An 11-page packet contains three activities designed for readers of Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience. In one exercise, groups debate whether Thoreau would today be considered liberal or conservative. For another,...

To conclude a unit study of Octavia E. Butler's Kindred, groups use MovieMaker or the class website to publish an original story about slavery in America. The detailed project assignment sheet includes a list of possible topics,...

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...

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...

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...

Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.

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...

Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to receive the honor, has focused the attention of a new generation on the work of the legendary artist. Class members analyze the...

Students create an iMovie that expresses the meaning of a protest song from the 1960's or 1970's. They investigate the emotional and political overtones of the times and use images to interpret the song's meaning.

Students explore the role of protest songs. In this early American history lesson, students research the acts passed by the British that angered colonists. Students then listen to protest songs from contemporary American history prior to...

High schoolers analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as a means of self-expression.

Learners analyze how social change has affected artistic expression and popular culture. the explain the influence of media on contemporary American culture.

High schoolers view and discuss The 25 Greatest Protest Songs video as compiled by VH1. They focus on when and why each of the songs were written, looking for patterns.

Students research protest songs of the Vietnam War era. They search for information on the artists and motivation for the lyrics. They interview people who remember the music from that era and bring back information they found.

Young scholars explore protest songs. For this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.

Students identify popular songs from 1968 era and analyze some of the topical and musical elements. They focus on social protest songs and other songs of social conscious.

Students analyze the lyrics of protest songs as a catalyst for social change. They discuss the influence of music on behavior and explain the use of music as historical record.

Young scholars explain the potential consequences of protest. They discuss selected historical conflicts and examine the role of the individual in protest.

Students listen to and discuss various protest songs from the 1960's, and write original lyrics for a song addressing global or societal issues. They write a paragraph evaluating the efficacy of the song to convey a message.

Students study song-poems from 1865 to the present. They explore the works of Woody Guthrie and the Almanac Singers (including Pete Seeger).