Teaching for Change
Selma in Pictures: Socratic Seminar
Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...
Maryland Department of Education
Our Children Can Soar
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson plan on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
C-SPAN
Presidential Veto and Congressional Override
One of the key powers of the executive branch is the president's ability to pass or veto legislation proposed by Congress. Congress, the legislative branch, on the other hand, can override a president's veto. Five film clips show how the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Putin's Illiberal Democracy
Is Russia really a democracy? High school scholars explore Russian democracy under the leadership of President Putin. The resource provides opportunity for group discussion, writing, and research to understand Russia's political history,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Standing Up to Hatred on Cable Street
The final lessons in this section of the Standing Up for Democracy unit ask class members to consider ways they can help create a "more humane, fair, and compassionate environment" in their communities. For context, learners study how...
Judicial Branch of California
The Constitution: What It Says and What It Means
Learners get the chance to act as representatives to the Constitution Convention, and must decide whether or not to recommend your state ratify the new framework. After examining the Constitution line-by-line, they consider their...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Legal Action: The Supreme Court
A social justice lesson plan focuses on the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia which struck down laws that prohibited marriages between African Americans and white Americans. The lesson plan begins with class members examining a...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
EngageNY
Studying Conflicting Interpretations: Perspectives on Plessy v. Ferguson: Part 1
Scholars begin building background knowledge about Plessy v. Ferguson by watching a video about the landmark Supreme Court decision. They engage in discussions to analyze the case's importance and deepen their understanding of issues...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Understanding Carlotta’s Journey
How do incidents in A Mighty Long Way provoke the author, Carlotta Walls LaNier, to make certain decisions that shape her story? Scholars engage in a close reading of the memoir, analyzing events in US history and Carlotta's personal...
National Woman's History Museum
Susan B. Anthony: She's Worth a Mint!
A instructional activity all about Susan B. Anthony showcases the Civil Rights leader's contributions towards equality. A Susan B. Anthony coin sparks engagement. Scholars take part in a discussion that sheds light on what being an agent...
National Woman's History Museum
The Power of Words and Activism: Susan B. Anthony
Where have all the activists gone? Class members compare 21st-century activism with the suffrage movement and the work of Susan B. Anthony. They begin by examining Anthony's biography and speeches to find evidence that her words and...
National Woman's History Museum
African American Activists
Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lour Hammer are three African American activists who stood up for change. Though living in different time periods, all three women sought justice and equality. Class members examine primary source...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reconstruction
When slavery ended, what did the government do to help African American during Reconstruction? An interesting instructional activity uses primary sources such as newspaper articles to help scholars analyze Reconstruction policies and how...
Scholastic
Connecting with Ruby Bridges
When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...
Queen's University
The African-American Civil Rights Movement
Every once in awhile a resource comes along that has all the materials you could ever want on a specific topic. Here's such a resource; an amazing collection of primary sources, photographs, posters, handbills, articles, and even the...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2011
The presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan were defined by the Cold War. Using primary source documents and scaffolded analysis questions, pupils explore the effect the Cold War had on these presidencies. A...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Women of the Movement: Civil Rights Movement in Alabama
Many know of Rosa Parks involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, but who were other female leaders? The instructional activity focuses on female Civil Rights leaders and their achievements. Scholars complete research, participate in...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2014
The 1960s marked a pivotal point for social and foreign policy in the United States. Using documents, such as speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, and authentic test prompts, class members consider the impact of this...
PBS
Latino Americans: Timeline of Important Dates
From 1500-2000, an interactive timeline details important events related to Latino Americans. Next, to each date are small, yet informative blurbs—some of which include videos.
PBS
The Supreme Court: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
While World War II changed the international order, it also led to a fundamental shift in the concept of civil rights within the United States. Using a video and discussion questions, class members consider the effects the war had to the...
University of Richmond
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America 1935-1940
Redlining—or the practice of racial discrimination in housing loans—directly led to today's segregated living patterns in America. Using data from the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, classmates visualize the impact of policy on...
Orlando Shakes
To Kill a Mockingbird: Study Guide
Who was Harper Lee, and what led her to write one of the most celebrated novels of all time? Scholars learn about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird and read a summary of a dramatic production of the novel. They also discover the...