Activists and Protests Teacher Resources

Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...

Students explore the impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. In this social justice instructional activity, students examine the case, Jim Crow laws, and non-violent forms of protest. Students write essays to persuade the government...

Can schools ban t-shirts picturing musical groups or bands? Your young citizens will find out with this resource, which includes a summary of a United States Supreme Court case from the 1960s about a similar dispute over students wearing...

Students examine primary document to examine the concept of free assembly, and analyze Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's letter to the clergy to explain the rationale for this tactic to advance civil rights.

How do writers use words to protest injustice, challenge the status quo, and shape their own identities? Individuals watch and discuss a video, read author biographies, write poetry and journals, develop a slideshow, and complete a...

Pupils watch a video about nonviolent protests during the Civil Rights Movement. They discuss and write about the Greensboro sit-ins while deciding the effectiveness of this type of protest.

What was it like to be a part of the sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement? Learners consider the question and whether the protests were effective using an online documents-based investigation. The program allows for virtual...

Eleventh graders study Malcolm X and black power. In this African American instructional activity, 11th graders write a journal entry about black power and create a timeline of the events during the civil right movement.

Discover how important Martin Luther King Jr. is to our society. In this civil rights lesson, investigate how Dr. King was an advocate for nonviolence and how he fought for civil rights for all Americans. Read and analyze Dr. King's "I...

Students explore the concept of civil rights and the ways in which Dr. Martin Luther Kind and others utilized non-violent protests to achieve their goals. They participate in a variety of discussion and role play activities during this...

Students consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights instructional activity, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several...

Students investigate the philosophy of nonviolence. In this Ghandi activity, students discover that Gandhi inspired many civil rights leaders with the idea of ahimsa. Students complete venn diagrams, create timelines, and discuss...

March 7, 1965 forever changed the lives of African American activists in Selma, Alabama, when a peaceful protest turned deadly. Young academics learn about the 1965 non-violent march of African American activists that ended in the...

Students evaluate the Kennedy Administration's involvement in the civil rights movement. In this Civil rights activity, students read and take notes from speeches connected to the historic March on Washington from the National Archives...

Students explore nonviolent protest. In this Civil Rights lesson, students read the essay "Nonviolence and Racial Justice." Students present the information they gleaned from the essay to their classmates in order to consider how...

Students examine the philosophy of nonviolence developed by Martin Luther King, Jr. and how this turned into practice during the Civil Rights Movement. They compare these teachings to those of Mohandas K. Ghandi.

Students watch the film, The Children's March. In this civil rights instructional activity, students view a video on the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery Alabama. Students then complete a worksheet that will prompt a classroom...

Ninth graders explore civil rights by reading several biographies. In this Nelson Mandela lesson, 9th graders discuss the trials and tribulations Nelson Mandela had to face in South Africa and how they were similar to the problems Martin...

Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries. Both were gifted orators, both were preachers, both were leaders during the Civil Rights era, both were assassinated. But the two had very different views on violence and...

How was the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. viewed by others during the 1960s? After watching an oral history video, your class members will learn more about Dr. King's ability to personally connect with others, as well as...

Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...

Learners are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...