Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Montgomery Bus Boycott: We Would Rather Walk!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Have historians use primary sources to learn about the circumstances and implementation of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and think about the issue of boycotts as a means of effecting social change. Wrap it up with a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Segregation in Prince Edward County

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the history of integration as it applied to Virginia high school in Prince Edward County. They evaluate a map of Virginia counties, read and analyze a first person narrative of a young girl involved in a boycott...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

JUSTICE

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the role that Alabama played in three major events of American History and how those roles contributed to Alabama being dubbed the "Cradle of the Confederacy" and the "Birthplace of the Modern Civil Rights Movement."
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Motivates

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students listen to songs from the Civil Rights movement. They explain how the music might have inspired African-Americans to be activists in the movement. They examine how the Civil Rights movement affected the common good.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read the novel "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry". Using the text, they gather information on how and why the Civil Rights Movement began. They use excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr's speeches to discuss the issue of equality....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Biography?

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

Analyzing the Inaugural Address

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Afghanistan Today: Civil War and Human Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. They analyze the role of religion and cultural identity in shaping governments. They also examine the United States foreign policy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Indian Movement

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the civil rights movement of the Native Americans. They read the provided multicultural reading passage and answer the questions that follow. They chart which cultural groups fought for equal rights during the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diverse Voices - African American Ventures

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research African American history and the Underground Railroad. In this African American history lesson, students discuss the Drinking Gourd. Students read 'If You Traveled the Underground Railroad' and discuss. Students work in...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Exploring the Lives of Black Women During the 19th Century

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians investigate the often-hidden history of free and enslaved African American women before the Civil War. Using a collection of primary and secondary sources, including speeches, diaries, and poems, they evaluate the often...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a instructional activity that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine how current race relations in their town compare to those of the 1960's.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students write their own dream poems in the style of African American dream poetry.  In this African American poetry lesson, students discuss the dreams of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement  and read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women’s History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the "Cult of Domesticity." In this women's history lesson, students visit the specified Web sites to engage in research related to the characteristics that were thought to represent true womanhood as well as information...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The African-American Experience During the Vietnam Conflict

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the experiences of African-Americans in the Vietnam War. They illustrate their experiences showing how these events related to the Civil Rights movement. They compare and contrast the views of sailors and officers aboard...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry: A View of African American Life,

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders analyze many examples of African-American poetry and examine how different poems reflect the cultural experiences of African-Americans. The poems and spirituals chosen are very effective for public presentation.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Dueling Telegrams: 1963 Verbal Power Play Between Wallace and JFK

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Information, inferences, and innuendos. Text and subtext. Class members examine telegrams exchanged between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace, studying both what is stated and what is implied by the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paul Robeson: The Renaissance Man

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars research the life of athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist, Paul Robeson. They answer the question, "Which was most important to American culture -Robeson's work as a scholar, a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sixties Protests and Social Change

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students identify, examine and analyze photographs of the sixties to determine the forces of social change at work in America during this decade. They determine the goals of each movement and the methods used by each to achieve those goals.
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
Curated OER

Parenting in the Movies:Examining Responsibilities in Modern American Films

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners use films to identify the characteristics of a good parent. In groups, they research the different types of parenting methods used during colonial times, the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. As a class, they develop...
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Sixties: Hitsville USA

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history...
Lesson Plan
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Center for History and New Media

Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...