America I Am Introduces Black History Month Curriculum with support from the National Education Association
The National Education Association (NEA), Tavis Smiley and the America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibition have joined forces to offer educators an historically relevant, culturally diverse curriculum for use in classrooms across the country as part of Black History Month observances.
America I AM lesson plans, activity sheets and other learning materials tailored around African American history and impact on the country are available free of charge for the length of the exhibition’s four-year run at www.AmericaIAM.org.
Tavis Smiley (right) with two Lou Dantzler Middle school students Aijalon Redd (bottom left) and David Curtiss (bottom right) along with California Science Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph (top left) in front of the key to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birmingham jail cell during a visit to the America I AM exhibition, at the California Science Center on Thursday Jan. 14, 2010 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Earl Gibson III)
The educational materials are tailored by grade level, covering grades 5 through 12, and can be used as a standalone history unit, or linked to other curricula including social studies, economics, math, art and literature.
The America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibition responds to a question asked by W. E. B. Du Bois in 1903: “Would America have been America without her Negro people?” Visitors to the exhibition see a wide-ranging collection of rare objects, maps, documents, prints, and other historical items illustrating the ways in which African Americans had a profound impact on the nation.
Visitors in the entryway to “America I AM: The African American Imprint.” (Photo: Carol H. Feeley)
Educational materials have been designed to prepare students for a visit to the exhibition, but can also stand alone as a history unit or linked to other curricula such as social studies, economics, math, art, and literature. Separate modules of these materials are tailor-made for students in three age groups:
Middle school (grades 5-8)
Junior high (grades 7-9)
High school (grades 9-12)
Accompanying lesson plans include historical background, supplemental activities, and alignment with national standards. For each activity, there is also a special section available about the related imprint made by African Americans. A substantial bibliography concludes the teacher’s guide.
were authored by Barbara Glass, with oversight from the exhibition’s executive producer, John Fleming, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
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Barbara Glass obtained her PhD from The Ohio State University (American Literature). She has spent decades within the education system as a teacher at the university level, including Eastern Kentucky, Wright State University, and The Ohio State University, which she retired from in 2007.
Glass also worked for many years for an educational publisher, with vast experience authoring educational materials geared by grade level and referencing state standards. She also has more than 15 years of experience as an independent professional writer.
