As part of Black History Month, class members investigate in depth the life and work of an African American musician.

After investigating the Black Lives Matter movement, class members do a close read of Roger Reeves' "Black Laws." They write down words and phrases that rhyme, consider the kinds of rhymes used and their function in the poem. Scholars...

Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...

Score a home run with this packet of information on the very first player of the Negro League to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — cultural groundbreaker and sports legend Satchel Paige. These worksheets include a...

Was the medieval Black Death the same disease as the modern bubonic plague? Your class members become the top investigators in the case, examining a variety of exhibits (i.e. disease descriptions, sample historical letter, map, etc.) in...

Honor Black History Month with a spotlight feature on Harriet Tubman. After learning about the path the Underground Railroad followed, scholars imagine themselves on it, and share their experience and feelings through writing. 

After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social...

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...

Jackie Robinson: A hero on and off the field. An eye-opening activity focuses on Jackie Robinson's social activism during and after the civil rights movement. Academics read a letter addressed to President Nixon, answer questions, and...

It's difficult to truly grasp the effects of slavery. Young historians use historical analysis to understand the struggle of slavery on African Americans. The resource provides text from the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave to help...

You've heard of the historical moment when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, but did you know that some historical accounts disagree on where she sat? Investigate this query with your young historians, and practice...

Break down some of the most foundational components of writing a research paper, such as incorporating and formatting citations, creating a thesis statement, and using quotes effectively, into manageable tasks for your young writers.

To understand the challenges Black voters faced in Mississippi, middle schoolers first gather background information about Fannie Lou Hamer and then read her testimony given during the 1964 Democratic Nation Convention. After a...

An activity booklet includes a timeline of the movement, a song, and various informational reading passages on leaders, events, and the Civil Rights Memorial in Washington DC. Reading response questions and word puzzles are sure to...

Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...

Learners complete a six-page coloring book featuring Major League Baseball's first African American player, Jackie Robinson. To bring the pages to life, scholars follow directions adding color and pictures where directed. 

The process for adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is long and arduous, by design. High School historians study a series of documents about the Nineteenth Amendment and, using an interactive program, drag the documents onto a...

Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...

Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.

Who is to blame when a peaceful protest turns deadly? Scholars research the impact of the civil rights march in Selma, better known as Bloody Sunday. The activity uses files from the FBI's investigation to help academics understand the...

African Americans fought in the Civil War, and they were recruited by both the Union and the Confederacy! By comparing the wording of posters—one directed at freedmen and another to the owners of enslaved people—young historians discover...

Introduce young historians to primary source analysis with a lesson that teaches them how to use a four-step process to analyze a photograph of a 1913 Suffrage Parade. Groups practice the process and share their observations with the...

Class members adopt the role of Law and Order history investigators and examine primary source documents to determine the legitimacy of Marco Polo's claim that he traveled to and traded in China. A cleverly crafted...

Harriet Tubman saved hundreds from slavery through what was called the Underground Railroad. Teach learners about her amazing accomplishments through the article that uses effective direct instruction. After reading, scholars break into...