The Talking Goat

A two-part instructional activity 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...

Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, engage in a silent discussion, posting their responses to a series of statements about characters in the story.

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...

Practice analyzing primary sources in a thought-provoking lesson on the impact of slavery. Young historians read a petition regarding the Fugitive Slave Law and answer a series of questions to understand the importance of the document....

Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball legend; he was an activist, too. An interesting resource explores Robinson's time in the military using primary sources. Scholars examine the racially inspired event that led to a court martial...

Students view and analyze various artists' representations of slavery. They create their own illustrations of slavery.

The brutality of Bloody Sunday—when non-violent protesters who supported voting rights for African Americans were beaten by police—captured a nation. Young historians examine the letter of one horrified American to Congress to consider...

Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.

Get learners excited about reading with literature circles! Small groups discuss the day's reading in various roles, including Discussion Director, Summarizer, Word Wizard, Literary Luminary, Travel Tracer, Connector, and Fact Finder,...