Unequal Rights and Racism Teacher Resources
Find Unequal Rights and Racism lesson plans and worksheets
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Lesson Planet Curated
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War
Excerpts from Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s documentary series provide young historians with insight into the struggles the country faced in the years after the Civil war. Viewers learn about the...
Lesson Planet Curated
C-SPAN Classroom: Middle School Civics
Introduce middle schoolers to the roles and powers of the three branches of the United States government, with the 21 resources in the C-SPAN Civics collection. Sorted into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial...
Lesson Planet Curated
The Reconstruction Era and The Fragility of Democracy
Seven lessons examine the Reconstruction Era that followed the United States Civil War. The series of detailed lessons provide background information on the era, teaching strategies, videos, and primary source materials.
Lesson Planet Curated
Looking Back Reaching Forward: Exploring the Promise of Brown v. Board of Education in Contemporary Times
The module's six lessons in "Looking Back Reaching Forward: Exploring the Promise of Brown v. Board of Education in Contemporary Times" commemorate the historic Supreme Court decision Brown V. Board of Education. High schoolers discuss...
National Constitution Center
14th Amendment Discussion Starter: The Black Codes
The Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws were rules that served the same purpose: to restrict the rights of African Americans. Young historians watch performers read Black Code laws from different states to explain how African Americans were...
C-SPAN
On This Day: The Freedman's Bureau
The Civil War ended slavery, but how did the government enforce the Thirteenth Amendment? Scholars learn about the creation of the Freedman's Bureau, the department's responsibilities, and experiences of African Americans who the program...
PBS
Reconstruction: The Black Codes
During the era of Reconstruction, the planter class of the South tried to replicate the time before the Civil War by squashing rights given in the Thirteenth, Fourteenths and Fifteenth amendments. Using a video clip featuring renowned...
Curated OER
Living Under the Illinois Black Codes
Students use the text of the Illinois Black Codes to examine the laws in place. Using this information, they draw their own conclusions about why the laws existed in a free state. They also identify the purpose of these laws and how they...
Curated OER
Written Assessment: Freedman's Bureau
In this teaching American history worksheet, high schoolers examine a primary source document regarding the Freedman's Bureau. Students respond to 1 short answer question.
Curated OER
Reparations: Why Are Reparations Controversial?
To understand why the topic of reparations is controversial, young scholars gather background information by reading articles, watching videos, and examining cases where reparations were made. Learners consider the lasting repercussions...
Curated OER
Reconstruction (1865-1876)
Easily broken into pieces for several class sessions, this presentation is a great way to transition your class out of a Civil War unit and closer to the 20th century. Engaging photographs, including relevant maps and humorous political...
Curated OER
The Called Themselves the K.K.K.; The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
How did Ku Klux Klan develop and flourish in the US? How did the government respond to acts of terrorism conducted by the KKK following the Civil War? How does the government respond to acts of terrorism today? This resource launches a...
Curated OER
A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Students study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction instructional activity, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th,...
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Curated OER
Freedmen's Bureau: Labor Contract or Re-enslavement?
Students examine the topics of the Freedman's Bureau and labor contracting. They analyze the economic conditions in Alabama after the Civil War. They draw conclusions about the problems with sharecropping.
DocsTeach
How Effective were the Efforts of the Freedmen’s Bureau?
The legacy of Reconstruction and the Freedman's Bureau is complicated. Using an interactive web resource, learners literally weigh the evidence using an online program in primary sources such as labor contracts and marriage records to...
K20 Learn
Plessy v. Ferguson: An Individual's Response to Oppression
After generating research questions rated to segregation, groups are given a primary source document (Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, Plessy v. Ferguson, etc.) and craft a presentation that details the key elements of their assigned...
Core Knowledge Foundation
The Civil War
A unit covers many aspects of the Civil War. Over six weeks, fifth graders delve deep into the history of slavery, the Civil War—before, during, and after—Abraham Lincoln, women's contributions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Black Laws" by Roger Reeves
After investigating the Black Lives Matter movement, class members do a close read of Roger Reeves' "Black Laws." They write down words and phrases that rhyme, consider the kinds of rhymes used and their function in the poem. Scholars...
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
K20 Learn
Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era
High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
PBS
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign
Two short PBS videos introduce young scholars to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 Poor People's Campaign, his support for the Memphis sanitation worker's strike, and the plans for the march on Washington, D.C., to fight poverty. Viewers...
C-SPAN
14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
PBS
To Vote or Not to Vote
Voting can be easy, voting can be hard, voting is just a very important job for all citizens. A four-day plan has class members investigating why voting is so important, why the Voting rights Act of 1965 was necessary, and current...