Curated OER
Perspectives on Civil Rights
Students examine speeches of the Civil Rights Era. For this American history lesson, students listen to speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Students respond to guiding questions as they listen to the...
Curated OER
Laws of Civil Rights
Young scholars investigate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In this segregation lesson, students explore the rights that were guaranteed by the legislation as well as attempts by southerners to stop African Americans from voting. Young...
Curated OER
Envisioning Equality
Learners research the contributions of Civil Rights leaders. For this human justice lesson, students research selected websites about the accomplishments of leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. Learners use their...
Curated OER
Freedom Summer
Students brainstorm and discuss what the concept of "fairness" is and how to identify examples of "fairness." They pull from historical fiction and the Civil Rights Movement to explain how individual are affected by, cope with, and...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Students dramatize incident that started the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s: Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
Curated OER
Civil Rights Leaders; Past and Present
Students explore the concept of social justice. For this Civil Rights lesson, students fulfill the Rubric for Historical Research requirements as they conduct research on a Civil Rights or Anti-Apartheid Movements leader.
Curated OER
Project Based Lesson - Civil Rights
Students explore the Civil Rights movement. They investigate the changes in legislative, social, and civil arenas concerning the matters of race, sex, and political pacifism. In groups, students gather information concerning the...
Curated OER
Get up, Stand up. Stand up for your Civil Rights.
Fourth graders study civil rights leaders. For this Civil Rights lesson, 4th graders investigate what it means to stand up for something you believe in after reading about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Obama. Students create a...
Curated OER
Understanding JFK's Presidency through his Speeches
Students reflect and discuss the major events that happened in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. In this U.S. History lesson, students read and analyze the famous speeches during this time frame, then complete a worksheet...
Teaching for Change
Stepping into Selma
The 1964 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches are the focus of a lesson plan designed to introduce learners to people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement. Class members set into the role of one of the participants,...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: What Is Nonviolence? What Does It Cost?
Your young learners will delve into the language of primary source documents in order to identify the characteristics, benefits, and costs of nonviolence. The lesson includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...
K20 LEARN
Power to the People
Black berets, black leather jackets, raised black fists, chants of "Power to the People!" These are the images that many associate with the Black Panther Party. Often forgotten are the programs the party created during the Civil Rights...
Teaching for Change
A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act
How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...
Albert Shanker Institute
Who Was Bayard Rustin?
Who was Bayard Rustin? Pupils analyze a series of primary source documents to learn about this important figure in the civil rights movement. The lesson contains a short film to watch along with guiding questions and other resources...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Confronting Unjust Practices
A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...
University of North Carolina
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
After reading the article "Kings Dream Everyday," class members conduct a Socratic seminar discussion of Martin Luther King's contributions to the civil rights movement. They then read and respond to a passage from Michael Eric Dyson's...
National Park Service
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation
Travel back in time to examine how tragic events can spur positive change. Scholars explore the impact of the Selma Voting Rights March, including the tragic loss of life and the later signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Academics...
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Protesting Violence without Violence
The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A lesson compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" and prompts...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Exploring Character Development in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
How did the Civil Rights Movement affect young people in the United States? Scholars read Christopher Paul Curtis' novel, The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. Next, they write compare and contrast essays showing how the main...
Curated OER
Researching Equality and Justice
Choosing from a list, researchers investigate topics that range from the women in the American Civil Rights movement to the quest for equal rights in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the plan is not detailed, a link to a PBS site that...
Curated OER
We Are The Freedom Riders
Students consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights lesson, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several weblinks, worksheets,...
Curated OER
A New Twist on Race Relations
Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, learners use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Movement Cut-and-Paste Timeline
Students put into order the sequence of events that brought about voting rights and equal rights for African Americans. The creative project can be made very crafty by having students cut out the timeline to be combined with others in a...
Stanford University
Observing Human Rights Day
How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...