Curated OER
After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
Students investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...
Curated OER
African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War
Learners examine what life was like in free African-American communities before the Civil War. They analyze maps, identify elements of everyday life in these communities, explore various websites, and complete a chart.
Curated OER
The Palm of My Heart: Poetry By African American Children
Elementary students explore African American culture by reading children's poetry. They read the book, The Palm of My Heart which features poetry by an assortment of young African American boys and girls. Students define several...
Curated OER
African American Women Before and After the Civil War: Slavery and Freedom
Learners listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a map. Learners...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
American Institute of Physics
African American Inventors in History
A two-part lesson plan introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of...
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
PBS
Free, but Not Free: Life of Free Blacks Before the Civil War
Using the family stories of a famous comedian and singer-songwriter, learners consider what life was like for African Americans who were enslaved and free before the Civil War. To complete a concluding activity, they write about the...
Smithsonian Institution
Fighting For Freedom: The Stono Rebellion and Free Frank McWhorter
Travel back in time to the Stono Rebellion. Young historians research historical figures who played a role in African Americans' fight to escape slavery. Scholars research material, complete handouts, participate in group discussion, and...
PBS
African-Americans in the American West
Secondary learners explore the westward movement of African Americans. Segmented into four time periods, the lesson provides an overview of how African Americans experienced westward expansion. Learners view PBS specials on the westward...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Students are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
African American Life in the Nineteenth Century
Students read about the life and work of John and Mary Jones. Using primary source documents, they draw conclusions about their role in the abolistionist movement. They also examine artifacts from their lives and analyze their portrait...
Curated OER
African American Population Shifts
Students investigate population trends. In this African American history lesson, students access U.S. Census records from 1900 to the present online. Students analyze the migration of African Americans from one area of the U.S. to another.
Curated OER
African American Concentration
Students study African American history month. In this culture activity, students discuss the origins of African American history and play a concentration game by matching the picture to the name of a famous African American.
Crafting Freedom
F.E.W. Harper: Uplifted from the Shadows
What is stereotyping, and how do we handle stereotyping in our daily interactions? Your young historians will not only have the opportunity to learn about the first African American woman to publish a short story–Frances Ellen...
Curated OER
Mapping the African American Past
Fourth graders explore the African Americans impact on New York. In this US History instructional activity, 4th graders examine an archaeological website. Students research the Five Points neighborhood.
National Endowment for the Humanities
David Walker vs. John Day: Two Nineteenth-Century Free Black Men
What was the most beneficial policy for nineteenth-century African Americans: to stay in the United States and work for freedom, or to immigrate to a new place and build a society elsewhere? Your young historians will construct an...
Curated OER
African Americans in Oregon
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this African American history lesson, students examine the African American experience in Oregon.
Curated OER
African American Life in the Pee Dee Before the Civil War
Third graders examine the life of the African American in the Pee Dee region during slavery. In this slavery lesson, 3rd graders explore primary and secondary documents related to the topic and create a timeline of when slavery first...
Curated OER
African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts
Students research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans...
Curated OER
African American Concentration
Students increase their awareness of the important contributions made by individuals throughout history by discussing African American history month. They then play Concentration by matching the picture and name of a famous African...
PBS
Civil War: Blacks on the Battlefield
Imagine a war being fought to free slaves, with slaves on the front line. Scholars use primary documents, videos, and research in the second installment of a three-part series to guide their analysis of the first African-Americans on the...
Curated OER
Famous African Americans Mini-book
Young scholars develop understanding of prejudice as they study famous African Americans. In this African American activity, students become familiar with various African Americans and the obstacles they faced and overcame. Young...