Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Japanese American Internment During World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
World War II turned nations against each other and neighbors into enemies. An eye-opening lesson explores the dark past of Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Scholars learn of the fear and distrust toward Asian Americans...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as Visual Text

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...
Lesson Plan
Judicial Branch of California

Separate But Equal - Is It Black or White?

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
The story of Ruby Bridges and the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education are fantastic tools for discussing the concept of separate but equal. Kids tackle some big questions about what is fair, what is civil, and what rights or laws...
Lesson Plan
2
2
National Endowment for the Humanities

Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Freedom on the Menu

For Teachers K - 4th
Students apply specific reading strategies to answer questions about the selection Freedom on the Menu. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students read a selection called Freedom on the Menu and use specific reading strategies...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Book: The Original United States of America

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students, after reading Chapter One in the book, "The American Colonies' Sense of Who They Were," analyze the actions of the colonists as well as compare the similarities between the protests of the colonists and protests of today. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Integration and the "Barrier Breakers": Black Baseball 1945-1960

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore integration of Major League Baseball, identify important individual baseball players who played key roles in integration, and analyze historical information through charts, graphs, and statistics.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Was Reconstruction a Revolution?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Reconstruction lesson, students research details pertaining to Congress's role in Reconstruction. Students use the provided worksheets to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King Jr.: Day 6

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this research skills lesson plan, students read Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. Students then research...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Marketing a Bad Idea: Why So Many People Joined the Klan in the 1920s

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
How did the Klu Klux Klan manage to gain so many members during the 1920s? Class members examine Klan documents and promotional materials to gain an understanding of the propaganda techniques used to attract members.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: Novel Guides

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners create a timeline listing major historical events of the years 1860-1960. They discuss concepts central to the novel, such as freedom, self-respect, courage, and responsibility.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stitching Truth Lesson Two: The Arpilleristas in Pinochet's Chile

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze arpilleras. In this Chilean history instructional activity, students examine social justice issues as they read and interpret arpilleras. Students study the tapestries to learn about Augusto Pinochet and his human rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan on Poverty

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students should walk away from this activity with a greater understanding of poverty in America and the world and the impact it has on students around them. While students have a right to life a good life and be free from harmful and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Reconstruction Period

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use documents and other resources to evaluate the success or failure of the Reconstruction for giving rights to African Americans. The documents are primary resources with questions included for students to complete.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan on Refugees

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore the issue of "human rights" and discuss world events/situations in which human rights are in question. They determine their own needs and wants and simulate the experience of being a refugee having to leave their home. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lessons of Emmett Till

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students participate in a WebQuest designed to take them on a journey into the darkness that is race predjudice and the often-violent means in which it is manifested. They investigate the murder of a 14-year-old Chicago boy visiting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nonviolent Protest Around the World

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders complete research that exposes them to examples of nonviolent protest throughout the modern world. In this nonviolent protest research lesson, 12th graders discover information about signification nonviolent movements...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan on HIV/AIDS

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine where, why, how and in what conditions HIV/AIDS exists. They examine the deadly impact this virus has had on the world and look at how to prevent the spread at home. The students also develop a greater awareness of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children at War

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine human rights by taking a closer look at children in combat. In this human rights lesson, students discuss the reasons that children have been used to fight wars throughout history and today. Students analyze the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Taking Action

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students create a human rights project based on their lesson with Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this human rights lesson, students participate in a humanitarian gesture as volunteers by creating a human rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson on Education for Global Peace

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this human rights instructional activity, 5th graders create their own country, country flag, and charter of rights and freedoms after they have studied the Canadian...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ceremony

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students complete multiple lessons to identify the human rights and social justice for Native Americans. In this human rights lesson, students complete fifty one days of activities to a lesson titled "Ceremony" about the Native...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Governance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in talking circles. In this self-governance lesson, students examine human rights from the perspective of Native Americans. Students must set up a self-government model for the reserve described.