Smithsonian Institution
World War I
How did World War I effect the United States' status as a world power? Pupils examine a website to learn many interesting facts about American involvement during World War I. They read passages and interact with artifacts in an online...
Curated OER
Comparing/Contrasting Northern Life to Southern Life
Learners compare and contrast the lives of African Americans who moved North vs. those who stayed in the South during the era of Jim Crow Laws.
Learning to Give
Africa - The Great Southland
Applying the five themes of geography, preteen explorers develop a visual aid for younger learners in celebration African American History Month. They investigate the political, geographic, economic, and social aspects of the continent...
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson plan, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...
Curated OER
"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...
Curated OER
Island Research
Students will work in small groups to gather information about the geography, history, economy, climate, culture, and other aspects of life on the island of Eleuthera. Lesson contains adaptations for all levels.
Curated OER
Terrorist, Freedom Fighter, or Something in Between?
High schoolers identify that history can characterize actions differently from how they were perceived when initially undertaken. Then they identify that terrorist groups exist within a political, cultural, and historical context, and...
Curated OER
Racial Violence in America: Lynchings, 1877 to 1920
Students are introduced to the concept of lynching as it took place in the American South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through class discussion and a review of lynching photographs, students explore the reasons behind...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery Bus Boycott: We Would Rather Walk!
Have historians use primary sources to learn about the circumstances and implementation of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and think about the issue of boycotts as a means of effecting social change. Wrap it up with a...
Civil Rights Movement Veterans
Timeline of Events: 1960’s Civil Rights Movement of St. Augustine, Florida
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...
Curated OER
The Struggle to End Apartheid
Students research the occurence, history and politics of apartheid in South Africa. They study Canada's involvement through sanctions and other pressures on the apartheid movement.
Curated OER
Youth Participation in Nonviolence
Students explore the use of nonviolent resistance. For this social justice lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as the Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Curated OER
Nelson Mandela, Symbol of Courage
Fifth graders study Nelson Mandela. In this leadership instructional activity, 5th graders study the life of Nelson Mandela. Throughout their learning, they read biographies on Nelson Mandela, compare their community to those in South...
Curated OER
Pachyderms on Planes! The Amazing Angolan Ambassadors
Students investigate international aid by researching the history of Angola. In this world crisis lesson, students investigate the history, civil wars and poor economy of Angola and discuss ways to turn the poor nation around....
Curated OER
Satyagraha, Its Origins and Applications
Tenth graders study the steps and methods taken by Gandhi. For this World History lesson, 10th graders create illustrations to represent these steps. Students write a persuasive essay on these measures taken by Gandhi.
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Young scholars read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. In this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Barbara Jordan
Students examine the contributions made to our country by Barbara Jordan. They read and discuss the books "The Sneetches" and "Building a Bridge," write journal entries, participate in a discrimination simulation, create a class...
Curated OER
What price Freedom! Civil War and Reconstruction
Fifth graders become familiar with the events of Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. In this reconstruction lesson plan, 5th graders work in pairs where each student creates a building with blocks and draws it....
Curated OER
Freedom on My Mind: A Marginalized Voice in the Segregated South
High schoolers analyze the film, "Freedom on My Mind." They view the film and discuss its points in small groups. They create a fictional southern state reflecting segregation in the 1960's. They present their states to the class.
Curated OER
Robert Smalls: Warrior and Peacemaker
Students research the events that led to the Civil War and the Reconstruction. In this Civil War history lesson, students study images of Robert Smalls and research his role in the Civil War. Students review the South Carolina...
Curated OER
Integration of Education
Students explore the history of Civil Rights and how the struggle for Civil Rights and the Second Reconstruction, transformed society and politics in the United States in the 1950s. Then they identify why American Schools are integrated...
Curated OER
SOS from Sudan
Students examine the Darfur crisis. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites to discover details about the history of Sudan, ethnic cleansing by the Arab Janjaweed militias, and the condition of...
Curated OER
The Colonial Legacy of Sierra Leone (W. Africa)
Students investigate an in-depth study of civil strife in a former British colony fueled by 'conflict' diamonds. They examine how the violence and civil strife rampant in a particular West African nation has a lot to do with its colonial...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Methodology Martin Luther King, Jr. – Stokely Carmichael
Students compare and contrast the visions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael. In this African-American history lesson, students read speeches by each of the men and summarize the arguments made by each of them about...