Lesson Plan
Newseum

Making a Change: Letter From Birmingham Jail

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity," written by eight white ministers from Birmingham and published in the local newspaper. After reading both letters and following a list...
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

The Political Struggle, 1865-1866

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Healing versus justice. The central source of tension following the United States Civil War was between the demands for healing and the demands for justice, the battle between President Andrew Johnson and Congress. A video introduces the...
Lesson Plan
1
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Learning for Justice

The Color of Law: Developing the White Middle Class

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final lesson in the "Color of Law" series explores the government's discriminatory economic policies. Young scholars watch videos, read primary source materials, and examine images to gather information. They discuss how what they...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as a Work of Literature

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To appreciate the oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, scholars examine the rhetorical devices and influences that make the speech so famous. They examine background information, conduct a close reading of the...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

African American Activists

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adult Criminal Justice System

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the procedures and protections involved in processing an accused person through the criminal justice system. They view a Powerpoint presentation, conduct research, and write a paper describing a crime they have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crime and Justice

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students investigate what happens when someone is arrested. They engage in a mock trial role play about a burglary. They engage in the process of the Criminal Justice System from arrest to sentencing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Justice or Injustice?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers participate in a human rights discussion and define the concepts of justice and injustice. They research the concept justice in order to create a Wisdom Wall identifying human rights issues. Students also participate in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Justice Demands an End to Segregation, But it Does Not End

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students define human rights and describe how it applies to politics, economics and cultural rights. As a class, they watch a video how the Constitution was made and discuss its purpose. In groups, they present information to the class...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Criminal Justice

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students realize that clear values are a resource of behavior in clarifying needs and wants. They clarify feelings and wants and verbalize ways in which they give up freedom and control in their lives by relinquishing decisions to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Procedural Justice

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Young scholars analyze procedural justice by identifying unfair decisions by ruler in play, stating procedural guarantees that a Bill of Rights should include, and comparing their list of guarantees to those provided by the U.S....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art as Social Commentary

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars view artworks that make a statement about social conditions. They discuss the artworks, write about them and present their ideas to the class. They create socially conscious art pieces of their own.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore what the United States would be like today if the Bill of Rights had never been written.  For this exploring the constitution lesson, students research Supreme Court cases that were heard in the early years of the...
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Hands Up, Don't Shoot!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Why is it so difficult to develop a clear understanding of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer? To answer this question class members listen to a NPR discussion of the findings of...
Lesson Plan
1
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Smithsonian Institution

General George Washington, Military Leader

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Teach pupils the characteristics that make George Washington such an effective leader, especially in context of his time period. Scholars view artifacts, participate in group work, create lists, compare and contrast, and discuss as a...
Lesson Plan
BBC

Crime: Justice

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Are the juvenile courts fair? Learners read a bit from the classic Oliver Twist to consider how young people are treated and represented when they've been accused of a crime. They read a case study from their books, discuss children's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Supreme Court Decisions and Their Effect On Us

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Consider five Supreme Court cases and how their outcomes have directly affected the American population. Government students research and compose a 1-2 page pager outlining the examples of our daily life that have specifically been...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You and the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the U.S. Constitution and how is protects the rights and freedoms of American citizens. They run through various circumstances and decide whether a person's rights have been violated.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prisons and Their Functions

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars explore the history of prisons. They examine how Reformers and Progressives influenced the functions of today's prisons. Students analyze whether or not the function of prisons has changed over time.
Lesson Plan
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

A Deliberate, Palpable and Dangerous Exercise of Other Powers: James Madison & Homeland Security

For Teachers 6th - 12th
This resource uses primary source documents to explore the First Amendment. After reviewing key events of the 1790s, government or US history classes explore Madison's letter to Jefferson regarding the Alien and Sedition Acts. They then...
Lesson Plan
Hot Docs

Docs for School: Viewing and Teaching Guide

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Teaching documentary in your class? Inform your instruction with a guide meant to support teachers as they begin with documentary. The resource includes information on what a documentary is as well as documentary modes, elements, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Justice in America

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use the Preamble to the Constitution as the central resource, to consider the concept of justice in the United States, from past times to the present. Thoughtful questions are posed and helpful hand-outs provided.
Lesson Plan
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Just Health Action

Causes of the Causes: What Are the Root Causes of This Problem?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A "Causes of the Causes" diagram enables class members to examine the contributing factors to a problem. After reading a poem that models the process, class members, either in gorps or individually, diagram an issues they are passionate...
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....

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