Scholars examine the courageous efforts made by civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Discussion questions and a brief writing assignment follows a short film. A photograph and a silent film delve deeper into Park's history and three...

Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...

Young scholars analyze primary source documents and images to determine how African American soldiers were denied their civil rights during World War I.

Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...

Can your pupils identify these five important civil rights figures? Given five short descriptions, learners must match each person to his or her civil rights achievements. 

Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, and Fannie Lour Hammer are three African American activists who stood up for change. Though living in different time periods, all three women sought justice and equality. Class members examine primary source...

Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score,...

An interactive map equipped with images, text, and clickable links takes history buffs on a journey through the Civil Rights trail. Scholars discovery locations including Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson, and Mississippi as part of an...

The bravery of African American troops on the frontlines directly impacted the lives of the newly freed enslaved people. Using documents, including letters from African American troops and an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation,...

Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson plan, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil...

Celebrate Black History Month getting to know more about Lewis Latimer. Here, scholars read about his life and success, then apply their new-found knowledge by responding to questions about the text with short answers. 

Introduce your class to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his many accomplishments through a one-page biography. Class members read the text and respond to three questions included at the end. 

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's life and message is just as important today as it was in his lifetime. Introduce elementary learners to the movement for civil rights with a timeline of Dr. King's life, as well as...

It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...

It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...

The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...

Students read an informational text passage on Thurgood Marshall and his contribution to African Americans' rights, and then answer questions based on what they read.

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries. Both were gifted orators, both were preachers, both were leaders during the Civil Rights era, both were assassinated. But the two had very different views on violence and...

How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

Young geographers follow Dr. Martin Luther King's journey during the civil rights movement by identifying major events on a map of the eastern United States, such as his birth in Atlanta, Georgia and his famous...

The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...

The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of...

Learners complete a six-page coloring book featuring Major League Baseball's first African American player, Jackie Robinson. To bring the pages to life, scholars follow directions adding color and pictures where directed.