C-SPAN
14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
K5 Learning
Fight for Equality: Thurgood Marshall
Learners read an informational text passage on Thurgood Marshall and his contribution to African Americans' rights, and then answer questions based on what they read.
Museum of Tolerance
Making Lemonade: Responding to Oppression in Empowering Ways
An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...
Curated OER
Paul Conrad's Perspective on Civil Rights
Students review a political cartoon and discuss desegregation. In this cartoon analysis instructional activity, 11th graders discuss the impact of a political cartoon and its relation to a Supreme Court case. Students...
Curated OER
Rights In Conflict
Students analyze three different case studies, which involve conflict situations, identify the rights in conflict in each case, and decide what to do when the rights of two or more people conflict.
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2013
How successful has American foreign policy been in the past? Pupils consider the question as part of a state examination in American history. Other prompts include a document analysis and essay of important civil rights cases decided by...
Anti-Defamation League
The Road to Brown
As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...
Anti-Defamation League
The Problem We Still Live With?
Norman Rockwell's painting "The Problem We Still Live With" launches a unit study of racism in the United States and segregation in U.S. schools. In the first lesson, scholars discuss the painting, review key elements of the Supreme...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Dunbar and Central High In Little Rock, Arkansas
Young sociologists analyze the needs of white and black learners. They discuss how Central and Dunbar High Schools are alike and different before 1957. They write an essay comparing the two schools.
Curated OER
5th Grade Social Studies
In this social studies worksheet, 5th graders answer multiple choice questions about important court cases, World War II, Abraham Lincoln, and more. Students complete 14 questions.
Curated OER
Boundary Crossing
Seventh graders explore the issues that arose as a result of boundary crossing. In this US History instructional activity, 7th graders research supreme court cases in regards to crossing boundaries. Students present their...
Curated OER
The Legacy of the Warren Court
Students examine the major decisions by the Supreme Court when Warren was the Chief Justice. In groups, they research the life and other works of Earl Warren and discuss how ones background can influence decisions. They also examine...
Curated OER
Supreme Court Shake-Up
Students examine the role of the Supreme Court through an interactive program. They analyze the history of the Court and its members. They finally explore how the Supreme Court works.
Curated OER
Honoring Property Rights
Students examine the issue of cheating. In this property rights lesson plan, students define honor and discuss intellectual property rights as they explore a case study.
Curated OER
Rights in Conflict
Learners study situations where rights are in conflict. For this conflict in rights lesson, students review a conflict situation and the Supreme Court ruling for the issue. Learners review the Bill of Rights and then receive their own...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities
Students examine the concepts of dual responsibilities and rights. They read three cases, identify the rights and responsibilities, and arrive at verdicts.
Curated OER
In Search of Rights
Seventh graders research Supreme Court cases. They formally debate court rulings, write a scenario portraying a possible futuristic America and participate in a field practicum for media production, while evaluating various social,...
Smithsonian Institution
Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis
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...
Curated OER
Inspiration for and Application of the Bill of Rights
Students examine individual rights. In this case law lesson plan, students discuss the from and function of the Bill of Rights prior to investigating several cases that deal with Constitutional rights. Students discuss the outcome of the...
Teaching Tolerance
Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System
Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...
Ohio Center For Law-Related Education
Four Activities: Thurgood Marshall and the Nomination and Confirmation of Federal Judges
The process of nominating and confirming federal judges can sound like a lot of bureaucratic hoops, but a resource breaks down the steps of the Supreme Court nominations in a simpler manner. Learners participate in four activities that...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery Bus Boycott: We Would Rather Walk!
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...