Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting for Democracy, Fighting for Me

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students consider how African American responded to social injustice. In this social injustice lesson, students compare and contrast the visions of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois for obtaining civil rights for African Americans.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students analyze the life of Jackie Robinson and determine which characteristics contributed to his success as the baseball player who broke the color barrier and as a political activist.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About the Civil Rights Movement Through Photographs

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine the racial inequality that existed in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. After listening to song lyrics and viewing photographs, they discover the importance of the movement in helping society move...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antisemitism in Early America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the rise of antisemitism in the United States in the early 20th century. After reading a passage concerning one man's ordeal, 11th graders discuss how the civil rights of minority groups has been viewed in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the Struggle for Equality and Justice for All

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners focus on the struggle for minorities rights. They describe the civil rights movement of the late 1950's and the 1960's. They trace the roots of the movement in the second-class treatment accorded many black Americans and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dubois and Washington Venn Diagram

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Pupils compare and contrast the visions of W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington. In this African American history instructional activity, students read biographies about both men and create a Venn diagram about the men.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New Movements For Social Justice: The Latino Struggle for Equal Rights

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine myths and stereotypes about Hispanic immigrant groups. They appreciate and share the strengths of their diversity and view films that challenge ideas about education and cultural values. They explore the Latino Rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Family Quilt

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the artwork of Faith Ringgold. They create their own quilt pattern on fabric and piece them together to create a class quilt. They compare their similarities with one another.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Watching Crystals Grow

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the social and political events in Virginia linked to desegregation and massive resistance and their relationship to national history. They examine the "Jim Crow" laws and how they affected the lives of African Americans...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

G8: Classroom Activities

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners explore the G8 Summit. In this current events lesson, students research the provided web links to learn more about the summit. Learners research issues to be debated at the summit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Commonalities and Differences from Africa to Cleveland as Evidence Through the Gullah Community Connection

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students explore Afro-American history. They identify the commonality between African, Carolinian and Cleveland Black culture. Students explore the water cycle, oceanography, hydrology and bio-geochemical processes. They discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reaching Across Borders In Southern Africa

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars gain a greater understanding of how political borders impact human and environmental development. Then, either individually or as a class, establish a correspondence with a Peace Corps volunteer working in Africa.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newscasts From Tiananmen Square

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the issues surrounding the Tiananmen Square Massacre through student-produced newscasts. They read, "China after Mao" to understand the intellectual and political climate of the times surrounding the Tiananmen Square...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Master Spy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explain that a code is a system of symbols, letters, words, or signals that are used instead of ordinary words and numbers to send messages or to store information. They practice deciphering a variety of secret codes used in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sudan -- Efforts to Avert Genocide in the Making

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine current events in Sudan and their efforts to prevent another genocide. They identify the roles of different humanitarian organizations in the area. They research the efforts to bring those accused of genocide to justice.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lake Tahoe Then and Now

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the differences in Lake Tahoe from the past to the present. In this geography lesson, students read the book Washoe Seasons of Life and identify the descriptions of the land and lake. Students create a Venn diagram...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sixteenth Street: Civil Rights at the Crossroads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners study the Civil Rights movement constructing definitions of discrimination, prejudice and racism. They use varied media to study the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, write a newspaper and complete a mock trial.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Playing Historical Detective: Great Grandmother's Dress and Other Clues to the Life and Times of Annie Steel

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th
Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. In this drawing conclusions instructional activity, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This instructional...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Apartheid and Segregation

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students view a television program that depicts the history South African Apartheid and the United States' system of segregation. They discuss how laws were used to uphold these institutions and compare and contrast racism and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: The Black West

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students assess the influence of African Americans in the western United States from the sixteenth century to the present. They examine the Black-Spanish heritage, slavery and freedom on the frontier, along with African American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Slave No More

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discover what it was like to cross into freedom. In this slavery lesson, students read the "Emancipation Proclamation," and letters written by Abraham Lincoln and John Washington (a former slave). Students identify the key ideas...