Teaching for Change
Stepping into Selma
The 1964 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches are the focus of a lesson designed to introduce learners to people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement. Class members set into the role of one of the participants,...
Teaching for Change
A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act
How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...
DocsTeach
Analyzing Jackie Robinson's White House Letter
Jackie Robinson: A hero on and off the field. An eye-opening activity focuses on Jackie Robinson's social activism during and after the civil rights movement. Academics read a letter addressed to President Nixon, answer questions, and...
Curated OER
Understanding JFK's Presidency through his Speeches
Students reflect and discuss the major events that happened in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. In this U.S. History instructional activity, students read and analyze the famous speeches during this time frame, then...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: What Is Nonviolence? What Does It Cost?
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,...
DocsTeach
Confronting Work Place Discrimination on the World War II Home Front
Before the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, FDR's executive order helped promote fair employment. The activity uses primary documents to explore FDR's executive order to help minorities gain equal employment and pay during the...
PBS
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
National Park Service
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation
Travel back in time to examine how tragic events can spur positive change. Scholars explore the impact of the Selma Voting Rights March, including the tragic loss of life and the later signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Academics...
Albert Shanker Institute
Who Was Bayard Rustin?
Who was Bayard Rustin? Pupils analyze a series of primary source documents to learn about this important figure in the civil rights movement. The lesson contains a short film to watch along with guiding questions and other resources...
University of North Carolina
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.
After reading the article "Kings Dream Everyday," class members conduct a Socratic seminar discussion of Martin Luther King's contributions to the civil rights movement. They then read and respond to a passage from Michael Eric Dyson's...
Digital Public Library of America
The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...
Curated OER
A New Twist on Race Relations
Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, students use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...
Curated OER
America's Civil Rights Movement, Activity Two
Students investigate the human stories or the American Civil Rights Movement.
Curated OER
Civil Rights Movement Cut-and-Paste Timeline
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...
Stanford University
Observing Human Rights Day
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...
Curated OER
Juliette Hampton Morgan: Becoming an Ally
Student examine human rights issues. In this social justice lesson, students consider the story of Juliette Hampton Morgan who stood as ally to African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Students discuss methods of supporting...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks Changed the Rules
Students listen to a story about Rosa Parks and examine the bus seating rules of the 1950s. In this civil rights movement lesson, the teacher reads students a book about Rosa Parks, then students complete a worksheet with a diagram of...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King
Identify contributions that Martin Luther King, Jr. made to society through assigning a research project! Third and fourth graders write about how it felt to be discriminated against during the game. They describe something they can do...
Curated OER
American Indian Civil Rights
Students examine social justice issues regarding American Indians. In this civil rights instructional activity, students investigate the Red Power Movement of the 1960's and 1970's. Students then roleplay interviewing Native...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Letter to Congress About Bloody Sunday
The brutality of Bloody Sunday—when non-violent protesters who supported voting rights for African Americans were beaten by police—captured a nation. Young historians examine the letter of one horrified American to Congress to consider...
American Institute of Physics
African American Physicists in the 1960s
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Day
Students access a varitey of Martin Luther King, Jr. themed websites. They locate information about Dr. King and his leadership in the American civil rights movement. They take a virtual tour of his birth home and view photographic...
Curated OER
Melba Pattillo and Ruby Bridges: Two Heroes of School Integration
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.