PBS
The Sixties: Hitsville USA
James Jamerson. You probably heard him but may not have heard of him. But fans of Motown Records will certainly recognize his contributions to the sound that desegregated popular music during the 1960s. Challenge young history...
Stanford University
Beyond Vietnam
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 2: What Happened in July 1967? How Do We Know?
Even in a world in which dozens of participants and curious onlookers record every controversial event, the basic facts of what happened are often in dispute. Revolution '67, Lesson 2 explores 1967 Newark, New Jersey using an examination...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Participants examine two documents related to Rosa Parks and the bus boycott, sources that challenge some of the commonly held preconceptions about Rosa Parks. They then respond to discussion questions to reinforce...
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....
Curated OER
From Jim Crow To Linda Brown: A Retrospective of the African-American Experience from 1897 to 1953
Learners examine African American issue between the years 1897 and 1953. In this African American history lesson, students research the social, economic, and political conditions of African Americans during the aforementioned time span...
Curated OER
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...
Curated OER
Equality: Are Some More Equal than Others?
Students research a person who has been active in supporting human rights around the world. They simulate an international conference and write a newsletter focused on human rights in a specific country.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Dueling Telegrams: 1963 Verbal Power Play Between Wallace and JFK
Information, inferences, and innuendos. Text and subtext. Class members examine telegrams exchanged between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace, studying both what is stated and what is implied by the...
Curated OER
Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others' Differences
Learners of all ages talk about the meaning of the word "unique," and draw a truly unique person, one part at a time. They create a totally unique person, with a head drawn by one student, a torso drawn by another student, and lower body...
Curated OER
Go Animate the 20th Century!
Learners create animations to match their social studies. in this 20th century lesson, students work in groups to read and present to their classmates World War I, World War II, The Great Depression, The Space Race, or the Civil Rights...
Curated OER
Terrorist, Freedom Fighter, or Something in Between?
Students identify that history can characterize actions differently from how they were perceived when initially undertaken. Then they identify that terrorist groups exist within a political, cultural, and historical context, and students...
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad as an Act of Civil Disobedience
Young scholars write an essay from rough draft to final copy about the Underground Railroad. Civil disobedience is researched from a variety of sources. There is a prewriting exercise that is included in the activity. The whole writing...
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Anti-Defamation League
Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill: The Power of Symbols
How important are symbols and symbolic gestures in society? Middle schoolers have an opportunity to analyze the importance of symbols on American currency with a lesson that investigates the controversies surrounding redesigning the $5,...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Two Different African-American Visions: W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington
The strategies civil rights activists Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois proposed for blacks to achieve racial progress is the focus of an activity in which class groups identify the strategies as well as the benefits and drawbacks...
Center for History and New Media
Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...
Curated OER
The Power of Protest
Students 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
Change: Just a Matter of Time
Students analyze the Declaration of Independence and primary sources to explain civil rights. Then, students write a Declaration of Change to express the grievances of African Americans, and their desire to participate fully in the...
Curated OER
Court Documents Related to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Memphis Sanitation Workers
Students read about the civil rights movement in their textbooks. They engage in a whole-class discussion of how nonviolent direct action can be a powerful tool for bringing about social, economic, or political change.
Curated OER
Brother Outsider
Students view the film "Brother Outsider" and read an article by Bayard Rustin as springboards to discuss the concept of civil rights in the United States. They follow a discussion guide.
Curated OER
"I Have a Dream" Shown in Pictures
Students demonstrate their understanding of Dr. King's dreams by drawing a picture representing one of them. In this Dr. King activity activity, students read the speech "I Have a Dream" and discuss the vocabulary. Students select one of...
Curated OER
Big Words
Students discover philanthropy. In this philanthropic lesson plan, students read Martin's Big Words and explore voluntarily being nice to people. Students discover how they may perform acts of service for others. Extension activities are...
Curated OER
Women in the Civil War
Pupils study the Civil War era in the US with a concentration on women during this time through literature and biographies. They create a timeline or multimedia presentation as one product of this series of lessons.