellen Cross Davis is a poet who draws upon small, personal moments to explore large themes. Common subjects in her poetry include the experiences of women and people of color in America. This poem is from her 2016 collection Haint....
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Culture of the Common Man: R. Allen & D. Walker

For Students 9th - 10th
National Humanities Center collection of primary source material includes selection by Richard Allen, Confession of John Joyce, 1808, and excerpts from David Walker's Appeal, 1830. With questions for discussion.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Lucky Shot!

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about measles vaccines. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Robert Gould Shaw

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the life and death of Robert Shaw and his involvement with the black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. From "Who Was Who In the Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Sit in Movement" by Us history.org

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "The Sit-in Movement" by USHistory.org, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: A Tale of Segregation: Fetching Water

For Teachers 4th - 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage shares a first person account of experiencing the hatred related to segregation while in desperate need of water. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each text is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Emmett Till" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...