Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the events of the Civil Rights Movement. In this research skills lesson, students research the important figures, events, and ideas of the American Civil Rights Movement as they visit suggested websites that feature...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining the African American Family through the Eyes of Women Authors

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students read stories by women authors on the characteristics of the African-American family. Using the internet, they research the history of issues that have affected African-American families from the Civil War to the Civil Rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Language of the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders develop a website documenting poetry integral during the civil rights movement in the United States. Working in pairs, 10th graders research the people and poetry of that was prevalent during the civil rights movement. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cotton Pickin' Before and After the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the impact of cotton. In this economics instructional activity, students listen to a lecture presented by their instructor on the Southern crop of cotton and its impact on the South prior to and following the Civil War....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Civil Rights Gets Stronger

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students investigate segregation in the United States. In this American Civil Rights lesson, students read Oh Freedom and discuss the implications of segregation. Students then view images from the time period and take notes on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans...
Lesson Plan
Small Planet Communications

Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discuss political, social, and personal issues relating to the Civil War from various perspectives using internet sources. Students write various selections from Civil War characters' point of view.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

William Lanson: New Haven's African King

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners discuss the misrepresentations of African Americans in the United States. In groups, they examine the life and accomplishments of William Lanson and the importance of extending the Long Wharf. Together, they pretend they lived...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Civil Rights Continues Today

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students consider segregation issues in the United States today. In this American Civil Rights Movement instructional activity, students determine how much has changed in the United States since the beginning of the movement. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Was Contraband?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. Using primary sources, they analyze the material and formulate their own opinions about the past. They write journal entries to share their opinions on photographs from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Race and Voting in the Segregated South

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the history of African American voting rights. In this voting rights lesson, students listen to a lecture on African American voting rights between the years 1890 and 1965. High schoolers respond to discussion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Violence Prevention

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Jim Crow Era

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine how African-Americans were affected by the Great Depression. In this African-American history instructional activity, students conduct independent research on the social conditions of the time period using the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Talking Goat

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read and analyze an African folktale. They read and discuss the folktale, analyze a map of Africa and Liberia, complete a worksheet, answer discussion questions, and analyze the patterns and analogies of the folktale.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural and Social Transformation since 1865

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research the evolution of cultural and social issues in areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They practice writing clear details with supporting evidence and examples and evaluate ways of improving drafts...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

After Charlottesville: Contested History and the Fight against Bigotry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
History doesn't always reflect all sides. Academics discover how the remembered history of the Civil War differs for White and African Americans. The lesson explores how Civil War monuments and celebrations have racist connotations for...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Responding to the Murder of Harry T. Moore

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Heroic civil rights leader Harry T. Moore is murdered! An eye-opening activity delves into the past to understand the murder of prominent civil rights leader and educator Harry Moore and his wife. Academics also read President Truman's...
Lesson Plan
Albert Shanker Institute

Strategizing for Freedom

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and A. Philip Randolph developed different views on how to advance civil rights for African Americans. Class members research these famous figures and their strategies before developing...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Letter from Jackie Robinson: "Fair Play and Justice"

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball legend; he was an activist, too. An interesting resource explores Robinson's time in the military using primary sources. Scholars examine the racially inspired event that led to a court martial...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Red Record of Lynching Map Analysis

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Long before the civil rights movement, leaders were working to secure equal rights. An informative activity explains the 1922 anti-lynching campaign with a map. Scholars analyze the map, complete a worksheet, and participate in group...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

The Wrong Side of History: How One Group Justified Its Opposition on the Freedom Riders and Civil Rights for African Americans

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Designed as a supplement to the study of the Freedom Riders, this resource uses primary sources to reveal the views of those who opposed the Freedom Riders. After careful study of the arguments presented by the members of the Montgomery...
Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

Last Days of Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Teachers 6th - 12th
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Four video clips reveal the events of that time, including the shift in the focus of the Civil Rights Movement, the aftermath of the assassination, and...