Lesson Plan
Curated OER

GET UP, STAND UP: Fighting for Rights Around the World

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore basic human rights as they explore music by black artists. In this human rights lesson plan, students examine music as a cultural reflection of the justice issues. Students analyze Jamaican roots reggae of the 70s,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

That's So Raven: True Colors

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study the contributions of African Americans and place these figures on a timeline. They examine the Civil Rights Acts and how it came to be using a Disney Cable in the Classroom lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CRM and Political Issues

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the impact of the American Civil Rights Movement. For this 20th century American history lesson, 9th graders watch "A Time for Justice," and listen to a voting rights speech delivered by President Johnson. Students...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Songs of Protest: Seneca Falls to Vietnam

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed Standards
Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students identify and analyze the motivation behind the African-American students in organizing the sit-in if Greensboro and the formation of the SNCC. Students identify how the generational differences between members of SNCC and other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For this American Civil Rights Movement lesson, students determine whether or not they would have taken part in the boycott and write a 5 paragraph essay about the implications of...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Trouble in Little Rock: The Desegregation of Central High School

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers study one aspect of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States; the battle over desegregating the public schools. They study the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas by producing a newspaper,...
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
Texas State Historical Association

Tejanas and LULAC

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore the Latino Civil Rights Movement. In this civil rights lesson plan, 7th graders discover the role of the League of United Latin Citizens (LULAC) as well as the women's arm of the organization and write essays that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1968

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars experience the aesthetics of music and learn about freedom songs that motivated the Civil Rights activists. For this music history lesson, students learn how music can motivate and move listeners. Young scholars then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students discuss the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and affirmative action) and how it has influenced American history in the decades since it's signing.
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A two-part instructional activity focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights Movement in America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the Civil Rights movement as a culmination of history and cultural perspectives developed from the Slave Trade and Reconstruction. They identify leading persons and organizations and their personal philosophy to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Remembering Rosa

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research and profile figures in American civil rights such as Rosa Parks, from 1955-68, to create commemorative posters.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

THEMATIC ESSAY

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students Compare and contrast the beliefs and methodology of three leaders of the Civil Rights movement. Using specific examples, discuss how these leaders were either successful or unsuccessful in attaining their goals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dr. King's Dream

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., reflect on section of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, discuss inequities that still exist in the United States, and create picture books about their own dreams of freedom for...
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Black Scientific Renaissance of the 1970s-90s: African American Scientists at Bell Laboratories

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
A two-part lesson asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to total internal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Perspectives on Civil Rights

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine speeches of the Civil Rights Era. In this American history lesson, students listen to speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Students respond to guiding questions as they listen to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Laws of Civil Rights

For Teachers 8th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Art of Nonviolence: Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Concepts of Nonviolence in Indian Art

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students make connections between nonviolent ideals and art. In this visual arts lesson, students discuss the successes of the American Civil Rights Movement and discuss Gandhi's influence on the movement. Students then examine images of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Childhood Stories of Truth and Nonviolence

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore the childhood of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this nonviolent resistance lesson, 5th graders listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of King's early life and how that life contributed to his...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the impact of African American culture on the United States by inspecting Faith Ringgold's story quilts. Working in groups, they create a collective story quilt about current cultural issues. They research their...
Lesson Plan
Rancocas Valley Regional High School

Teaching American History for All

For Students 11th Standards
Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both work for equal rights, social change, and political empowerment, their approaches were radically different. To better understand these contrasts, class members compare King's "I...