Lesson Plan
PBS

African American History: Lunch Counter Closed

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies the Civil Rights Movement used to end segregation in the United States. After watching an video interview with Carl Matthews and Bill Stevens who participated...
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

Social Studies: Civil Rights Continues Today

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students consider segregation issues in the United States today. In this American Civil Rights Movement instructional activity, students determine how much has changed in the United States since the beginning of the movement. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Debating the Issues: Ralph Bunche and Civil Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Voices of the Struggle: The Continual Struggle for Equality

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural Impact of Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students examine the Jim Crow laws and how they impacted the lives of both African Americans and white Americans. They discuss the Civil Rights Movement and how their lives may have been different had it not occurred. Groups...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparative Study of the Civil Rights Movement & the Grassroots Hip Hop Movement

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students identify, research, and discuss similarities between the Civil Rights Movement and the grassroots hip hop movement in America.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep on Pushing: Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore music that exemplified the Civil Rights Movement. In this music and history lesson, students research 1960's protest songs, Motown recorded music, and rap of the 1990's to consider the power of music and its reflection...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Chapter 23 – The Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 12th
In this U.S. history activity, students read assigned textbook pages on the Civil Rights Movement and respond to 48 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Services

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate important themes, figures, and events of the Civil Rights Movement. They create a class mural that demonstrates their understanding of the continuing impact of the movement on American society.
Unit Plan
Washington University in St. Louis

Teaching Jazz as American Culture

For Students 6th - 12th
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
Lesson Plan
1
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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
Curated OER

New Voices for African Americans

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders study Malcolm X and black power. In this African American lesson, 11th graders write a journal entry about black power and create a timeline of the events during the civil right movement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Leader

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate and read about the life and contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. They listen to a biography and take notes, complete a pictorial story, and complete a writing assignment in response to questions about civil...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...
Lesson Plan
1
1
K20 LEARN

Analyzing The "I Have A Dream" Speech

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The famous words of Martin Luther King still resonate with scholars today. An enlightening lesson helps pupils examine the "I Have a Dream" speech in more depth and learn what impact it had on the civil rights movement. Young historians...
Interactive
DocsTeach

The Path of Justice: Selma and the Voting Rights Act

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The civil rights movement: An ongoing battle for change. The activity focuses on President Johnson's speech in response to the massacre at the Selma March. Academics study the speech, complete a hands-on-activity, and discuss President...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Fannie Lou Hamer and Voting Rights

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
To understand the challenges Black voters faced in Mississippi, middle schoolers first gather background information about Fannie Lou Hamer and then read her testimony given during the 1964 Democratic Nation Convention. After a...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

How Would You Feel? The Bravery of Civil Disobedience

For Teachers 6th - 8th
As part of their study of the US Civil Rights Movement and the Montgomery bus boycott, class members read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Integrated Bus Suggestions." They then craft a short story about the first week of Montgomery...
Lesson Plan
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ghost Boys: Educator Guide

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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,...
PPT
Curated OER

Life and Times: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
The life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. are outlined in this simple-yet-informative presentation. This is an image-rich slide show depicting scenes from his personal and public life. A great resource to use with a unit on the civil...
Interactive
Curated OER

The Civil Rights Era (1865–1970)

For Students 7th - 12th
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about the American Civil Rights Movement. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Journey to Civil Rights

For Teachers K - 1st
Students explore Civil Rights. In this Civil Rights lesson plan, students read about Ruby Bridges and define the words segregation and supremacy. Students make a timeline of important events in Civil Rights and write a paragraph about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Civil Rights Gets Stronger

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students investigate segregation in the United States. For this American Civil Rights lesson, students read Oh Freedom and discuss the implications of segregation. Students then view images from the time period and take notes...