According to the Library of Congress, “African-Americans were enslaved in what became the United States from early in the 17th century. Even so, by the time of the American Revolution and eventual adoption of the new Constitution in 1787, slavery was actually a dying institution. As part of the compromises that allowed the Constitution to be written and adopted, the founders agreed to end the importation of slaves into the United States by 1808.” These resources provide teachers with critical information on the lives and experiences of African-Americans prior to and during the Civil War.  An emphasis is placed on  the role of slave labor to support the U.S. economy as well as the moral dilemma of holding people in bondage.  

These resources highlight the ways in which slavery did not end with the Civil War.  Although the term “slave” was no longer used, blacks were subjugated to sharecropping roles, limited educational opportunities and unfair judicial practices.  Teachers can address behavioral science, economic  geographic and social science education standards through the integration of this important period of American history.  The relationship between the restrictions placed on the African-American population that  persisted well into the 20th century and the current economic, health, social  and judicial challenges that continue to impact Black Americans today is made clear.

These resources support classroom learning experiences that raise consciousness about the role of race in our society and implicit biases that may exist. The aim of heightened awareness is to help students identify ways in which our history can inform today’s society and how to use that knowledge to support continued growth for our country’s future.

District administrators are responsible for a variety of tasks including hiring, explaining the rationale for curricular decisions and more.  Resources in this section provide administrators with important sources to assist them in cultivating a positive, culturally sensitive and successful learning community.

Film can be a very powerful, positive teaching medium when used in an intentional manner. For many of our students in Wisconsin, it is their introduction to African-Americans given the demographics of our state.  The films highlighted in this resource list cover a broad range of topics and include both documentaries as well as historical fiction. After a teacher has identified when he/she would like to use a film to underscore particular teaching standards and objectives, it is recommended that teachers watch the films in their entirety so they have full knowledge of the plot and character depictions. Segments of a film or the entire movie can be used for teaching.   The subcategories within the film list will assist teachers in narrowing down the particular films they may want to peruse. The American Film Associations’ ratings of the selected films are provided to assist teachers in making age-appropriate selections.

Reframing American History is a resource guide for kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers, curriculum specialists and administrators.  The resources listed support the development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive social studies and history curriculum model that focuses on the critical role African Americans played in our country’s development. An emphasis is placed on three primary goals: Reframing American History is a resource guide for kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers, curriculum specialists and administrators.  The resources listed support the development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive social studies and history curriculum model that focuses on the critical role African Americans played in our country’s development. An emphasis is placed on three primary goals:Goal 1 focuses on easy access to a diverse group of vetted resources in support of a social studies curriculum for grades K through 12 that is inclusive and developmentally appropriate.  These resources highlight the experiences and contributions of African Americans since they are integral to the origins and development of the United States as well as Wisconsin. Goal 2 ensures that Wisconsin teachers (those in training as well as those currently teaching in the classroom) will have essential historical knowledge of African Americans, their history, and experiences as they relate to our country’s development. Evidenced-based instructional methods and materials will be made available to teachers to support their ability to foster their students’ learning in a positive and nurturing manner.  Goal 3 focuses on ensuring that all Wisconsin public school students graduate with the essential knowledge and skills that will prepare them to work and live in our racially and culturally diverse world. Fortified with this knowledge, they will be able to create an equitable and just society. To learn more about the African-American/Jewish Friendship Group, Inc., Education Committee, see the AAJFG multimedia slideshow. 

Bundling is the practice of creating groups (or “bundles”) of standards that are arranged together as a focus for an instructional lesson. Teachers are able to weave together several standards within a single lesson or unit while integrating each lesson into a larger curriculum sequence.  History instruction offers teachers many opportunities to bundle during query based or topic specific instruction.  Examples of bundling are presented in these resources.  Essential knowledge related to our multicultural society as it relates to the development of our country are also bundled into these sample resources.  To learn more about bundling, watch the video below. Bundled Instruction 

This resource is a list of audio books, videos and lesson plans that use music, photographs and video to bring to life African-American culture and experiences.  All children will enjoy these multimedia resources.  

This resource features suggested books for Kindergarten.  Books are beautifully illustrated featuring African-Americans.  All children will enjoy building their early concepts about print and reading experiences through these wonderful stories.  

This resource features developmentally appropriate interactive learning experiences that support students’ development of a sense of self and how we are all different but also the same.  An emphasis is placed on hands-on, fun learning.

This resource features articles, books and discussions that support educators in building their understanding of race, racism and positive racial identities. After exploring these resources, educators will be more equipped to support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

This resource helps kindergarteners discover the people, places, and legends that made Wisconsin history through the lens of the African-American experience.  Integration of these resources into traditional Wisconsin History resources will be easy and fun. 

This resource is a list of audio books, videos and lesson plans that support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

This resource features suggested books for 5th grade that support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

This resource features transformative learning strategies for 5th grade that support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

This resource features 5th grade appropriate historical resources that focus on Wisconsin's geographic role in abolition and the development of supportive and positive African American communities. These resources support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

This resource features articles, books and discussions that support primary educators in building their understanding of race, racism and positive racial identities. After exploring these resources, educators will be more equipped to support students’ development of an accurate, integrative, and comprehensive knowledge of our nation’s history with a focus on the critical role African Americans played and continue to play in our country’s development. 

For four years after the U.S. dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, America held a monopoly on the production of atomic weapons. During this period, debate centering on the use of nuclear bombs in future wars proliferated among government officials, scientists, religious leaders, and in the popular press. In the following article from Collier's, former Navy lieutenant commander William H. Hessler, using data from the Strategic Bombing Survey, argued that saturation bombing of urban areas during World War II, while devastating for civilians, did not achieve war aims. A future atomic war, therefore, might well destroy cities but fail to stop enemy aggression. Furthermore, with a much higher urban concentration than the Soviet Union, the U.S. had more to lose from atomic warfare. The article, while providing detailed explanations of the bomb's destructive capability, demonstrated the lack of information available regarding the long-term medical and ecological effects of radioactivity. Hessler's prose also evoked both the fascination that gadgetry of atomic warfare held for Americans of the time and the fear many felt about the risks involved in putting this technology to use. On September 24, 1949, one week after publication of this article, news that the Russians had conducted atom bomb tests shocked the nation. The following April, a National Security Council report to President Harry S. Truman advised development of a hydrogen bomb--some 1,000 times more destructive than an atom bomb--and a massive buildup of non-nuclear defenses. The subsequent outbreak of war in Korea in June 1950 justified to many a substantial increase in defense spending.

This collection uses primary sources to explore AIDS activism during the 1980s. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Faced with stiff business opposition, a conservative political climate, hostile courts, and declining membership, leaders of the American Federeration of Labor (AFL) grew increasingly cautious during the 1920s. Labor radicals viewed AFL leaders as overpaid, self-interested functionaries uninterested in organizing unorganized workers into unions. A cartoon by William Gropper published in the Communist Yiddish newspaper Freiheit (and reprinted in English in the New Masses ) caricatures delegates to a 1926 AFL convention in Atlantic City. Well