PBS
Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson Living in Jim Crow America
Your class members may know that Jackie Robinson was the first African American man to play Major League Baseball, but they may not be aware of his efforts to achieve social justice. A clip from Ken Burns: The Jackie Robinson Collection...
University of Richmond
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America 1935-1940
Redlining—or the practice of racial discrimination in housing loans—directly led to today's segregated living patterns in America. Using data from the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, classmates visualize the impact of policy on...
Smithsonian Institution
Targeted at Home: Islamophobia
September 11th was a terrible tragedy with long-reaching consequences. Scholars learn about the Islamophobia that occurred to many Muslim Americans following the 9/11 attacks. The resource provides videos, articles, and interviews to...
National First Ladies' Library
The History of Jim Crow: Legal Racism in America
Students study the history and culture of Jim Crow, as well as the scope of Jim Crow laws across the United States. They consider the concepts of terror and triumph with respect to the history of Jim Crow, the recognition of evidence of...
Center for History Education
Understanding the Great Migration
What would make someone leave home and travel thousands of miles to find another one? Young historians look at letters, demographic data, and artwork to answer the question for the Great Migration, or the movement of thousands of African...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
The Power of Propaganda in Shaping Civic Actions and Understanding
Propaganda posters are powerful. Using images from The Art of War: American Poster Art 1941-1945 exhibit, young historians analyze the symbols, images, colors, and text used to rally support for World War II. Through seven activities,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Civil Rights Historical Investigations
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights. Groups...
Facing History and Ourselves
Hands Up, Don't Shoot!
Why is it so difficult to develop a clear understanding of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer? To answer this question class members listen to a NPR discussion of the findings of...
Curated OER
California's Golden History: 1848-1880
Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...
Curated OER
Using Picture Books to Celebrate Diversity
Help young learners develop social awareness and tolerance by integrating these books into your lessons.
Curated OER
Modern Minstrelsy: Exploring Racist Stereotypes in Literature and Life
Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...
Curated OER
Anti Racism Activity: The Sneetches
Students group together into fairness teams and reflect on how to be fair. In this fairness lesson plan, students read about The Sneetches and discuss how racism singles people out. Then they discuss their own experiences and group...
Curated OER
Kaffir Boy
Students explore the concepts of intolerance and racism in the autobiography Kaffir Boy written by Mark Mathabane. The lesson reveals the story's depiction of the terrible toll of apartheid on the lives of individuals.
Curated OER
Terrible Things
Students reflect on the Holocaust in two lessons. Using prior knowledge, they investigate and make decisions dealing with human behavior before beginning their studies on the Holocaust. After examining different aspects of the event,...
Curated OER
A New Generation of Fighters
Learners discuss the reasons why people are less likely to take a stand on issues today than they were in the past. In groups, they research the efforts of Kings, Parks and others to end discrimination and racism. They read excerpts of...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr.
First graders gather on the story rug to listen to a story about Martin Luther King, Jr. As they gather, the teacher gives a cookie to some of the students, but not all of them. They discuss the unfairness of the cookie situation and...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Genetics and the Master Race
How did the beginnings of genetic research influence the Nazi party? A thorough, engaging unit incorporates the work of Gregor Mendel, the study of inherited traits, and the use of racism and discrimination during the Holocaust.
University of Virginia
Analyzing Social Commentary in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn continues to be one of the most frequently banned books. The satire and social commentary present challenges when using the book as a core text. Direct readers' attention to how Twain uses plot,...
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,...
PBS
Setting in To Kill a Mockingbird
Can you understand more about how a person acts by learning about how that person lives? An interactive resource explores the setting of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with several slides discussing the location, social conditions,...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 3: Igbo Culture
What cultural concepts must readers understand in order to connect to Things Fall Apart? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe’s novel, class members research Nigeria and the Igbo culture to create a collaborative, web-based, annotated...
Curated OER
Rights-Minded
Students expand their knowledge and understanding about the civil rights movement by investigating the lives of some of the people who contributed to it.
Curated OER
Exploring Racism in America
Students compare racism today to racism that existed during the nineteenth century. As a field research project, students individually keep track of examples of racism, biases, and stereotypes illustrated throughout the US media over a...
Curated OER
Sectarianism racism
Students investigate the concept of sectarianism and racism within the context of becoming a citizen. They develop the understanding that this is not acceptable social behavior through classroom discussion that involves many examples to...