TeachersFirst Juneteenth Resources
On June 19, 1865 — more than two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally received the news that they were free, marking a moment of profound joy, relief, and collective celebration that has been honored and remembered ever since as Juneteenth, America's newest federal holiday and one of its most significant. This collection brings together a rich, carefully curated array of tools and resources to help educators bring the full history, cultural significance, and ongoing relevance of Juneteenth to life in the classroom. Invite your student to engage with Juneteenth not just as a date on the calendar but as a living, breathing chapter in the ongoing American story of freedom, justice, resilience, and the long, unfinished work of becoming the nation we aspire to be. View our full collection of resources related to Juneteenth here.
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BUILD Celebrates Juneteenth - BUILD
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can compare and contrast the different perspectives shared using the 3 Circle Venn Diagram by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here. Students can use Online Voice Recorder, reviewed here to share a summary of Juneteenth. Finally, students can interview someone who would like to share what Juneteenth means to them.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Teaching Juneteenth and the Meaning of Freedom - National Education Association
Grades
K to 12tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can use Witty Comics, reviewed here to create a comic about the history of Juneteenth. Students can compare and contrast books about Juneteenth using the Interactive 2 Circle Venn Diagram by ReadWriteThink, reviewed here. Students can create a virtual bulletin board using Stormboard, reviewed here sharing facts that they learned about Juneteenth.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Celebrating Juneteenth - National Geographics Kids
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can use Timeline Infographic Templates by Canva, reviewed here to create a timeline from the end of slavery to the creation of Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Students can use Book Creator, reviewed here to create a Juneteenth book sharing facts that they learned about the holiday. Students can use Genially, reviewed here to create a digital quiz or game about Juneteenth.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching the Significance of Juneteenth to Elementary-Age Students - At Your School
Grades
2 to 5tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can create their own freedom flag and share its meaning. Students can use Trading Card Creator reviewed here to create a poster to share summarizing Juneteenth in pictures. Students can also use Google Drawing, reviewed here to compare and contrast Juneteenth to another holiday.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching Your Kids about Juneteenth - Port Discovery Children's Museum
Grades
2 to 6tag(s): Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can view the resources that are available and create a presentation sharing their understanding of Juneteenth using Aha Slides, reviewed here. Students can create a timeline on how Juneteenth became a federal holiday using Turbo Timeline Generator, reviewed here. Finally, students can create a comic telling the story of Juneteenth using Cartoon Comic Maker, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Juneteenth Resources for Students of All Ages - Graduation Alliance
Grades
K to 12tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33), poetry (196)
In the Classroom
Watch one of the educational videos suggested on the page, such as a PBS or Sesame Street resource, and lead a class discussion about freedom, equality, and why Juneteenth is still celebrated today. Create a poetry and art activity in which students read poems connected to freedom or perseverance, then design an illustration, collage, or symbolic artwork that represents the meaning of Juneteenth. Extend learning through a community connection project by having students interview family or community members about traditions, celebrations, or important historical events they remember. Students can compile responses into a class book, a podcast with Buzzsprout, reviewed here, or a bulletin board display about remembrance and community history.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Celebrating Juneteenth - Museum of the City of New York
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): african american (131), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33), poetry (196)
In the Classroom
After learning about the history of Juneteenth, have students create a classroom timeline using MyLens, reviewed here that highlights important events from the Emancipation Proclamation through June 19, 1865, and modern Juneteenth celebrations. Students can add illustrations, quotes, and historical facts. Encourage students to complete a reflection journal activity in which they respond to prompts about equality, justice, and civic responsibility. Pair the writing activity with small-group discussions to build speaking and listening skills. Use the spoken-word poetry examples on the site as mentor texts, and have students write their own poems about freedom, identity, hope, or community. Students can perform their poems during a classroom poetry celebration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Juneteenth Lesson Plan: Resources for ELA & Social Studies - Newsela
Grades
K to 12tag(s): african american (131), differentiation (102), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33), multimedia (70)
In the Classroom
Have students read a differentiated Newsela article about Juneteenth and create a timeline using Padlet, reviewed here showing important events leading to the end of slavery in the United States. Students can add illustrations, key vocabulary, and cause-and-effect relationships. Create a classroom "Freedom Quilt" project where students design quilt squares representing themes such as freedom, resilience, equality, family, or community. Combine the squares into a collaborative classroom display. Have students compare Juneteenth celebrations today with other national holidays by using a graphic organizer using the 2 and 3 Interactive Venn Diagrams by Class Tools, reviewed here to examine traditions, historical significance, symbols, music, food, and community events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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30 Juneteenth Crafts and Activities That Kids Will Love - Crafting A Fun Life
Grades
K to 5tag(s): african american (131), crafts (104), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33), preK (335)
In the Classroom
Read a picture book about Juneteenth and have students complete one of the themed crafts from the website, such as bracelets, flags, or watercolor art, to connect history with creative expression. Create a Juneteenth Freedom Mosaic using construction paper or tissue paper while discussing the meaning of freedom, community, and celebration. Students can write words or phrases representing freedom around their artwork. Set up Juneteenth activity stations that include coloring pages, sensory bins, and collaborative art projects. Students can rotate through stations while learning important historical facts and symbols connected to the holiday.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass - prosario2000
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can learn more about the speech using Kiddle, reviewed here. Students can use Figma, reviewed here to compare and contrast this speech to another famous speech. Students can create a word cloud using WordClouds, reviewed here to share the message of the speech.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Juneteenth Gathering - Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Grades
5 to 8tag(s): holidays (292), Juneteenth (33)
In the Classroom
Students can create a word cloud using WordClouds, reviewed here to describe Juneteenth. Students can use Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here to create a timeline of how Juneteenth became a national holiday. Students can learn more about Juneteenth by using Kidrex, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth - National Museum of African American History & Culture
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): african american (131), black history (132), civil war (148), holidays (292), Juneteenth (33), slavery (82)
In the Classroom
Have students express their understanding of Juneteenth through creative art by exploring the different themes of Juneteenth. After students explore the toolkit, they can create artwork or digital posters representing what Juneteenth means to them, using multimedia software like Canva, reviewed here. They can use the shareable graphics as inspiration. Facilitate a class discussion or debate on the impact of Juneteenth today, using resources from the toolkit to start the conversation. Students can use digital platforms like Padlet, reviewed here, to share their thoughts and responses. To enhance your study on black history, have your students research the history of Juneteenth and its significance. They can then create a digital timeline using a tool like MyLens, reviewed here showing key events that led up to Juneteenth and what happened afterward.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Gilder Lehrman Collection - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): 1900s (87), 20th century (171), bill of rights (40), civil rights (224), civil war (148), cold war (40), constitution (104), elections (87), electoral college (24), Juneteenth (33), maps (220), native americans (155), presidents (152), primary sources (158), railroads (17), slavery (82), supreme court (33), war of 1812 (14), women (192), world war 1 (88), world war 2 (169)
In the Classroom
Teachers use the provided discussion questions to enhance your unit of study. Use the questions to activate knowledge or to assess students. Students can search the site for primary sources that can be downloaded and used in reports or presentations. Display maps on whiteboards to show students important places in history. Have students view the online exhibitions centered around historical figures and events. English teachers can use the primary source documents to discuss writing structures and illustrate how written English has changed over the years.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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America's Second Independence Day - Juneteenth - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12tag(s): black history (132), book lists (167), civil rights (224), emancipation proclamation (15), help article (63), Juneteenth (33), slavery (82), texas (8)
In the Classroom
Use the suggested activities and book lists to find resources for teaching about Juneteenth in your classroom. Include these lessons as part of Black History Month and when teaching about United States history and civil rights. Engage students in learning about Juneteenth by asking them to create interactive presentations using Genially, reviewed here. Search for Juneteenth on Genially to find a template to use when presenting Juneteenth to students or for students to use to share their knowledge on this topic. Extend learning using IdeaBoardz, reviewed here, an online interactive whiteboard, to share additional resources, add polls, diagrams, sketches, and more using Figjam.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lifting as We Climb Juneteenth Event - Penguin Classroom/Evette Dionne and Julia Torres
Grades
10 to 12tag(s): authors (115), civil rights (224), Juneteenth (33), professional development (301), women (192)
In the Classroom
Share this video with students after reading Lifting as We Climb or during your lessons on women's rights and civil rights. Use Edpuzzle, reviewed here to ask questions throughout the video. Extend learning by asking students to interview community members on their experience as Black women. Have students share the information learned modeled upon this video by creating and recording a discussion of Juneteenth, civil rights, or women's rights. Use Vmaker, reviewed here to create, edit, and share their video recordings.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Birth of Juneteenth; Voices of the Enslaved - Library of Congress and Neely Tucker
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): black history (132), civil rights (224), civil war (148), Juneteenth (33), primary sources (158), slavery (82)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this article to use when planning lessons on Juneteenth, slavery, or the Civil War, both as a resource of quality information and to access the many primary source links found in the article. Visit the Library of Congress: For Teachers, reviewed here to search and find many more Juneteenth-related documents. Engage students in learning more about Juneteenth by asking them to research information through different focus points. For example, this article discusses specific cities, people, and architecture. Ask students to share their learning by creating infographics using templates from Timeline Infographic Templates, reviewed here or Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Teaching Juneteenth - Learning for Justice and Coshandra Dillard
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): black history (132), civil rights (224), civil war (148), Juneteenth (33), racism (82), slavery (82)
In the Classroom
Include this article with your other resources for teaching about Juneteenth, Civil Rights, and slavery to use as a guide for lesson planning. As you gather resources to teach about each focus topic, organize information using Padlet, reviewed here. Create a column within your Padlet for each topic, then add links to your teaching resources. Alternatively, use Wakelet, reviewed here to save and organize resources by creating a collection for each topic. Engage students in Juneteenth lessons using Curipod's lesson generators, reviewed here. For example, use the Did You Know generator to create slides with information about Juneteenth or the Lesson Hook Generator to build a set of slides with open-ended questions for students to discuss. Extend student learning by asking them to create and share podcasts exploring Juneteenth through the different lenses discussed in the article. Buzzsprout, reviewed here offers free tools for creating and sharing professional-looking podcasts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Understanding & Celebrating Juneteenth - National Museum of African American History and Culture
Grades
K to 6tag(s): black history (132), civil rights (224), Juneteenth (33), slavery (82)
In the Classroom
Use this document as a resource for understanding Juneteenth while taking advantage of the suggestions for discussing slavery and civil rights in age-appropriate ways. Share this information with parents to help them understand the history of Juneteenth. As you talk about the questions found in this article, use Draw.Chat, reviewed here to add and share student comments and add images to enhance understanding. For example, ask students to describe "freedom" and then use text boxes to add their comments. During your discussion, upload images that depict freedom in several different forms. Extend learning by asking students to write and share stories using the prompt found in this document to tell about positive changes they would like to make in the world. Use PDFescape, reviewed here to write the stories, then, use PDF to Flipbook Converter, reviewed here to turn their PDFs into an online flippable book.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What is Juneteenth, and Why is it Important? - Ted-Ed
Grades
2 to 8tag(s): black history (132), civil rights (224), Juneteenth (33), slavery (82), texas (8)
In the Classroom
Share this lesson with students to complete at school or as a flipped learning lesson. On their own or with a partner, have students answer the multiple-choice and open-answer questions by clicking on "Think." Then, consider having small student groups read the additional information inside the Dig Deeper section and investigate the links with the information. Following that, have groups share the information with other class members. For a mini project like this, consider using the tools available at Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here for students to create presentations, infographics, and other visual media. Another project suggestion would be to have small groups of students investigate the story of Juneteenth further through different perspectives, such as those of a soldier, Texas citizens, or children. You could have them produce an animated video using a program like Animoto, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Juneteenth - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): civil rights (224), emancipation proclamation (15), Juneteenth (33), slavery (82)
In the Classroom
Include the resources found on this site with your current Juneteenth resources. Consider organizing and curating your resources using Wakelet, reviewed here. Create a Wakelet collection for your professional use and a collection to share and collaborate with students. Engage students in learning using Perusall, reviewed here, to digitally annotate and discuss the primary source documents shared on the Juneteenth site. Use Perusall to create a flipped learning activity and have students view shared documents and provide comments and questions about the information. As students learn more about emancipation and Juneteenth, encourage them to learn about and share the stories of those featured in these lessons and their research. Enhance learning by having students produce podcasts that bring the stories of enslaved people to life using a free podcasting tool such as Buzzsprout, reviewed here. Buzzsprout includes many features that support easy use by students and educators, such as the ability to schedule the release of episodes on your choice of date and time and the option to add links to show notes.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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