Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Breaking Barriers

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dr. King and the Movement

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students complete activities about Dr. Martin Luther King's Civil Rights movements. In this Civil Rights lesson, students read a quote from Dr. King and discuss several questions about the topic and may use them as writing prompts.
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X: A Common Solution?

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Much has been made of the differences between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. But was there any common ground between them? Class members reconsider what they think they know about these two civil rights leaders with...
Lesson Plan
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Defining US

Integration of Education and American Society

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Lesson Plan: Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson unit prompts class...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights Memorial

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss the Civil Rights Movement and the key events that ended segregation in the United States.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Jim Crow Laws and Civil Rights

For Students 8th - 12th
In this 20th century U.S. history worksheet, students read articles about Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement. Students then respond to 12 short answer questions about the article.
Lesson Plan
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Center for Civic Education

The Power of Nonviolence: What Is Nonviolence? What Does It Cost?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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 plan includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights Movement Cut-and-Paste Timeline

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Pupils 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...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Observing Human Rights Day

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Separate Is Not Equal

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Based on discussion, analysis of primary source documents, and with the help of a graphic organizer, young historians discover the steps that were taken to eliminate segregation in public schools in the United States. This lesson from...
Worksheet
Curated OER

African-American Civil Rights in the U.S.

For Students 9th - 12th
In this African American history activity, high schoolers respond to 39 identification questions that require them to define or list the significance behind 39 events and people associated with the American Civil Rights Movement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Right to Remain Resilient

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Civil Rights Movements in the U.S., both current and historic. In small groups students investigate a specific civil rights group, create an illustrated timeline, noting key events, people, and state and federal laws.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Melba Pattillo and Ruby Bridges: Two Heroes of School Integration

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Learners put themselves in the shoes of students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1957-58. Note: The primary resources in this activity provide powerful and poignant descriptions of what those students faced.
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

10 Ideas for Teaching Black History Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Colored Troops

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the role that African American soldiers had in the Civil War and the impact they had on the US Civil Rights movement after the war. They complete a timeline, read an excerpt and analyze a primary image.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marriage Equality: Different Strategies for Attaining Equal Rights

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine gays rights issues in the United States. In this gay marriage lesson, students investigate how people have made their cases before the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government to secure their...
Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Dismantling Racial Caste

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's time to end racism. The final installment of the series encourages scholars to consider what is needed to ended the racial caste system in the U.S. Young historians complete group discussion, written prompt, and a hands-on-activity...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Anti-Defamation League

The Road to Brown

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of the study of segregation in U.S. schools, scholars research and create a timeline of events that led to the historic Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education. Groups research a topic or event that led to the decision,...
Lesson Plan
1
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Anti-Defamation League

The Problem We Still Live With?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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, scholars discuss the painting, review key elements of the Supreme...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Langston Hughes Was a Dreamer Too

For Teachers K - 12th
Encourage your pupils to imagine their own dreams for the future. After studying three poems by Langston Hughes and listening to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, young poets craft their own dream stanza. 
Lesson Plan
PBS

The March on Washington and Its Impact

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
High schoolers read Martin Luther King, Jr's speech that he gave in Washington. They identify the social conditions that led to the civil rights movement. They discuss the significance of the March on Washington.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who’s Got Rights? An Introduction to Human Rights and Human Rights Defenders

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore human rights issues. For this social justice lesson, students examine human rights as they read segments of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights," discuss photographs with human rights implications, and play a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the Struggle for Equality and Justice for All

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students focus on the struggle for minorities rights. They describe the civil rights movement of the late 1950's and the 1960's. They trace the roots of the movement in the second-class treatment accorded many black Americans and...