Compare the inventions of African-American men and women. Have them go to the mall with the same list of inventors. Their assignment will be to go to the various stores and take a poll on the public's knowledge on Black inventors. For example, they can stand outside the shoe store and ask the customers if they can identify Jan Matzeliger and why he is important to the shoe industry. They can frequent the hair salon and ask either the customers if they knew that the head rest for the shampoo was invented by an African-American.
Students can discuss their results and create a spreadsheet with their findings.
In the bginning while introducing the unit, have the students go through their home and make a list of things they think may have been invented by an African-American. At the end of the year, have the students repeat this scavenger hunt by asking them various inventions by Black people. Have them discuss their results in groups of three. Historian Arnold Toynbee once stated that when we classify mankind by 21 civilizations, the only one that has not made a contribution to them has been the Black race. Based on their independent research on Black inventors, have students write a essay refuting Mr. Toynbee's remarks.