Education Standards
332nd Fighter Group Veteran Oral History Collection
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
Journal Rubric
Journal Worksheet - First Day of Training
Journal Worksheet - First Flight Mission
Lesson Reflection Worksheet
Library of Congress - The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
Library of Congress - Tuskegee Airmen Image Set
Marking the 75th Anniversary of the first deployment of the Tuskegee Airmen (Video from the American Veterans Center)
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Tuskegee Airmen
National Park Service - Tuskegee Airmen
POWER Library
Remembering the Tuskegee Airmen (Video from the Department of the Interior)
Rubric for Student Reflection
Tuskegee Airmen 75th Anniversary from C-Span and American History TV
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
Tuskegee Airmen Veteran Oral History Collection
Tuskegee Article (NASA)
Tuskegee Comprehension Questions (NASA)
Wings For This Man - Tuskegee Airmen (1945) (Video by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit)
Written Document Analysis Worksheet (National Archives)
Tuskegee Airmen's Role in History
Overview
The Tuskegee Airmen played a pivotal role in World War II while battling prejudice and segregation to African Americans. This lesson will allow students to research and examine various primary source documents to learn what contributions the Tuskegee Airmen made to American society. Students will listen and read about the Tuskegee Airmen through research and videos while providing evidence to various guided questions. The students will then create journal entries as to what it might have been like to be a member of this famous group on their first day of training and on their first flight mission.
Lesson Objectives
Students will know / be able to:
- Analyze primary source documents to learn what role they play in history.
- Provide evidence to the role the Tuskegee Airmen played in history.
- Journal what it would have been like to be a member of this important group on the first day of training and on the first flight mission.
- Describe who the Tuskegee Airmen were and why they were important.
- Listen and read about the Tuskegee Airmen through research and videos.
Note:
This lesson can also be adapted for middle and high school students.
Warm Up / Introduction
Instructor Notes:
To introduce this topic, select one of the following activities. If time allows, you can have the students complete both.
Activity 1
- The Tuskegee Airmen played a pivotal role in World War II while battling prejudice and segregation. Introduce this topic to the students by showing one of the following videos. As the students watch the video, they should complete the 3-2-1 graphic organizer by writing 3 things they learned from the video, 2 things they found interesting and one question they have that they want to further research.
Activity 2
- Students can be introduced to the pivotal role the Tuskegee Airmen played in World War II by reading the attached article. As they read the article, students will answer comprehension questions. Additional research can be completed in the next activity on any question they were not able to answer.
Directions:To introduce this topic, your instructor will assign one or both activities below. Activity 1:
Activity 2:
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Research / Explore Activity
Instructor Notes:
Activity 1:
- Have the students use the POWER Library resources and other websites to research the Tuskegee Airmen. Have them research answers to the following guiding questions:
- What contributions did the Tuskegee Airmen make during World War II?
- Were black fighter pilots held to a higher standard than white fighter pilots? Are there other situations where this occurs? Is this still happening today?
- Were the Tuskegee Airmen treated as heroes when they returned from war?
- How did the Tuskegee Airmen influence or contribute to the budding Civil Rights Movement in the United States?
- What obstacles did the participants in this program face?
- What were the differences between the two experiments?
- In researching the policies of segregation toward African Americans during World War II how do they compare or differ to today’s policies?
- What were the names of some of the Tuskegee Airmen? What accomplishments are they famous for?
- In researching the Tuskegee Airmen, what characteristics or traits made them successful? Do you share any of the same traits?
- They should research answers to any questions they were not able to complete in the previous activity.
- Remind the students that they will need to include evidence and also need to cite their sources.
Activity 2:
- After the students complete their research, they should use primary source documents to see how they play an important role in history. Students should use the Written Documents Analysis Worksheet, from the National Archives, to examine items from the Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A Selection of Primary Sources collection which is provided as part of the POWER Library or directly from the link in the resource library.
POWER Library eResources that can be used for this activity includes:
- POWER Library - e-Books (EBSCO)
- POWER Library - AP Newsroom
- POWER Library - Gale InContext: Elementary
- POWER Library - Gale Topic Collections
- Criminal Justice
- Diversity Studies
- Military and Intelligence
- Popular Magazines
- U.S. History
- War & Terrorism
- World History
- POWER Library - Gale General OneFile
- POWER Library - Gale OneFile: High School
- POWER Library - Gale In Context: Middle School
Notes:
- Additional websites are also included in the Resource Library for activity 1.
- The Library of Congress and the National Archives will also have some additional primary source material that you can use for activity 2.
Directions:Activity 1:
Activity 2:
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Reinforcement / Creation Activity
Instructor Notes:
- After the students had a chance to research the Tuskegee Airmen, they should now be provided an opportunity to hear directly from the airmen. Students can use the Veteran's Oral History Project Collections to get first person accounts as well as viewing the video from the Tuskegee Airmen 75th Anniversary. Resources you can use for this activity include:
- The students will take on the role of a Tuskegee pilot and create journal / diary entries for their creation project.
- In the first project, the student should write about what a pilot would have experienced on the first day of training. They should use the Journal Worksheet - First Day of Training for this writing assignment.
- For the second project, students should write about what a pilot would have experienced on their first flight mission. They should use the Journal Worksheet - First Flight Mission for this writing assignment.
- Each writing assignment will be assessed by using the Journal Rubric included in the attachments.
Extended Activities:
- Students can read their journal writings to the whole class.
- Students can also create a timeline of the important events and accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Directions:
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Reflection
Instructor Reflection:
- Reflect on the lesson plan and document what worked for you, what did not work for you, and what you would change for the next time you utilize this lesson.
Directions:Using the Lesson Reflection Worksheet, reflect on the following questions:
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