Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: February One (Lessons on the Greensboro Sit in of 1960)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Find two lesson plans developed for a PBS documentary about the Greensboro Four, whose sit-in at a whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter was a key event in the unfolding history of the civil rights movement. The lessons ask students to...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Roy Wilkins

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the life of Roy Wilkins, black American civil-rights leader who served as the executive director (1955-77) of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was often referred to as the senior...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Thurgood Marshall

For Students 3rd - 8th
Thurgood Marshall was one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement. In this biographical account, follow the steps of Marshall from his days as a law student at Howard Law School, to his victories as chief counsel for...
Handout
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Freedom Riders: Fred Shuttlesworth

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical snapshot of civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth.
Unknown Type
Alabama Humanities Foundation

Encyclopedia of Alabama: Selma to Montgomery March

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the most famous events in Civil Rights history, this report covers the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights.
Lesson Plan
University of California

The History Project: Ideology of the New Left

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The early 1960s saw a rising tide of criticism of American society, mainly by college students. They criticized repression, corruption and racism as basic flaws in the entire structure of American government and society. This lesson plan...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: A Biography of America: The Sixties 1954 1974

For Students 9th - 10th
Interactive feature lets you decide if the feminist movement of the 1960s improved American women's lives. Covers the areas of politics, business, professions, family, and independence. See how your vote compares with others that have...
Lesson Plan
Utah State University

Teacher Link: Martin Luther King

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
What contributions did Martin Luther King Jr. make to the Human Rights effort? This site offers a lesson plan to develop student's knowledge of the accomplishments of this famous leader.
Graphic
Info Please

Infoplease: Timeline: Key Moments in Black History

For Students 9th - 10th
A timeline of African-American history from when the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619 up to the present.
Website
PBS

Pbs: News Hour Extra: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Turns Fifty

For Students 9th - 10th
Background on the history of the novel, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', banned in many U.S. school districts for many years, but now recognized as one of the greatest American novels. (July 14, 2010)
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson

For Students 3rd - 6th
Jacqueline Woodson describes her experiences growing up as an African American girl in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s. Selected (6) reading passages (grades 3-6) to pair with "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson. [Free...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Changing America" by Barbara Radner

For Students 4th - 6th
This is an informational article about how Martin Luther King Jr. worked toward changing America in the 1950s and 1960s. It includes a short bio of Dr. King and a reading purpose: As you read, take notes on the problems that African...
Website
Scholastic

Scholastic: Integrating Central High Melba Pattillo Story

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This is the story of Melba Pattillo, one of the nine African American students who were the first to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her story is very informative, and the site ends with a reflection question of how...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Separate No Longer?

For Students 5th - 8th
An explantion of how the Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka turned the concept of separate but equal on its head. See how they determined that the 14th Amendment was being violated when schools did not fund...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Rubye Robinson

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical sketch on Rubye Robinson, an American civil rights activist whose short life proved to be a powerful influence on the Civil Rights Movement.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Naacp, Constance Baker Motley

For Students 9th - 10th
In this transcript of an interview for Eyes on the Prize, Justice Constance Baker Motley recalls her role as an NAACP attorney in landmark school desegregation cases.
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Easy to read biography of anti-slavery activist, abolitionist and feminist, Sojourner Truth. Article covers her early life as a slave, her Civil War years, and her famous speeches.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Freedom Riders

For Students 9th - 10th
Article provides numerous detailed facts and a summary of the Freedom Riders who boarded their buses in May 1961 to test segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals in the South.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides detailed facts and a summary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregation on public buses that began on December 1, 1955. It was led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Scottsboro Case

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article tells about the several trials of the so-called Scottsboro Boys. This case became a beacon for later civil rights movements.
Primary
Stanford University

Stanford University: Lesson Plan on "Beyond Vietnam"

For Students 9th - 10th
A well designed four part lesson plan on Dr. King's famous speech on the Vietnam War in which he came out against the war.
Website
New York University

Nyu Archives of Irish America: 1981 Hunger Strikes: America Reacts

For Students 9th - 10th
Online exhibit chronicling the Reactions of Americans to the death of 10 men on hunger strikes, all from Northern Ireland.
Primary
Other

Afscme: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the the events of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike which drew Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis, which is where he was soon to be assassinated. Excellent source of primary sources and first hand accounts of the...
Handout
Other

Aclu: Title Ix the Nine

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biographies of nine visionary people who supported equal opportunity for women in education and sports.