Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voices: Voting Rights

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the history of the right to vote in the United States. In this civics instructional activity, students research steps taken during the Civil Rights Movement to secure the rights of African Americans to vote.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

How Rosa Parks Sparked Change

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Rosa Parks proves that one person, no matter their race, can make a difference.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Magic Lantern Show; Freed People in the Reconstruction South

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Engage your scholars by having them create "magic lantern shows" inspired by the film Dr. Toer's Amazing Magic Lantern Show: A Different View of Emancipation. As they study the South's Reconstruction through primary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Eye for an Eye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students watch a view introducing them to modern Indian History. During the film, they answer discussion quesitons and discover the concept of non-violent civil disobedience. They share their responses with the class and write an essay...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Be Black and American: World War II

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders research wartime conditions African American had to endure during World War II. They explain what role African Americans played in World War II and describe what life was like for African Americans in the United States...
Worksheet
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U.S. History Worksheet #75

For Students 5th - 8th
Get the facts straight when it comes to the Reconstruction Era! In this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the nation following the Civil...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the "big 5" civil rights organizations (the other four were: the Urban League, NAACP, SCLC, and CORE). The SNCC is credited with having led the...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Reward: Valuable Slaves

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
To gain insight into the American institution of slavery and how African Americans were viewed during this time, groups examine run-away slave ads and slave auction broadsides. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their impressions...
Lesson Planet Article
Lesson Planet

New Books for Black History Month

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Roots of Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils conduct research about the Civil War and the slavery movement. They examine primary and secondary resources. The use of the internet and web slides are resources made available for students to make cognitive connections.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Back To Africa

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students analyze the massive immigration after 1850 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity, and how the Progressive movement influenced different groups in American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Racial Violence in America: Lynchings, 1877 to 1920

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the concept of lynching as it took place in the American South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through class discussion and a review of lynching photographs, students explore the reasons behind...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Resistance and Self-Determination

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine a person's education and their ability to be independent and to resist oppression.  In this American History lesson, 4th graders study the ideas of James McCune Smith. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Youth Participation in Nonviolence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the use of nonviolent resistance. In this social justice lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as the Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King Jr.: Day 6

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this research skills lesson, students read Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. Students then research selected...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rosa Louis Parks

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students describe Rosa Parks' contributions and how they affect us today, and identify important events occurring at this time in history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We Have a Dream

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Learners work as partners to study Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech. For this African American history lesson, students work with their cross-grade partner to study, understand, and memorize the speech. Learners meet with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deciphering the Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners explore the textual meaning of the Declaration of Independence. In this Declaration of Independence lesson, students read and paraphrase the text of the document into modern-day language. Learners also consider the meaning of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Satyagraha, Its Origins and Applications

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders study the steps and methods taken by Gandhi.  In this World History instructional activity, 10th graders create illustrations to represent these steps.  Students write a persuasive essay on these measures taken by...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Great Slave Debate

For Students 4th - 5th
In this slavery debate worksheet, students read the quotes in the bubbles and write them down according to the side, North or South, they correspond with.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Courage of the Heart

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination instructional activity, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discrimination and the Struggle for Equality: African Americans in Professional Baseball: A Reflection of the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop the ability to research individuals and summarize the basic information on that person's life. They design a logo and graphic setting for a particular set of cards and create a set of trading cards of Negro League...
Lesson Plan
Teaching for Change

A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...