NBC News Brings Black History Month to Life with Extensive Video Curriculum Resource for Schools

NBC News Brings Black History Month to Life with Extensive Video Curriculum Resource for Schools

Hundreds of Video Resources Designed for K-12 Instruction Supporting African- American Studies

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to engage students in active learning and transform classroom instruction into 21st-century "digital-learning" centers using primary source digital media content, NBC News launched today an expansive African-American Studies curriculum resource to be used by schools during February, Black History Month, and throughout the school year.

The African-American Studies curriculum is comprised of more than 500 two-to-five minute video clips spanning hundreds of years of history and designed to be easily integrated into teachers' lesson plans. They are pooled from over 70 years of NBC News coverage and supplemented with early history mini-documentaries created in collaboration with educators, historians, textbook authors, and other experts.

The subject matter includes the history of African-Americans from the slave trade through the modern civil rights movement; poignant features on and interviews with African-American leaders from politics, science, arts and literature, and business; and examinations of the African-American experience today including politics, health issues, education, the justice system, the economy, and the family.

The African-American Studies resource is available online at HotChalk (www.hotchalk.com/nbc.html), a free, easy-to-use web-based learning management system designed specifically for K-12 educators. HotChalk helps teachers easily and quickly develop customized lesson plans and assignments, locate and integrate curriculum materials, and manage assignments and grading.

"Our country's history is filled with many complex and emotional moments which are best recast and brought to life using the powerful language of imagery," said Steve Capus, President of NBC News. "We capture a piece of history every day -- now, teachers can easily use these iconic moments in the classroom to make learning relevant and engaging for their students."

On March 1st, to coincide with Women's History Month, NBC News will release a collection of digital resources on Women's Studies that will include news stories and mini-documentaries on women leaders and historical figures, historic milestones, the women's movement, and issues effecting women today.

Both the African-American Studies and Women's Studies curriculum resources are exclusive features of NBC News Archives on Demand, a significant effort by NBC News to set a new standard in bringing life-relevant learning to classrooms. Available on HotChalk (www.hotchalk.com/nbc.html), the Archives are continually updated and comprised of thousands of video, audio, and image and text resources. The content has been organized specifically for classroom instruction, allowing teachers of history, government, civics, English language, writing/composition, and science classes to create richer, timelier lesson plans with engaging curriculum that brings concepts to life and creates relevancy between concepts and real-world applications for this generation of wired kids.

About NBC News

NBC News, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/, has been a leading source of global news and information for more than 70 years, first on radio, and today via broadcast and cable television, the Internet, radio and cell phones. Operating around the clock with bureaus in key cities in the United States and overseas, NBC News provides immediate coverage and in-depth reporting of major events to a worldwide audience.

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FCMN Contact:

Source: NBC News

CONTACT: Jodie Pozo-Olano, +1-540-349-2311, Jodie@sequoiapr.com, or
Jessica Schwartz Hahn, +1-703-478-0658, Jessica@peithocom.com, both for NBC
News

Web site:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
http://www.hotchalk.com/nbc.html

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