Representation matters. Black students and colleagues have taught me the importance of ,learning histories of Black people outside slavery. For American elementary students chattel slavery is often the first context in which they see Black people in history. I curated the linked teaching materials on this page as resources for my child’s elementary school.
Dr. Lagarette King’s presentation for NCHE on and advocacy for teaching the history of Black joy as accomplishment and excellence reinforced the importance of seeing the fullness of the Black past while in school.
This is a living page, please comment or connect with suggestions.
Resources
The African Resource Center at Boston University hosts many excellent educational materials: featured resources and lessons for elementary students.
Adinkra symbols originated in present-day Ghana and are from both the past and the present. Lessons using these symbols can incorporate visual arts and values clarification. The most famous Adinkra symbol is the Sankofa bird. There are many lessons for stamps and fabric art using these symbols, including this from Beyond the Chalkboard.
West Africa Trading Societies
The “Gold Road” is another name for the Trans-Saharan trade routes that connected North Africa and the Mediterranean with West Africa. Howard University’s Center for Africa Studies has a site that includes an interactive map and links to visual resources which kids could analyze and categorize. There are lots of artifacts available online, especially at the National Museum of African Art, including these great images.. Teaching upper elementary students about West Africa allows students to practice visual analysis and mapping skills. Plus, the music is great.
- Short TedEd video on an Emperor who put the Gold in Gold Roads: Mansa Musa
- Mali Magic from Google Arts looks promising
The great trading city of Timbuktu in Mali, once a major trading hub
- Readings for younger students (I’d be happy to make a v. short overview presentation)
- TedEd “Hidden Treasures” (5 min on the library)
- Images of original documents (in Arabic) from the library
Southern Africa
Resources for Zimbabwe (old and new)
- TedEd
- Mbira sounds (“thumb piano”)
- Spotify playlist with kalimba (like a mbira)
Google Earth introduction to African geography.