Curated OER
Desegregating the Kentucky Public School System
Students watch a video which chronicles the struggle to desegregate Kentucky's schools. They write a paper on a given aspect of what they saw in the video.
State Bar of Texas
Sweatt v. Painter
Is separate but equal actually equal? The 1950 Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter discusses the law of segregation and inequality. Scholars investigate the impact of the case on the desegregation of public schools across the nation...
EngageNY
Launching the Text: Building Background Knowledge of the Jim Crow South
Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....
EngageNY
Studying Author’s Craft: Carlotta’s Journey
The longest journey begins with a single step. Scholars analyze the details of Carlotta Walls LaNier's journey through the desegregation of schools in the United States. They continue reading the author's memoir, A Mighty Long Way and...
Anti-Defamation League
The Problem We Still Live With?
Norman Rockwell's painting "The Problem We Still Live With" launches a unit study of racism in the United States and segregation in U.S. schools. In the first lesson plan, scholars discuss the painting, review key elements of the Supreme...
Anti-Defamation League
Sixty Years Later
Has any progress been made in desegregating schools since 1954's Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education? To find out, class members examine charts and graphs representing U.S. schools' racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic...
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades K-2
A civil rights movement lesson designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school....
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades 3-5
Through character trait graphic organizers, a vocabulary sorting activity, class discussion, and a civil rights movement slide show, your young historians will be introduced to the amazing story of Ruby Bridges and her experiences as the...
Teaching Tolerance
Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Exposing Racism
Photographs capture a moment in time. And some of the best pictures demand that viewers not only ask questions about why the photo packs such an emotional wallop, but also about what happened before and after it was taken. A photograph...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a instructional activity that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of...
Anti-Defamation League
Building Alliances
Bystander or up-stander? The final lesson in the "Looking Back Reaching Forward" unit asks participants to consider how they can become involved in encouraging change in their school and community.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Civil Rights Continues Today
Students consider segregation issues in the United States today. For this American Civil Rights Movement lesson, students determine how much has changed in the United States since the beginning of the movement. Students research racial...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the way...
Stanford University
Ruby Bridges
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
Curated OER
Miracles of the Heart
Students watch a movie. In this cultures lesson, students read A World Without Black People and then discuss segregation. Students watch the video Partners of the Heart or Something the Lord Made and then reflect on the video in their...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Civil Rights Gets Stronger
Students investigate segregation in the United States. In this American Civil Rights instructional activity, students read Oh Freedom and discuss the implications of segregation. Students then view images from the time period and take...
Curated OER
Re-Examining Brown
Students explore and describe the impact of segregation on African Americans and other non-white minorities. In this segregation lesson students identify, research and report on the legal cases that led to the Brown vs. Board of...
Curated OER
Through My Eyes
Fifth graders read the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. In this segregation lesson, 5th graders read Ruby's story to find out what happened in her life. They write their own narrative about what 'first' they would most like to...
Curated OER
Integration of Education
High schoolers explore the history of Civil Rights and how the struggle for Civil Rights and the Second Reconstruction, transformed society and politics in the United States in the 1950s. Then they identify why American Schools are...
Curated OER
Them and Us
Young scholars consider social class issues in Great Britain. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites and participate in a classroom discussion regarding social justice issues and segregation of social classes in...
Curated OER
Laws of Civil Rights
Students 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. Students...
Curated OER
Riding the Bus - Taking a Stand
High schoolers identify the policy of segregation which existed in Alabama, define the legal idea of being "separate but equal," and define and describe an editorial.
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Eyes on the Prize "Awakenings"
Dive deeper into the Montgomery Bus Boycott with this multi-stage lesson, centered on the essential question: Why did the boycott last so long? Historians investigate the Jim Crow south through a video clip (not included), then analyze...
Curated OER
Race riots
Students encounter what is meant by a race riot. Students show what caused the Bradford riots. Students discuss what could help to prevent race riots in the future. Students design a survey to see if there is any tension building up...