Students investigate nonviolent lifestyles by researching the biographies of Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi.  In this peace lesson, students define the term Ahimsa and describe Gandhi's lifestyle.  Students identify the six...

High schoolers examine the Jim Crow Laws and goals of the Civil Rights movement. They read and discuss handouts, answer questions, conduct research, and write an essay about the effects of the Civil Rights movement.

In this acrostic poem worksheet, students write a poem using the letters in the word dream. They see the words, "I have a dream," with an American flag at the top of the page.

Students experience the aesthetics of music and learn about freedom songs that motivated the Civil Rights activists. In this music history instructional activity, students learn how music can motivate and move listeners. Students then...

Students study segregation that occurred in the past and that is currently occurring. In this equal rights lesson, students use primary source documents to student segregation of the past. In a culminating activity, students find or draw...

Eleventh graders explore the issue of racism in America.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders analyze charts and graphs on blacks and whites in America.  

Students explore school integration issues. In this Civil Rights Movement lesson, students read Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges and school integration and then write reflections about difficult experiences.

Using this simple worksheet, your learners will have the opportunity to practice reading timelines while learning about key events during the civil rights movement in the United States.

Young people played significant roles in the Civil Rights movement. Class members examine the contributions of Barbara Johns, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, and the children of Birmingham,...

Make sure your class is sure of terminology when referring to the non-violent methods used in the civil rights movement. This glossary includes 19 terms paired with parts of speech and definitions. 

The assassination of Medgar Evers. The integration of the University of Alabama. The March on Washington. The "I Have a Dream" speech. Created by the Alabama History Education Initiative, this resource examines how the events...

As part of a study of civil disobedience, class members read excerpts from the writings of activists who were willing to break the law to protest unjust laws.

Inspire thoughtful journal entries with these detailed journal writing prompts. The resource includes 24 prompts that require learners to write expository, persuasive, and sometimes creative journal entires.

The articles and images in the June 1964 edition of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Newsletter detail the events in St. Augustine that were instrumental in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The stirring...

High schoolers examine role spirituals have played in African American history and religion, examine Harriet Tubman's use of spirituals in her work, explore power of spirituals in Civil Rights Movement, and work with oral tradition,...

How did major historical figures, such as Henry David Thoreau, Susan B. Anthony, and Mohandas K. Gandhi, explain and defend their beliefs in nonviolence? Your learners will begin by studying the backgrounds of these individuals, and then...

Young historians conclude their study of the events that lead up to and the planning for the March on Washington. After examining videos and primary source documents, they consider the civil rights objectives that still need to be...

Students work in groups to do a document analyxix of several documents. Students view the Martin Luther King speech, "I Have a Dream." They discuss the Battle of Saratoge. Students give a personal view of the reason the Declaration of...

The 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, President Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 provide the backdrop for a series of lesson...

Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...

Students draw self-portraits on die-cut crayon patterns after hearing the poem "A Box of Crayons" in this Art instructional activity for the elementary classroom. The instructional activity is ideal for celebrating Martin Luther King...

Students become community philanthropists. In this social studies lesson plan, students learn the definition of philanthropy and apply it to Martin Luther King, Jr. The next day, students complete 3 T-charts for 3 historical figures....

Students examine primary document to examine the concept of free assembly, and analyze Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's letter to the clergy to explain the rationale for this tactic to advance civil rights.

Second graders investigate philosophy by researching the life of Mahatma Gandhi.  In this biographical instructional activity, 2nd graders listen to a reading of the book "Gandhi" and make a character map of his actions, feelings...