Center for Civic Education
Women's History Month Word Clouds
What a great idea for celebrating Women's History Month and discovering the amazing efforts that individuals have put forth on behalf of women's rights! Learners take a closer look at the speeches and other primary source documents of...
Curated OER
Right on Time!
Students read portions of biographies about human rights activists before participating in a jigsaw activity in which they report out on what they read. They made a timeline of one of the human rights activist's lives. They write a...
Curated OER
Envisioning Equality
Middle schoolers research the contributions of Civil Rights leaders. In this human justice lesson, students research selected websites about the accomplishments of leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. Middle...
Curated OER
Social Activism in the United States
Seventh graders explore the goals of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In this US History lesson, 7th graders read a newspaper article that reported a significant event during this era. Students write a...
Curated OER
We Are The Freedom Riders
Students consider the role of the Freedom Riders. In this American Civil Rights instructional activity, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding the participants in the Freedom Ride protest. Several...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Inaugural Address
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address,...
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
Dr. Martin Luther King's Visit to Seattle
How was the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. viewed by others during the 1960s? After watching an oral history video, your class members will learn more about Dr. King's ability to personally connect with others, as well as...
Teaching for Change
History Detectives: Voting Rights in Mississippi, 1964
Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a lesson plan that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting rights...
National Woman's History Museum
African American Activists
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...
Curated OER
The Kennedy Administration and the Civil Rights Movement
Students evaluate the Kennedy Administration's involvement in the civil rights movement. In this Civil rights lesson, students read and take notes from speeches connected to the historic March on Washington from the National Archives in...
Curated OER
The Civil Rights Movement
Students learn about the civil rights movement and create a timeline to understand events in chronological order. In this history lesson, students work in groups to choose one activist from the Civil Right era to research. Students then...
Curated OER
African Artist El Anatsui as a Reflection of African Culture: Human Rights Issues and Activism Through Art
Students explore global issues through visual art analysis. For this African art lesson, students examine works by El Anatsui and discussing their human rights themes. Students then design lesson plans based on their findings.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Fighting for a Cause Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology highlights the essential contributions of activists Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez. Scholars listen to stories,...
Curated OER
Activists for Human Rights
Students research prominent human rights activists from U.S. history. They report the biographical facts of their subject along with information on the causes he or she represented. Students also examine local human rights issues and...
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,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Choosing to Remember
Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and civil rights activist, believed that her son's murder was the last straw before public outrage over racial injustice spilled over into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. A history...
Curated OER
Montgomery Bus Boycott & Rosa Parks Day 5
Learners study the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For this American Civil Rights lesson, students listen to a lecture about segregation, Rosa Parks, and the bus boycott. Learners discuss passive resistance and its effectiveness.
University of Arkansas
Individuals Making a Difference
The focus of this, the third in a five-activity unit study of human rights, is on individuals who made a difference. Billy Bowlegs, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michi Weglyn, and Yuri Koshiyama are some of the people class members...
Curated OER
How Would the World be Different?
Students examine the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this civil rights lesson, students imagine the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement had King never been born. Students compose essays that feature King's roles in the movement.
Curated OER
Dr. King and the Movement
Students complete activities about Dr. Martin Luther King's Civil Rights movements. In this Civil Rights lesson, students read a quote from Dr. King and discuss several questions about the topic and may use them as writing prompts.
National Woman's History Museum
The Power of Words and Activism: Susan B. Anthony
Where have all the activists gone? Class members compare 21st-century activism with the suffrage movement and the work of Susan B. Anthony. They begin by examining Anthony's biography and speeches to find evidence that her words and...
Curated OER
Active Citizenship: The Civil Rights Work of Bob Moses
Students discuss and describe the impact of Bob Moses as an activist, compare and contrast the work of Bob Moses in the 1960's and today and develop an action plan regarding an issue they feel strongly about.
Curated OER
Mary Eliza Church Terrell -- Civil Rights Leader
Young scholars examine writings of Mary Eliza Church Terrell. They role play themselves as an African American woman in the 19th century. They describe her actions and how they benefited minorities.
Curated OER
Speaking Out Against War
Students discuss the affect the Iraq War has had on citizens taking advantage of their right to express themselves through non-violent protests and pledges of resistance. They research and discuss local community and school events and...