Activists and Protests Teacher Resources

Sit-ins and boycotts, marches and speeches, songs and demonstrations were hallmarks of nonviolent protest of the civil rights movement. Young scholars research primary and secondary source documents to determine what made nonviolent...

Part of the protests of the Civil Rights Movement were small scale sit-ins at lunch counters. This form of on-the-ground activism is the focus of a C-SPAN resource that includes four video-clips about the sit-ins by pupils at a lunch...

An engaging and informative video sheds light on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Kid-friendly animated figures visually portray what the narrator says. An end-review...

"A poster exhibit to encourage dialogue, engagement, respect, and participation in our communities..." This is a set of attractive posters that reference influential historical figures, such as George Washington and Albert Einstein, and...

Eleventh graders explore, analyze and study the background to America's Civil Rights Movement through the court system, mass protest, public opinion, political cartoons and legislation. They research Rosa Parks, Brown vs. Board of...

Students identify and acquire an understanding of what the Civil Rights Movement consisted of, the issues that sparked the Movement, the people who participated and the events that occurred during the Movement. They also identify how to...

Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...

Students examine protest music and songs from the Civil Rights movement. In this music of the Civil Rights era lesson, students listen to selected music before working in groups to determine who the music was directed at, what social...

More than an iconic image, the picture of young people sitting at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., to protest segregation and Jim Crow laws also sparked a new phase of the civil rights movement. Video clips, including activists,...

A stirring video, accompanied by audio clips from many of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches, provides viewers with King's ideas about how civil rights activists can use economic boycotts as a powerful non-violent resistance tool.

After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social...

Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...

Students read an article from Time and react to the article based upon what they have studied about Rosa Parks. They find that even though Rosa is no longer alive, she still has an impact today. They focus on that impact she has and...

In this parent and child activity, young learners read Martin’s Big Words and a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is a wonderful guided reading pdf that defines challenge words and provides reading tips. The object of...

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech was the clarion call for the modern Civil Rights Movement. Using the immortal words of King, an animated screen allows pupils to hear his words delivered to the March on Washington in...

Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...

Using the book, Martin's Big Words, learners will discover the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Vocabulary is identified throughout the story by using several his famous protest speeches as examples. Class discussions on racism, during...

Young people played significant roles in the Civil Rights movement. Class members examine the contributions of Barbara Johns, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, and the children of Birmingham,...

The 1965 Civil Rights marches from Selma to Montgomery and the resulting Voting Rights Act of 1965 are the focus of a social studies lesson. The resource uses film clips to inform viewers not only about the discrimination that gave rise...

The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A lesson compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" and prompts...

While most Americans can identify civil rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they often are not aware of how controversial he was in his time. Using video resources that include documentation of the first federal holiday to honor him...

As part of a study of the 1963 quest for civil rights in Birmingham, Alabama, class members view a PowerPoint that details the struggle and analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's life and message is just as important today as it was in his lifetime. Introduce elementary learners to the movement for civil rights with a timeline of Dr. King's life, as well as...

Students explore music that exemplified the Civil Rights Movement. In this music and history instructional activity, students research 1960's protest songs, Motown recorded music, and rap of the 1990's to consider the power of music and...