eBook
Eserver

E Server: The Thoreau Reader: "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the full text of Thoreau's essay, "Civil Disobedience," in three parts. Content also includes a brief background as to how Thoreau wrote this essay and links to related sites.
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: American Transcendentalism: Civil Disobedience

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on civil disobedience using "Essay on Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. Links are provided to each of the...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Three Principles of Civil Disobedience

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Both Mahatmas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were influenced by Henry David Thoreau's essay, "Civil Disobedience." Have students research and read, using the Internet, the first part of Thoreau's essay. Then have students write an...
Primary
Eserver

E Server: The Thoreau Reader: "Civil Disobedience" Part 1 of 3

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the annotated text of Part 1 of "Civil Disobedience," an essay by Henry David Thoreau. The essay, written in 1849, is about following your conscience.
Lesson Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: Thoreau's Critique of Democracy in "Civil Disobedience"

For Teachers 9th - 10th
National Humanities Center lesson explores the criticisms Thoreau makes about a representative democracy form of government. Lesson includes interactive assignments, teacher notes, strategies for Close reading, follow-up and vocabulary.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Excerpt From "Civil Disobedience"

For Students 11th - 12th
A learning module that begins with Henry David Thoreau's "Excerpt from 'Civil Disobedience'" accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Article
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Gandhi and Civil Disobedience

For Students 9th - 10th
Article which highlights the life and work of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi.
Article
Other

Mass Humanities: Mass Moments: Henry David Thoreau Spends Night in Jail

For Students 9th - 10th
July 23, 1846 Henry David Thoreau is arrested and jailed for civil disobedience against the Massachusetts Poll Tax. Take a look at the events of that day as well as the life and legacy of Thoreau.
Website
American Academy of Achievement

Academy of Achievement: Coretta Scott King

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography chronicles the life and work of Coretta Scott King, a champion of Civil Rights and advocate of non-violent civil disobedience.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: What Is the Role of Civil Disobedience Today? (Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan in which students examine the history of civil disobedience and analyze whether it is a viable form of protest in today's world. They will explore quotations about law versus personal conviction in order to form a group...
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Introduction to the Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an overview and basic introduction to the civil rights movement of African Americans.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Louisa May Alcott: Transcendentalism

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video [4:00] from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Reasoning, Making of African American Identity: V. 3

For Students 9th - 10th
Brochures and a speech from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference describing the organization's philosophy, its strategy, and its position on voting rights, civil disobedience, and segregation.
Article
Hartford Web Publishing

World History Archives: Sncc Fought for Change From the Bottom Up

For Students 9th - 10th
A highly informative narrative on the development and philosophy of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, with comparisons to Dr. King's SCLC and the Black Panther Party. Good resource.
Handout
Robin Chew

Lucidcafe: Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader

For Students 9th - 10th
Informative biographical sketch of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with links to Gandhi and good information about the philosophy of nonviolent social protest. Includes links to text of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and the "I Have a Dream"...
Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Rosa Parks Arrested

For Students 9th - 10th
This 3-part article explores Rosa Park's famous act of civil disobedience -- refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Her subsequent arrest sparked a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and the 1956 Supreme...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: Sncc and Core

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the two civil rights groups that organized nonviolent protests during the 1950s and 1960s.
Website
Other

Basic Readings in u.s. Democracy: Henry David Thoreau

For Students 9th - 10th
This website provides historical background to the political events of the time Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience." It also includes background information about Thoreau and the text of Thoreau's essay.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Independent Lens: Conscience and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Would you accept being drafted into military service if your family was being held in an internment camp? That was the question on many a Japanese American's mind during World War 2. Explore the stories of those who resisted service and...
Handout
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Nonviolent Direct Action at Southern Lunch Counters

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan that teaches about nonviolence and uses the civil rights lunch counter protests as examples.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Freedom Rides (1961)

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives an interesting account of the Freedom Rides of 1961, which sparked later civil rights movements.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Arming, Making of African American Identity: V. 3

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource offers a memoir that examines the role of armed self-defense in the civil rights movement. An excerpt from the text "Negroes with Guns", by Robert Williams is made available here, describing his approach towards civil...
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Rosa Parks

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the encyclopedia Wikipedia provides a brief biography of civil rights activist Rosa Parks and details her refusal to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
Article
Other

History of Massachusetts: Henry Thoreau Arrested for Nonpayment of Poll Tax

For Students 9th - 10th
Henry Thoreau left a legacy for people to listen to and defend their consciences. He felt strongly against taxes and avoided as many as possible, but could not escape the poll tax. This is a concise publication identifying Thoreau's...

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