The following lesson plans, developed by educators involved in Struggles and Triumphs: Students Explore Local African-American History introduce concepts related to African-American History from the early days of slavery through the Civil Rights Movement. Although they were designed for use with high school students, they could be adapted for use in middle schools or even in upper elementary grades.
Introduction to Slavery in the US was developed by teacher Jack Loeper as an initial lesson about slavery in this country. It introduces the concept of slavery and some of the horrors involved in the journey from Africa to the American colonies on a slave ship. It involves some simple math calculations and gets students out of their seats to find out how many people can fit into a small space such as the hold of slave ship. To use this lesson, you will need to download the following files. When you click on these files, they will open in another window:- Introduction to Slavery in the US Lesson (lesson plan)
- US History Power Point 10.1.1 Slavery In America
- US History Handout 10.1.2 Conditions Aboard the Feloz
- US History Transparency 3.2.1 Map Showing the Islands of the Caribbean
- US History Transparency 3.2.2 Slave Auction
- US History Transparency 3.2.3 Slave Quarters
Click here to download a ZIP of all Slavery lesson materials.
Primary Source Activity: African-Americans in the Census was developed by Museum Educator Sarah Thayer as a means of introducing students to the use of primary source documents such as the census to learn about local African-Americans. It also serves as an introduction to various concepts about 19th-century African-American life. While the 1870 Census document used in the lesson is from Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, the concepts could be extrapolated to most Northern communities at the time. To use this lesson, you will need to download the following files. When you click on these files, they will open in another window
- Census Classroom Lesson (lesson plan)
- Census for Catasauqua
Click here to download a ZIP of all Census lesson materials.
Civil Rights Movement was developed by teacher Sally Hanzlik involves an introduction to the Civil Rights Movement through a period letter. Students then research major events in the movement and create scrapbook pages to report their findings. To use this lesson, you will need to download the following files. When you click on these files, they will open in another window:
- Civil Rights Movement Lesson Plan
- Montgomery Alabama Dec. 6, 1955
- The Civil Rights Movement Scrapbook Project
- Civil Rights Movement Scrapbook Choices
- I have a Dream Free write
Click here to download a ZIP of all Civil Rights lesson materials.