Curated OER
The ADA, the Supreme Court, and Self-Advocacy
Students study the role the Supreme Court plays in laws and decisions that affect individuals with disabilities and examine the policies of the American with Disabilities Act. They draw parallels between policies enacted by the ADA and...
Curated OER
Do We Need a Permanenet International Criminal Court?: War Crimes, Violence, International Law and Politics, Nuremberg
In this lesson plan, students explore the history, relevance and current application of international tribunals for war crimes. Students look at cases from the Nuremberg trials, Tokyo trials and the Bosnian War.
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights and the News
Students examine current news stories and from them develop "BIG" questions related to individual and group rights. They then relate their questions to the U.S. Constitution and supreme court decisions.
Curated OER
Quotas and Jim Crow Laws
Learners examine the use of quotas and Jim Crow laws. They discuss discrimination against minority groups both historically and in contemporary society. Students examine an affirmative action case and discuss the controversies involved.
Curated OER
History Lesson 10: Plyler v. Doe: Can States Deny Public Benefits to Illegal Immigrants?
Students consider the rights of illegal immigrants. For this illegal immigration lesson, students analyze the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe and determine whether illegal immigrants should have access to public benefits. Students...
Curated OER
Japanese Internment
Eleventh graders read about and discuss the Japanese Internment of World War II. In this Japanese Internment lesson, 11th graders examine the Japanese Internment. They talk about the civil rights aspect, how they would deal with being...
Smithsonian Institution
Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
Curated OER
Thurgood Marshall Makes a Difference
Students find information about the life and legal career of Thurgood Marshall, including the NAACP and its causes. They comprehend the issues and context of the Brown v. Board of Education case that Marshall argued before the U.S....
Judicial Branch of California
Separate But Equal - Is It Black or White?
The story of Ruby Bridges and the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education are fantastic tools for discussing the concept of separate but equal. Kids tackle some big questions about what is fair, what is civil, and what rights or laws...
Curated OER
Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 8
Students analyze the Fourteenth Amendment. They discuss Reconstruction, read the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, define the provisions, and in small groups analyze a Supreme Court case that was impacted by the due process clause.
Curated OER
Equal Protection Questions
In this Supreme Court worksheet, students respond to 14 short answer questions regarding equal protection and gay marriage issues in the United States.
Curated OER
Judges in the Classroom Lesson Plan
Learners study case studies and determine the rights of the people who are in conflict.
Curated OER
the Rights of Detainees At Guantanamo Bay
High schoolers identify the legal issues involved in the case of the detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay and surrounding the existence of the base itself. They explain the clash between civil liberties and national security during...
Curated OER
Individual Resistance & Social Change
Students examine the Brown v. Board of Education case. In this segregation lesson, students study the details of the case and compare it the Mendez v. Westminster case.
Curated OER
Muhammad Ali and his Vietnam War Resistance: Defining Nonviolent Action through Gandhi and King
Students research Muhammad Ali's act of civil disobedience. In this civil disobedience lesson, students research Ali's defiance of the Vietnam War draft and compare his reasoning to Martin Luther King's thoughts on the war. Students...
Curated OER
Ex Parte Milligan
Middle schoolers reserach the case of Ex Parte Milligan. They explore the influence of the Supreme Court and the court decisions on the rights and responsibilities of citizens. They read Milligan's letter to Stanton and generate...
Curated OER
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
Young scholars read the case text of the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case. Using the text, they discuss the case history and the implications of the verdict. They share their findings with the class in the form of a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Have Minorities Gained Acceptance
Students cite evidence gathered from magazines about how much Blacks are accepted into the mainstream of American life. They support their conclusions by writing an answer to an essay question.
Center for History Education
Brown v. the Board of Education: Success or Failure?
Desegregation does not mean equality. An eye-opening instructional activity focuses on the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to end school segregation. Scholars review a series of political cartoons to understand how the...
K20 LEARN
Oklahoma and Segregation
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Segregation, Jim Crow Laws, Plessy vs. Ferguson
Students examine the concept of segregation. In this civil rights lesson, students discuss the separate but equal theory as well as the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision. Students also research women of the Civil Rights Movement and Jim Crow...
Curated OER
Who Is Sarah Mae Fleming?
Fifth graders learn about two influential women. In this historical figures lesson plan, 5th graders work in groups to read articles about Rosa Parks and Sarah Fleming and share their findings with the class. Students use a...
Curated OER
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Twelfth graders explore desegregation as it occurred at various stages in United States history. They specifically chronicle the role of South Carolina in the desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education.
Curated OER
Regulating Freedom of Speech
Students examine the nature and limits of the Constitutional right to freedom of speech. They read and analyze the First Amendment, discuss various case studies, and research and record their own opinion on discussion questions.