DocsTeach
Civil Rights or Freedom? When Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement Clashed
When Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand against the Vietnam War, interests collided. With a letter from Jackie Robinson to Lyndon B. Johnson, the baseball legend urges the president to remain firm in his resolve for civil rights. Young...
PBS
Making Change: Revolutionary Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...
Curated OER
African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era
Events related to the Civil Rights Movement in Sacramento, California during the 1960s offer class members an opportunity to compare the nonviolent resistance approach favored by Dr. Martin Luther King and the NAACP with those of the...
DocsTeach
From Dred Scott to the Civil Rights Act of 1875: Eighteen Years of Change
What do a photo of Abraham Lincoln, a map for the Battle of Antietam, and the Dred Scott decision all have in common? Learners consider the broader question as they examine documents related to civil rights during the Civil War and...
Newseum
Civil Rights: Chronicling the Movement
Scholars investigate events in the civil rights era in their community and develop a multimedia presentation of their findings. They compare local events with national events discussed on a NewseumED timeline.
US House of Representatives
Hispanic-American Members of Congress in the Civil Rights Era, 1945–1977
Debates around immigration in the news are not new, but they are a defining feature of the Hispanic American experience throughout the twentieth century. Looking through the lens of Hispanic Americans in Congress, class members explore...
Curated OER
Ordinary People, Ordinary Places: The Civil Rights Movement
Pupils investigate the message of Martin Luther King Jr. and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. They explore various websites, conduct Internet research, and develop a presentation that analyzes an event and place of the Civil Rights Movement.
Curated OER
Historical Locations of The Civil Rights Movement
A geographic perspective helps historians learn about significant eras such as the civil rights movement. Through research and source analysis, learners create a report depicting a significant location of this time. They synthesize their...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Women of the Movement: Civil Rights Movement in Alabama
Many know of Rosa Parks involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, but who were other female leaders? The instructional activity focuses on female Civil Rights leaders and their achievements. Scholars complete research, participate in...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Choosing to Participate Posters
"A poster exhibit to encourage dialogue, engagement, respect, and participation in our communities..." This is a set of attractive posters that reference influential historical figures, such as George Washington and Albert Einstein, and...
Curated OER
Keep Your Eye On the Prize
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Curated OER
US Civil Rights Movement: Beginnings through the 60s
A real find for a U.S. History teacher, this presentation could supplement many class sessions about the Civil Rights Movement. Pictures of events, major figures, and "Whites Only" signs are striking and effective for even your most...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Video Essay
Students research an event or a person from a decade in American history when the civil rights movement was an important focus. They create a multimedia project based on the research.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Lives Before the Civil War
Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...
Soft Schools
Civil Rights
Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score,...
US National Archives
Documented Rights Educational Lesson Plan
How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for The Lions of Little Rock
Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...
Curated OER
The Civil Rights Movement
Learners analyze the tensions that existed in American society during the Civil Rights Era as well as the problems that children experienced. They evaluate editorial cartoons dealing with the American Civil Rights movement to view the...
Curated OER
People behind the Civil Rights Movement
Students identify the people actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In this United States History lesson, students watch the video "Eyes on the Prize" then participate in a class discussion about the video. Students also...
Curated OER
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Most Meaningful Way
Lead your class on a journey into the Deep South so that they understand the true meaning of what inspired this holiday.
Curated OER
Understanding the Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Students examine protest music and songs from the Civil Rights movement. For this music of the Civil Rights era lesson, students listen to selected music before working in groups to determine who the music was directed at, what social...
Curated OER
Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968
Students experience the aesthetics of music and learn about freedom songs that motivated the Civil Rights activists. In this music history lesson, students learn how music can motivate and move listeners. Students then describe how...