New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2014
The 1960s marked a pivotal point for social and foreign policy in the United States. Using documents, such as speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, and authentic test prompts, class members consider the impact of this...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: January 2013
While the 1950s seemed to be a time of peace and prosperity, Sputnik, the Korean War, and the Montgomery bus boycott were symptoms of the turmoil that loomed under the surface. Using documents, class members investigate what these events...
Curated OER
Rosa Louis Parks
Pupils describe Rosa Parks' contributions and how they affect us today, and identify important events occurring at this time in history.
Curated OER
Why Can't I Vote?
Fourth graders take an unannounced test (failure is expected) and the top scores are rewarded with candy bars. They compare this test to the literacy tests given before 1960 and votes to candybars. They journal their responses.
Curated OER
"I Have a Dream"
Students examine the role Martin Luther King Jr. played in America's history and what life was like in the 1960's. They watch and discuss an online video about the childhood of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the holiday enacted in his...
Curated OER
In King's Words
Young scholars analyze writings of Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. They read and discuss an article, and in pairs, research and analyze a written work or speech by Dr. King, create a mixed media collage to represent the text, and write an...
Curated OER
Children's March Teacher's Guide, Activity 6
Students explore the role of gender in the Civil Rights Movement. In this Children's March lesson, students watch "Mighty Time: The Children's March" and respond to the provided discussion questions that accompany it. Students create...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Suppressing the Vote
Voting rights have expanded over time, but some voters are still being suppressed. A thought-provoking resource explores the history of voter suppression in the US and efforts to remove roadblocks to voting. Young historians learn about...
Curated OER
Making More Places at the Table
Fifth graders explore the use of primary and secondary source documents. They identify primary and secondary sources. Students investigate individuals that made a difference during the American Civil Rights Movement through the use of...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks
Facts and transcripts of Rosa Parks are transcribed in this 9-slide PowerPoint. The slides include a brief biography, history of racism, which lead into Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat. What follows are slides about her feelings...
Curated OER
Youth Participation in Nonviolence
Students explore the use of nonviolent resistance. For this social justice lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as the Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Curated OER
Lesson: Emory Douglas: Art and Activism
Visual literacy can be experienced in many different ways. Learners discuss the times, graphic art, and cultural significance of activism in art as they explore artist and Black Panther, Emory Douglas. This is a discussion-based lesson...
Curated OER
How Music Motivates
Students form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. In this Civil Rights movement activity, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in freedom songs...
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad as an Act of Civil Disobedience
Students 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 lesson. The whole writing process...
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third lesson plan in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to...
US House of Representatives
Permanent Interests: The Expansion, Organization, and Rising Influence of African Americans in Congress, 1971–2007
The fourth installment of the seven-lesson unit focused on African Americans elected to and serving in the US Congress looks at the period from 1971 through 2007. Class members read a contextual essay that provides background information...
Curated OER
Segregation in Prince Edward County
Eleventh graders examine the history of integration as it applied to Virginia high school in Prince Edward County. They evaluate a map of Virginia counties, read and analyze a first person narrative of a young girl involved in a boycott...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Inaugural Address
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...
Curated OER
Go Animate the 20th Century!
Young scholars 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...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks
Second graders discover who Rosa Parks was and the significance of her role in Black History. Students place events in Rosa Park's life in chronological order.
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...
Smithsonian Institution
Separate is Not Equal: Fight for Desegregation
Separate is not equal! An eye-opening lesson delves into the past to understand the fight for desegregation and how it impacted African American communities. Academics complete two one-hour lessons using documents, photographs, and...
Smithsonian Institution
Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
Curated OER
Change: Just a Matter of Time
Young scholars 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...