Curated OER
The Power of Protest
Students recognize the power of protest. For this civil rights lesson, students consider the success of Rosa Parks and her protest that sparked the movement. Students study the Montgomery Bus Boycott in depth and reflect on Parks's...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks Autobiography
Students write the story of Rosa Parks from the perspective of someone who was sitting on the bus that day. In this Rosa Parks/biography lesson, students read the story of Rosa Parks and discuss it in small groups. After each group...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
Students research the Great Migration and answer questions to discover where it took place, when it took place, who were migrating, and why in a 2 page paper. They use a map or atlas to plot out the routes and destinations of those...
Curated OER
Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, Moanin,' Payin' Your Dues
Young scholars examine the musical styles of call and response and the blues while delving into the difficult lives of many jazz musicians. Travelling in the South was challenging for black musicians during this time and the difficulties...
Curated OER
Brown v. the Board of Education
Students explain the history of race discrimination in the US and about the Brown vs the Board of Education trial.
Curated OER
On the Other Side of the Color Barrier: Segregation and the Negro Leagues
Young scholars study segregation that occurred in the past and that is currently occurring. In this equal rights lesson plan, students use primary source documents to student segregation of the past. In a culminating activity, young...
Curated OER
The Power of Protest
High schoolers explain how Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. They discuss how her actions were heroic and how they affected the civil rights movement. They reflect on the lesson in journal entries.
Curated OER
Anti-Lynching Campaigns, 1890-1942
Young scholars examine the differences in opinion between black and white women about putting an end to lynching. They investigate how black activists encouraged white women to join them in their opposition to lynching.
Curated OER
Reconstruction
Students investigate the historical period of the Reconstruction and the events that surrounded the abolitionist movement. Students use guided questions to conduct research. Then they complete a venn diagram in order to compare two...
Curated OER
Tobacco: Relationship between Race and Occupation
Eighth graders examine the relationship between race and employment in the tobacco industry. Using the text, they evaluate the impact of polical and economic changes on life in North Carolina. In groups, they research different...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Five Senses Walk
First graders take a discovery walk around the school. They use their observations to compose a class book about their school.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Reconstruction to Jim Crow
After the Civil War and end of slavery, Americans had to decide how to integrate freed African Americans. Learn about the lives of African Americans from Reconstruction to the end of the prejudiced Jim Crow era. This collection includes...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: Jim Crow Laws
Find Jim Crow laws, see signs, and read restrictive covenants that restricted freedom of movement, housing, and use of public facilities by African Americans in the late 19th and 20 centuries.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Curriculum Hub: Ela Guidebooks: A Lesson Before Dying: Jim Crow Laws
Read "Jim Crow Laws" to establish your understanding of the text, and to see how they impacted African Americans.
Read Works
Read Works: Before Jackie: How Strikeout King Satchel Paige Struck Down Jim Crow
[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks passage provides a brief biography of the baseball player Satchel Paige and his significant accomplishments. A paired passage, a vocabulary support sheet, a questions sheet, and an...
Digital History
Digital History: The 14th Amendment and the Jim Crow Laws [Pdf]
Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou recounts her coming of age story as a mature but apprehensive girl in the American South and California during the Jim Crow era. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 7-10) to pair with "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Populist Party
Read about how "the Populists challenged white supremacy by forming coalitions between black and white farmers who shared a common cause." Part of a larger website called "Jim Crow Stories", this brief article paints the Populist Party...
Read Works
Read Works: Civil Rights on a City Bus
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about Rosa Parks and her non-violent protest of segregation laws in the South. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D. Taylor
Selected (8) reading passages (grades 6-10) to pair with "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D. Taylor. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells the story of the Logan family combating racial tension and segregation in Mississippi during...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Hayes Tilden Election
Read about the contested election of 1876. Was it decided behind close doors and with an understanding that Reconstruction would be ended in the South? Were votes fraudulently thrown out?
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Red Summer (1919)
The summer of 1919 saw race riots in many cities, for the most part started by whites. Read about the causes and results of these riots.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Curriculum Hub: Ela Guidebooks: A Lesson Before Dying
Ninth graders will be introduced to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and will explore how this hierarchy relates to the needs that humans have. Students will also be introduced to background information about the South during Jim Crow through...
Digital History
Digital History: Discrimination in Public Accommodations [Pdf]
Segregation and Jim Crow laws codified a color line in the United States. African-Americans began pushing back against segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. Read about the non-violent actions taken and how these actions resulted in the...