Teaching Materials Archive - Page 2 of 46

The Neutral Ground

Film. Directed by CJ Hunt. 2021. 82 minutes.
A co-production of POV and ITVS, in association with the Center for Asian American Media.
A student-friendly documentary on the fight over Confederate monuments and the Lost Cause narrative.

Seeking Freedom: The Untold Story of Fortress Monroe and the Ending of Slavery in America

Book — Non-fiction. By Selene Castrovilla. Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. 2022. 40 pages.
A Civil War story about a man who seizes his freedom from slavery and teams up with a Union general to save a Union fort from the Confederates.

Teaching Activity by Selene Castrovilla (Illustrated by E. B. Lewis)

People’s Historians

As we celebrate Howard Zinn's centennial, we highlight people’s historians from long before and after the publication of A People's History of the United States to help place Zinn's work on a long and ongoing continuum.

Howard Zinn on Prison Abolition

Article. By Howard Zinn. Haymarket Books. 1974
Essay by Howard Zinn on prison abolition from Justice in Everyday Life: The Way It Really Works.

Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote

Picture book. By Alice Faye Duncan and illustrated by Charly Palmer. 2022. 64 pages.
This critical civil rights book for middle-graders examines the little-known Tennessee's Fayette County Tent City Movement in the late 1950s and reveals what is possible when people unite and fight for the right to vote.

Race Against Time: The Untold Story of Scipio Jones and the Battle to Save Twelve Innocent Men

Book — Non-fiction. By Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace. 2021. 144 pages.
Scipio Africanus Jones — a self-taught attorney who was born enslaved — leads a momentous series of court cases to save twelve Black men who'd been unjustly sentenced to death.

Running

Book — Fiction. By Natalia Sylvester. 2020. 328 pages.
A story that celebrates young people who find themselves as they come to political consciousness and commitment.

Black Was the Ink

Book — Fiction. By Michelle Coles. Illustrations by Justin Johnson. 2021. 368 pages.
A powerful coming-of-age story and an eye-opening exploration of the Reconstruction era.

Paradise on Fire

Book — Fiction. By Jewell Parker Rhodes. 2021. 256 pages.
A powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change.

No Planet B: A Teen Vogue Guide to the Climate Crisis

Books — Non-fiction. Edited by Lucy Diavolo. 2021. 224 pages.
A small volume made up of short student-friendly readings that offer lots of teaching possibilities.

The Mystery Woman in Room Three

Book — Fiction. By Aya de León. Serialized in six parts at Orion Magazine. 2021.
A young adult novel that deals with immigration rights, climate justice, the Green New Deal, and youth activism. Available for free download at Orion Magazine.

Social Studies for a Better World: An Anti-Oppressive Approach for Elementary Educators

Book — Non-fiction. By Noreen Naseem Rodriguez & Katy Swalwell. 2021. 256 pages.
This book is full of social justice teaching methods and materials for elementary educators.

Teaching Activity by Noreen Naseem Rodriguez & Katy Swalwell

Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill and Paul Gardullo. 2021. 224 pages.
Essays on the history and legacy of Reconstruction, a companion to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit.

LGBTQ+ History in High School Classes in the United States since 1990

Book — Non-fiction. By Stacie Brensilver Berman. 2021. 296 pages.
Based on interviews with high school teachers about integrating LGBTQ+ history in their classes, this book offers the first detailed portrait of a prophetic minority of educators and activists championing a more inclusive and accurate vision of American history.

Teaching Activity by Stacie Brensilver Berman

Mighty Justice (Young Readers’ Edition): The Untold Story of Civil Rights Trailblazer Dovey Johnson Roundtree

Book — Non-fiction. By Katie McCabe and Jabari Asim. 2020. 208 pages.
A young reader's adaptation of Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights, the memoir of activist and trailblazer Dovey Johnson Roundtree.

Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America

Book — Non-fiction. By Keisha N. Blain. 2021. 200 pages.
A riveting account of the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, highlighting the relevance of her activism on the politics of today.

Mexican American Civil Rights in Texas

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Brischetto and Avena. 2021. 408 pages.
This book is an examination of the social change of Mexican Americans of Texas over the past half century.

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Book — Non-fiction. By Brandy Colbert. 2021. 216 pages.
History of Oklahoma including Trail of Tears, Reconstruction, Black towns, Red Summer, Jim Crow, Black and white newspapers, lynchings, Tulsa Race Massacre, and the ongoing fight for reparations and historical memory.

Challenge Islamophobia

Lessons and resources to place Islamophobia firmly within a U.S. context and shared cultural history.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Hip-Hop History

Book — Non-fiction. By Jeff Chang and Davey D Cook. 2021. 352 pages.
An essential guide for understanding hip-hop music and culture.

Lives in Our Lineage: A Lesson on Oral Histories

Teaching Activity. By Cierra Kaler-Jones.
In this lesson, students use key excerpts from How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith as inspiration for a project where they tell their and their loved ones’ stories.

How We Remember: The Struggle Over Slavery in Public Spaces

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow, Jesse Hagopian, Cierra Kaler-Jones, Ana Rosado, and Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In the lesson, students receive facts about each of the sites of memory in How the Word Is Passed and imagine how they might choose commemorate what occurred there. They then compare that to how the respective site is commemorated and described by docents.