Undergraduate Lesson Plan on Madam C. J. Walker

As a teaching assistant for an undergraduate history course, I developed and taught a lesson plan on Madam C. J. Walker, the first Black woman to become a millionaire in the United States.

I’m sharing this lesson plan on my blog, because I believe it could be helpful for educators teaching a variety of courses. I created it for undergraduate students, but I think it could be used with high school students, as well. The lesson plan is intended for a history course, but I could see it being useful in other humanities, social sciences, and social studies courses, too.

After a brief introduction to Madam C. J. Walker, the lesson plan provides some historical context around her birth and early life—context which I believe is crucial for grasping the significance of her accomplishments. The lesson then goes on to teach about her childhood, her work and personal life, her interest in experimenting with hair products, her launch of her own hair care cosmetics, the growth of her company, and her philanthropic work.

The lesson plans concludes with a discussion question to engage students and get them to reflect on what they just learned. There are also plenty of opportunities to pose your own discussion questions or to quiz students on the historical events that were occurring during Madam C. J. Walker’s life. I cite my sources at the end of the presentation, in case you are interested in further reading.