Curated OER
Martin Luther King and Writing as a Tool for Social Change
Students explore writing as an agent for social change. In this Social Studies lesson, students examine the power of writing using Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Students will practice the technique of persuasive writing...
Curated OER
Bias and Crime in Media
Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Self-Portraits
What symbols represent you best? Individuals consider how they would draw peers using symbols about their identities with an interview and art activity. After conducting interviews and portraits, the art makes a great centerpiece for...
Free Library of Philadelphia
Resources for Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, wanted to bring the historical legacy of Emmett Till and the current topic of racial prejudice into today's young readers' mindsets. Use a reading guide and set of discussion questions to...
Teaching for Change
Selma in Pictures: Socratic Seminar
Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...
Global Oneness Project
Freedom to Change
Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the...
ConnectED
Crime Scene Investigation
How exactly does a crime scene investigation work? The resource, a unit on criminology, covers everything from the deductive reasoning skills needed for detectives to DNA fingerprinting, all the way to how to gather evidence and bring...
Curated OER
Garbage or Art?
The three R's are, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Third graders use recycled materials to design and create an environmentally themed piece of art. They discuss and examine major art works that were created using recycled materials, then...
NPR
The History of America’s Weed Laws
To understand the laws regarding marijuana use in the United States, you can go all the way back to the 1800's to learn about farming hemp, or you can go back to 2018 when California became the sixth state to legalize recreational...
Curated OER
Exploring the Life of Martin Luther King Jr.
A discussion of Martin Luther King Jr. can lead to an exploration of history, civil rights, and social justice.
Curated OER
Art and Literature: What's the Point?
Eleventh graders analyze the social/political purpose(s) of art and literature. They create written and visual texts that bring attention to a social/political concern. Presentation and discussion of art and literature in connection with...
Curated OER
Day in the Life of a Homeless Person
Students examine a day from the point of view of a homeless person. They listen to and discuss two stories, identify ways to help homeless people, watch a Reading Rainbow video, and write an essay.
Curated OER
With Liberty and Justice for All
High schoolers examine the role of Supreme Court justices. For this judicial branch lesson, students consider the civil rights and civil liberties as they investigate Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) and West Virginia State...
Curated OER
Social Movements in American Politics
Learners explore American social movements. In this writing skills lesson, students read Orwell's "Politics and the English." Learners then apply the rules for writing that are included in the piece. Students follow-up by completing a...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Puzzle Mural
Every piece of the puzzle is important. A lesson gives individuals the opportunity to create artwork that spreads a message of inclusion and tolerance. Class members work in teams to create pieces of the mural that form a larger picture....
Brown University
Considering the Role of Values in Public Policy
Strong opinions come from deeply held values. Young citizens explore the values that are most important to them in a class discussion and activity. As they prioritize a list of values cards that include freedom,...
US Institute of Peace
Organizations Working for Peace
We're all in this together! Show young scholars that peace is a process and having the support of like-minded people can make it happen. 13th in a series of 15 peace building activities, groups conduct research on a peace organization,...
Curated OER
The Truth About Human Rights
Students explore the concept of human rights. In this human rights lesson, students watch 2 videos regarding human rights violations around the world since 2001. Students explore several websites that feature human rights violations....
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
National Endowment for the Humanities
Scottsboro Boys and "To Kill a Mockingbird": Two Trials for the Common Core
Here's a must-have resource for anyone reading To Kill A Mockingbird or using Harper Lee's award-winning novel in a classroom. The packet contains Miss Hollace Ransdall's first-hand, factual account of the trials of the Scottsboro Boys,...
Teaching Tolerance
Poetry and Storytelling Café
Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Choosing Reliable Sources
It is more important than ever that 21st-century learners develop the skills they need to become savvy consumers of media. Young learners locate and identify reliable sources of information with a helpful media lesson.
Curated OER
Justice Demands an End to Segregation, But it Does Not End
Learners 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...
Curated OER
Friendship
Students investigate the concept of friendship as part of a four lessons unit which integrates literature with language arts, family life, social studies, or religious studies. Peace, cooperation, social justice, and multicultural...