Curated OER
The Dragon of Brog: Stereotyping and Discrimination Social Justice Lesson Plan
Stereotyping and discrimination are explored in this social justice lesson. Students listen to the book Dragon of Brog, in which mythical characters experience discrimination. Then, they sculpt a magical character out of plasticene...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Using Drama to Address Social Justice Issues in School and the Community
Artists, musicians, and dramatists have long been the leaders in the quest for social justice. To gain an understanding of the power of the arts to address social issues, class members listen to a reading of Drew Daywalt's The Day the...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exploring Identity
Even without captions, photographs can tell amazing, involved, and complex stories. Viewers analyze two photos, consider what the pictures reveal about the subjects' identity, and determine the social justice issues represented in the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Heroes of Social Justice Movements
Learners explore social justice, the civil rights movement, and everyday heroes. They view video clips, learn about James Armstrong: The Barber of Birmingham, and create their own hero wall. They present their walls to the class and...
PBS
The Legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird: Continuing Atticus’s Fight for Justice
Tom Robinson was only one man in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, but he represents many people throughout history who have not found justice in the American justice system. Language arts students discuss the theme of social justice...
Teaching Tolerance
In Our Own Words: A Story Book with a Purpose
Academics turn into storytellers in an engaging activity on activism. The activity focuses on promoting social change in local communities with stories. Young historians plan a storybook to target a specific audience and social issue and...
Museum of Tolerance
The Pursuit of Democracy and Diversity: The Trial of Pro-Social Injustice in Historical Documents and Accounts
Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...
Museum of Tolerance
Improving My Community Through Social Action
Action is the heart of change. Encourage class members to not only identify critical social justice issues in their school or community but to take action as well. As individuals or as groups, they research a situation, develop a...
Curated OER
Design for Social Justice
Students create a solution to a social justice problem within their community. In this urban planning lesson, students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. Students then complete a research...
Teaching for Change
Selma in Pictures: Socratic Seminar
Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...
Anti-Defamation League
We Were Strangers Too: Learning About Refugees Through Art
Did you know that "in the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more the 64 million people have been forced from their homes"? The Anti-Defamation League presents an activity that asks class members to examine a series of artworks...
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a Homeless Person
Learners examine the day in the life of a homeless person. In this humanitarian lesson, learners examine the life of a homeless person while discovering the importance of social justice in our society.
Curated OER
Justice and Kindness Play a Part: King Day
Students recognize injustice in the world. In this social justice lesson, students discuss the responsibility they have to be advocates for justice and kindness and identify a time when they felt they were treated unfairly.
Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust
That’s Not Fair!
As part of a series of critical thinking exercises, kids consider issues of social justice, especially the factors that must be considered when trying to balance conflicting rights and freedoms.
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Ghost Boys: Educator Guide
The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...
Curated OER
The Media and Social Justice in the United States
Students investigate why the hip hop is sometimes called the CNN of black youth. They explore the political themes in American hip hop. Students examine the connection between art, media and social justice in hip hop.
Curated OER
The Power of Words: Social Justice Words
Students role-play the position of a presidential candidate. They create their platform to include social justice programs and present it to the class. They answer questions to end the lesson.
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the...
Anti-Defamation League
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...
Judicial Branch of California
Where We Fit In: The Judicial Branch
An interesting resource addresses the role of youth in civic participation and community events. It also explains the role of the justice system in creating boundaries and how citizens play a part in the judicial process. Pupils...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930's
Eleventh graders explore the various roles that Eleanor Roosevelt took on. In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze the views that Eleanor Roosevelt held as an advocate for social justice. High schoolers evaluate her contributions...
Museum of Tolerance
Creating an Ideal World
To conclude a study of social justice and tolerance designed to prepare classes for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, class members brainstorm a safe and peaceful world. They then write about their own vision of this world.
Curated OER
Bias and Crime in Media
Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...
Museum of Tolerance
Can It Happen in America?: Taking Social Action
Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...