African American Heritage
By Ebone Johnson
ED 417
Dr. Helms
Ohio Social Studies Strands
First Grade Power Point Lesson
Table of Contents
American Heritage & People in Societies
People in Societies
World Interactions
Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
Democratic Processes
Decision Making and Resources
Science,Technology, and Society
American Heritage & People in Societies
This strand includes aspects of the past that help to
make American people unique among the peoples of
the world, while at the same time recognizing what
they have in common with others.
American Heritage Activities
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Create a year round calendar filled with African American Holidays and celebrations.
In groups have students research one African American holiday or celebration and present
that occasion at a festival celebrating African American history.
Create a timeline of historical African Americans and what they did in history.
Compare the current culture of African Americans to the cultural practices of the past.
Invite an older African American into the classroom to talk about their life and how it has
changed over the years.
African American Heritage Websites
www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/0,6709,97217,00.html
a website dealing with African American history
www.windmillworks.com/games/dreams.html
an African American quiz and game site
www.familyeducation.com/topic/front/0%2C1156%2C1-4818%2C00.html?yah
a website filled with information on African American heritage
www.free.bluemontain.com/eng3/african/index.html
a website of different African cards and gift ideas
www.ubp.com
a website with information on African American culture
People in Societies
This strand recognizes that the United States and
the world encompass many different racial,
ethnic, and religious groups.
People In Societies Activities
• Create a classroom Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the African
American culture with another cultural group.
• Research the different religious practices of African Americans.
• Have a “Day of Culture” in which students would dress, eat, sing, and dance
the African American culture.
• Discuss the diverse background of African Americans.
• Create a kinte clothe class quilt.
People in Societies Websites
www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmcensus1.html
Information on the population of African Americans
www.inforplease.com/spot/bhmbios1.html
An A-Z listing of notable African Americans
www.blackhistory.eb.com
information on Black history
www.kidsdomain.com/games/kwanzaa.html
different African games to reinforce cultural facts and knowledge
www.sikids.com/shorter/blackhistory/
information on African American athletes
World Interactions
This strand explores the links people make
around the world as they attempt to address
common problems.
World Interactions Activites
• Make a map of Africa, color, and then cut apart to create a puzzle.
• Get a map of the world and trace a possible path the slaves might have
taken to get from Africa to the Unted States.
• Get a map of the world and color all the places that African Americans come
from.
• Discuss current events in the world that have a great impact on the lives of
African Americans.
• Discuss how African Americans are viewed and treated in other parts of the
world.
World Interactions Websites
www.detnews.com/blkhist/9602/05/q/q.html
a black history website
www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/frameot.cgi?p=http%3A//www.history
channel.com/exhibits/blackhistory/proindex.html
a black history website
www.poilty.org.za/people/mandela.html
information on Nelson Mandela
www.usgovinfo.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://1cweb.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.htm/
a mosaic of African American art and culture
www.cr.nps.gov/goldcres/maps/africanmapsite/html
maps of Africa
Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities
This strand focuses on decisions individuals
and societies make, addressing wants.
Citizenship Activitis
• Discuss the civil rights movement and the impact it had on the lives of African
Americans
• Research and report on Rosa Parks
• Discuss how Rosa Parks had a great impact on the Civil Rights movement
• Talk about boycotts and how they relate to today’s society
• Act out a common day version of the bus boycott, and discuss actions that
could be taken in today’s world.
Citizenship Websites
www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0pro-1
a biography of Rosa Parks
www.socsci.colorado.edu~jonesem.montgomery.html
information on the bus boycott
www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/montbus.html
information on the bus boycott
www.mecca.org/~crights/montgomery.html
information on civil rights
www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html
information on Rosa Parks
Democratic Process
This strand examines the principles of democracy
and explores the extent to which government
reflects those principles.
Democratic Activities
• Discuss laws that they have in Africa
• Compare and Contrast African laws with the US laws.
• Discuss the laws that were made that had the greates impact on African
American lives.
• Discuss what would happen if some of these laws weren’t made
• Bring an African American politician to the classroom to speak.
Democratic Websites
www.msnbc.com/news/AFRICAfront.asp
information on African Americans in the news
www.pps.k2.or.us/schools-c/pages/buckman/timeline/kingframe.html
black history information
www.seditionists.org/black/bhist.html
black history information
www.infoplease.com/spot.bhml.html
background history of black history
www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html
a civil rights timeline of information and people
Decision Making and Resources
This strand focuses on the context for
exmaning those activities that are part of
an adult’s public life.
Decision Making Activities
• Make a chart of inventions made by African Americans
• Discuss whether these inventions are still used today, and how useful they
are
• In groups have students come up with a resource for African Americans
• Have a discussion thinking about what would the world be like without
African Americans
• Create a diversity collage
Decision Making Websites
www.pbs.org/wonders/kids/kids.htm
explore Africa through interactive games and stories
www.pbs.org/jazz/kids/
learn about jazz music
www.pbs.org/blackpress/interactive/index.html
learn about the black newspaper
www.library.thinkquest.org/10320/stamps.htm
learn about black stamps
www.pbs.org/aajourney/kids/index.html
a kids look at black history
Science, Technology, and Society
This strand covers the contributions of the
scientific world and addresses the everchanging world we live in.
Science Activities
• Create a word search using countries from Africa
• Play mancala
• Research an invention made by African American and recreate
invention to share with class
• Research the family tree of an African American
• Compare the African Americans family tree to the family tree of a
person of another culture
Science Websites
www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmlit1.htm
information on African American authors
www.puzzlemaker.schools.discovery.com
make a word search puzzle
www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmscientists1.htm
famous African American inventors
www.african-american-inventors.com
famous African American inventors
www.inventorsmuseum.com
famous African American inventors
CONCLUSION
The activities in this power point are for the first grade level.
These activities are meant to be spread out in a thematic
unit lasting at least a few months. The purpose of these
activities is to incorporate African American heritage into
the classroom, year round, not just Black History Month.