Activists and Protests Teacher Resources
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Curated OER
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
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...
Curated OER
Seeking Civil Rights
Students explore the impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. For this social justice lesson, students examine the case, Jim Crow laws, and non-violent forms of protest. Students write essays to persuade the government regarding unjust laws.
iCivics
I Can’t Wear What?
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...
Curated OER
A Letter Read 'Round the World
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.
Curated OER
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Most Meaningful Way
Lead your class on a journey into the Deep South so that they understand the true meaning of what inspired this holiday.
Annenberg Foundation
Poetry of Liberation
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...
Curated OER
Standing Up to Injustice
To help students move beyond the role of bystander, give them real-world examples of young people who fought injustice.
Curated OER
The Greensboro Sit-Ins: A Continuing Tradition of Nonviolent Protest
Students 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.
iCivics
DBQuest: The Nashville Sit-In Movement
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...
Curated OER
New Voices for African Americans
Eleventh graders study Malcolm X and black power. In this African American lesson, 11th graders write a journal entry about black power and create a timeline of the events during the civil right movement.
Curated OER
What is Equality and How Does it Affect Me?
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...
Curated OER
Learning to Respect Each Other
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...
Curated OER
We Are The Freedom Riders
Students consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights lesson, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several weblinks, worksheets,...
Curated OER
The Roots of Ahimsa
Learners investigate the philosophy of nonviolence. In this Ghandi instructional activity, students discover that Gandhi inspired many civil rights leaders with the idea of ahimsa. Learners complete venn diagrams, create timelines,...
C-SPAN
On This Day: Selma, AL and "Bloody Sunday"
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...
Curated OER
The Kennedy Administration and the Civil Rights Movement
Students evaluate the Kennedy Administration's involvement in the civil rights movement. In this Civil rights instructional activity, students read and take notes from speeches connected to the historic March on Washington from the...
Curated OER
Nonviolence as a Tool for Change Lesson 2
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...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Power of Nonviolence
Young scholars 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.
Curated OER
The Children's March
Students watch the film, The Children's March. In this civil rights lesson, students view a video on the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery Alabama. Students then complete a worksheet that will prompt a classroom discussion about the...
Curated OER
Mandela The Man
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...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King and Malcom X on Violence and Integration
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...
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
Dr. Martin Luther King's Visit to Seattle
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...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
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...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
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...