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Teacher leaders must constantly grow in their ability to engage effectively with diverse people and groups who differ from them culturally. They seek to understand culture and its predominate impact on individuals and groups of people, yet also understand how the dominate culture can privilege or oppress individuals and groups of people. Finally, teacher leaders must develop the skills to challenge inequities and work with culturally diverse groups to create equitable learning environments for all students.
The Foundational Competencies guide teacher leaders to:

explore and challenge inequity in the educational system;

collaborate purposefully with individuals and groups from other cultures; and

work to create and support policies and practices that give rise to socially just learning environments.

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NEA Teacher Leadership Competencies: Foundational Competencies | NEA

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Teacher leaders must constantly grow in their ability to engage effectively with diverse people and groups who differ from them culturally. They seek to understand culture and its predominate impact on individuals and groups of people, yet also understand how the dominate culture can privilege or oppress individuals and groups of people.

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Native American & Alaska Native Heritage Month

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Native American & Alaska Native Heritage Month

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During November, we celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of Native Peoples. To help educators with their curriculum plans, we've compiled Thanksgiving lessons and resources on learning about the tribes indigenous to North America.

Educators should be mindful of cultural appropriation when teaching about other cultures and understand that Native American students in class may experience lessons differently than non-Native students.

Lesson Plans

Student-Centered Digital Learning Activities
Check out these digital education tools, lesson plans, and resources available for free and downloadable from the National Indian Education Association.

Interdisciplinary Stories, Webinars, Films, and Lesson Plans
The Global Oneness Project offers a library of multimedia stories comprised of award-winning films, photo essays, and essays, many with companion curriculum and discussion guides.

Amplify the Voices of Contemporary Native Peoples in Your Classroom
The Lesson Plans section of Illuminative's site contains several digital education tools, activities, and resources about Native American art, culture, history, and contemporary life. Students will learn about contemporary Indigenous changemakers fighting against invisibility and their many important contributions to this country.

Thanksgiving Lesson Plans from a Native American Perspective

A Story of Survival: The Wampanoag and the English
A Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Booklet from a Native American Perspective (Oklahoma City Public Schools)

Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth, A Study Guide (National Museum of the American Indian)

American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving, Grades 4-8 (NMAI)

Additional Lesson Plan Units

Prehistoric Native American Lesson Plan: Pottery-making Methods ( PDF, 295 KB, 5 pgs.)
Students in grades 3-12 experiment with three methods ancient people used to make pottery before the invention of the pottery wheel.

Background Resources

Native American Heritage Month
Resources provided by the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Features audio and video files.

A History of Native Voting Rights
Provides a brief history of the difficulties Native Americans have faced in voting since the passage of the 14 th Amendment.

T he National Museum of the American Indian Native Knowledge 360 Educational Resources
Choose from featured resources in history, civics, geography, and STEM, or search for resources by language, nation, subject, grade, and topic.

1491
Charles C. Mann, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, presents current evidence about population and agricultural advancement in the Western Hemisphere prior to European arrival.

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2021
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Native Now: The Dos and Don'ts of Talking Respectfully about and with Native People from IllumiNative (PDF)

NEA's Land Acknowledgement Guide (PDF)
Land Acknowledgements are a reminder that every major city, town, and municipality benefits from the dispossession of Indigenous land and people. It is a formal recognition of that painful reality and history and a small first step in truth, healing, and reconciliation. This guide outlines why land acknowledgements are important, how to approach them, and includes further actions to support Indigenous communities.

Printables & Posters

Art for Action: You Are on Native Land poster

American Indian History Timeline Events, policies, legislation and laws related to Indian land tenure from 1598 to the present.
Poster gallery from the U.S. Air Force
Video

Meet Jim Thorpe, a Real-Life Native American Superhero (grades 9-12)
Jim Thorpe, a.k.a. Wa-Tho-Huk (meaning Bright Path) was an Olympic-winning athlete, actor, and humanitarian. Learn more about his life and find opportunities to support Native American people.

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Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month | NEA

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Explore Native American culture during November or any time during the school year with the following lessons, activities, and resources.

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The Power of Reflection: How Thinking Improves Learning & Performance - ft. Giada Di Stefano

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Creating reflective spaces to grow exponentially.

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Creating reflective spaces to grow exponentially.

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Kate

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Staying curious allows me to grow.

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Everyday reflection-simple but powerful routine!

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Everyday reflection-simple but powerful routine!

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Maria

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Reflection: the smiles of student success.

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Feeling grateful for needed laughter given.

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Meaningful, Elaborating, Networks, Teams, On, Relationships (MENTOR)

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Teachers grow during mindful, intentional reflection.

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Collaborating Our Hours Of Reflective Teaching (COHORT)

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Policy section of NEA Teacher Leadership Competencies

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Policy section of NEA Teacher Leadership Competencies

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Bring African-American culture & history into your curriculum

All people, regardless of race or place, deserve the same rights and freedoms. For too long, Black and brown people in America have been denied equality because of the color of their skin. To help students understand the reality of Black people's experiences in American history, their impact on American culture, and to celebrate their achievements, we've compiled a selection of lesson plans that cover a variety of subjects that can be adapted to fit multiple grade levels.

If you're commemorating Black History Month in your classroom consider preparing by reading Learning For Justice's Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History and Black History Month is Over. Now What?, and listening to our podcast on teaching Black history meaningfully (below) to ensure students get the most out of Black history lessons.

Lesson Plans

Grades K-5

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

Who is Claudette Colvin?
Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus, Claudette Colvin refused to move for white passengers and was forcibly removed from a Montgomery, Alabama, bus and jailed. Learn more about her story.

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four-part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, timelines, photos, and videos on notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American and Global African history resources.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORT

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Quizzes

Printables

Video

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz.

Books

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children's Books
A teacher's resource kit from the High Museum

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy NathanYoung Sharon hears the story of how she, after a series of protests to integrate the park, is the first African American to ride on the carousel at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in 1963.

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste
This picture book biography celebrates both Claudette Colvin, whose teen-aged activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and the power of collective action.
Author Tracey Baptiste shares how to make Black history accessible to young readers:
Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson
Meet the "father of Black History," Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and discover the experiences that shaped his passion.

Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School by Janet Halfmann
Born into slavery, Lilly Ann secretly learned to read and write from her master's children-and then read everything she could get her hands on. Wishing to share her knowledge with others, she secretly taught hundreds of other enslaved people despite the great risks.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Grades 6-8

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

Teaching Hard History
These resources for middle- and high-school educators include Learning for Justice's grades 6-12 framework, as well as student-facing videos and primary source texts to help all students grasp the historical significance of slavery. Educators will also find teaching tools and professional development resources.

PBS Black History Lesson Plans
These lesson plans and resources cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms.

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom
The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, photos, and videos of notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell
This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American and Global African history resources.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORTS

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

Quizzes

Printables

Audio & Video

AUDIO

Blues Journey (23:17 minutes)
This four part audio series explores the history of the blues.

VIDEO

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Check local listings to see when it airs on a local PBS station.

Forgotten Genius (120 minutes)
Chemist Percy Lavon Julian struggled against racism as he pursued research with steroids and alkaloids and helped to create affordable and effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and glaucoma.

Through the Window and into the Mirror: Narratives of African American STEM Professionals
This video conversation series shares the experiences of African American STEM professionals today.

Books

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children's Books
A teacher's resource kit from the High Museum

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B. Little relate their Black family's challenges and triumphs from 1927 to 1968 while struggling as sharecroppers, living under Jim Crow, and fighting for Civil Rights in Mississippi.

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
To figure out what happened to his missing father, thirteen-year-old Winter travels to Los Angeles from Mississippi to visit his cousin Eden and her family during the summer of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Grades 9-12

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

Teaching Hard History
These resources for middle- and high-school educators include Learning for Justice's grades 6-12 framework, as well as student-facing videos and primary source texts to help all students grasp the historical significance of slavery. Educators will also find teaching tools and professional development resources.

Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten
Through a series of video clips and activities, students can learn about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and how the community of Tulsa is coming to terms with its past, present, and future.

PBS Black History Lesson Plans
These lesson plans and resources cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms.

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom
The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, photos and videos of notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell
This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
Online activities and biographies, transcripts of many interviews with musicians, K-12 lesson plans, and a music study guide for grades 5-8.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American History by region.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORT

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Quizzes

Printables

Audio & Video

AUDIO

Blues Journey (23:17 minutes)
This four part audio series explores the history of the blues.

VIDEO

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Check local listings to see when it airs on a local PBS station.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (220 minutes)
Jack Johnson was the first African American boxer to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. The website includes the story of Johnson's life and career, a timeline, and media gallery. The DVD may be available in local libraries.

Through the Window and into the Mirror: Narratives of African American STEM Professionals
This video conversation series shares the experiences of African American STEM professionals today.

Books

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
An essential account of the Black Panthers as militant revolutionaries, social activists, and human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds; adapted from Stamped from the Beginning by and with an introduction from Ibram X. Kendi
Using humor and a conversational style, author Jason Reynolds deftly reworks Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning, exposing young adult readers to the history of America's racist past that textbooks leave out.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Teaching Black History, Meaningfully

How you can make your Black history lessons more meaningful, unique, and powerful for your students? We asked Colorado social studies teacher Kevin Adams to join us for a discussion about breaking stale patterns when teaching Black history and shaping your lessons to fit your classroom and community. Listen to Kevin's advice and experiences in this 36 minute School Me Podcast.

Black History Month: Books and More for K-12 Students

The following resources from NEA's partners at WETA highlight books and classroom resources highlighting Black history and culture.

Reading Rockets: Booklists for Elementary
Celebration and Remembrance: Children's Books About Black Lives
This collection includes picture book biographies of a young boy who shipped himself to freedom during the Civil War, a trailblazing pilot, a brilliant writer - and a sensitive but honest retelling of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. You'll also meet Milo, who realizes on a subway ride to visit his mom that you can't know someone just by looking at them.
People Make the Difference: A Celebration of Black History Month
These are stories of turbulent times in the United States. Each book is told with a young audience in mind and presents a slice of history and highlights the impact of real individuals.

For additional books and resources, see:

AdLit: Booklists for Middle and High School
Black Characters and Social/Cultural Themes
These books for middle grade and young adults feature stories across a range of genres from dynamic authors including Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, Ibi Zoboi, Renée Watson, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, Rita Garcia-Williams, Kekla Magoon, Kacen Callender, Jerry Craft, and Justina Ireland.

For additional ideas, see the following resources:

AdLit: Author Interviews

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Bring African-American culture & history into your curriculum

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Not alone

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Comfort, hope

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Change brings strength to us all.