Explore by Theme
Dozens of downloadable teaching activities, books, films, and websites. Select by theme on the right.
The Color Line
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 6 pages.
A lesson on the countless colonial laws enacted to create division and inequality based on race. This helps students understand the origins of racism in the United States and who benefits.
African American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery
Coal Mountain Elementary
Book – Non-fiction. By Mark Nowak. 2009. 190 pages.
An expose of the coal industry using a combination of poetry, images, first person testimonies, and newspaper accounts.
Lawrence, 1912: The Singing Strike
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 18 pages.
Role play on the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Mass.
Rosa
Book – Non-fiction. By Nikki Giovanni. 2005. 40 pages.
A beautifully illustrated book for children about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat
Book – Fiction. Edited by Nikki Giovanni. 2008. 80 pages and CD.
A celebration of poetry with a beat. Includes CD with selected recordings of poems and historical background.
A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter
Book – Non-fiction. By Patricia & Fredrick McKissack. 1995. 160 pages.
A true story of the history of this powerful union effort by the African American porters.
The Streets are Free
Book – Fiction. By Karusa. Illustrated by Monica Doppert. 1985 (reissued 2008). 48 pages.
A group of children organize to convince the mayor that they need a playground and when they do not get it they organize the neighbors to help them build one.
Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark
Book – Non-fiction. By Katherine Mellen Charron. 2009. 480 pages.
Biography of Septima Clark who played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement through education.
African American, Civil Rights Movements, Education, Individuals in US History, Women's History
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Beyond Vietnam”
Film clip. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” (1967) speech is read by Michael Ealy. From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 2002. 144 pages.
One of the earliest and most influential antiwar books, originally published in 1967, by people’s historian and activist Howard Zinn.
When We Were Kings
Film. Directed by Leon Gast. 1996. 89 minutes.
Documentary about the famous heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Poster
Poster.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is clearly and beautifully laid out for students.
On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail
Book – Non-fiction. By Charles E. Cobb, Jr. 2008. 388 pages. High School and Adult.
An educational travel guide to historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement.
La Otra Historia de los Estados Unidos
Book – Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. Translated by Toni Strubel. 2011 (translation). 512 pages.
A People’s History of the United States in Spanish.
The Truth About Helen Keller
Article for Teachers and High School Students – PDF. By Ruth Shagoury. 6 pages.
A review of children’s picture books about the life of Helen Keller reveals the omission of any description of her active role in key social movements of the 20th century.
Who Freed the Slaves?
Student Handout in PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 2 pages.
This timeline can be used as a resource for lessons on the Civil War, President Lincoln, the 54th Regiment, and the end of slavery.
African American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Freedom Road
Book – Fiction. By Howard Fast. 1944. 294 pages.
This politics and economics of Reconstruction told through memorable historical fiction.
Slave Catchers, Slave Resisters
Film. Produced by Judy Richardson, Northern Light Productions for History Channel. 2005. 100 min.
Documentary on the many rebellions by enslaved people and other forms of resistance.
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Zinn Education Project
Saturday, February 4th at 7:12 Today is the birthday of Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (Feb. 4, 1913 – Oct. 24, 2005). Below is a key article by Herbert Kohl from Rethinking Schools that challenges the myths prevalent in children's books and textbooks about Rosa Parks. Here is a link to more resources about Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott: http://zinnedproject.org/posts/tag/rosaparks
The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth
zinnedproject.org
Aritcle. By Herbert Kohl. 6 pages. A critical analysis that challenges the myths in children’s books about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Zinn Education Project
Saturday, February 4th at 0:40 via ColorLines Magazine People have taken to Twitter to talk about the histories they wish they'd learned about in high school. Use: #WishiLearnedinHS
Pay Attention! Ethnic Studies #WishiLearnedinHS Curriculum Hits Twitter - COLORLINES
colorlines.com
Educational policies start trending on Twitter.
Zinn Education Project
Friday, February 3rd at 7:25 On this day in 1944, U.S. forces invaded and took control of the Marshall Islands. Who was living there? What is the status of the islands today? The Insular Empire: America in the Marianas is a powerful film on the U.S. colonies in the western Pacific.
Suggestion: ask your students - "Does the U.S. have colonies?" Let us know how they respond.
The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands
zinnedproject.org
The Insular Empire is a one-hour PBS documentary about America’s colonies in the western Pacific. Six thousand miles west of California, the Mariana Islands include the U.S. Territory of Guam and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (or CNMI). Although most Americans don’t believe t...
