Boston University
South African Short Stories: Apartheid, Civil Rights, and You
How are short stories from South Africa connected to issues of civil rights in the United States? A unit plan uses South African short stories to discuss issues such as apartheid, colonization, and civil rights. Questions and activities...
Curated OER
Black Soldiers in the Civil War
High schoolers explain how a history of slavery distinguishes American society from other societies. They study posters and documents from different eras in our history which document the practice of slavery, and civil rights violations.
Curated OER
Civil Services
Students investigate important themes, figures, and events of the Civil Rights Movement. They create a class mural that demonstrates their understanding of the continuing impact of the movement on American society.
Curated OER
Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
Students complete a worksheet and study key vocabulary while researching the biography of Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Movement. They chose another Civil Rights leader to investigate and present to the rest of the class before...
Curated OER
Religion and the Civil Rights Movement
Students investigate the role of religion in the Civil Rights Movement. In this religion and ethics lesson plan, students explore the separation of church and state as they examine how religious faith has inspired social change in the...
Social Studies School Service
“Duck and Cover” (Civil Defense)
Bert the Turtle models for viewers the 1950s Civil Defense Duck and Cover strategy that was supposed to protect citizens from a nuclear blast. After viewing the video, watchers are asked to consider the motivations of the producers of...
Curated OER
Action Through Art
How can we make the world a better place? Help your class members become world citizens, active in philanthropy and the community around them. Use a comic book (included) to discuss the idea of philanthropy. Then, using the superhero...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
Personal Genetics Education Project
DNA, Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...
Curated OER
Heroes With Heart
Students study women and minority figures who have contribute to the common good of civil society. In this women and minority figure lesson, students listen to a recording of "Hero" by Mariah Carey. They work in small groups to research...
Curated OER
America's Civil Rights Movement
Eleventh graders explore, analyze and study the background to America's Civil Rights Movement through the court system, mass protest, public opinion, political cartoons and legislation. They research Rosa Parks, Brown vs. Board of...
Curated OER
The Civil War Comes to Kansas: The Battle of Mine Creek
Seventh graders explore the impact of Price's Raid and the Battle of Mine Creek. In this American Civil War lesson, 7th graders examine a list of events based on the war in Kansas and then put them in chronological order. Students also...
Curated OER
Black Kentuckians and the Civil War
Students demonstrate how the American Civil War affected black Kentuckians socially and politically. They identify and discuss the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forced the end of slavery in Kentucky months after the...
Curated OER
Analyzing Civil War Pictorial Envelopes
Students explore the power of political messages contained in visual artifacts and examine the political messages conveyed by the illustrations that appeared on personal stationery used during the Civil War. They create and describe a...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Movement
Students identify and acquire an understanding of what the Civil Rights Movement consisted of, the issues that sparked the Movement, the people who participated and the events that occurred during the Movement. They also identify how to...
Curated OER
Civil Rights through Photographs
Students examine why racial tensions continued after laws were put into place to try and create equal treatment. In this two part Civil Rights lesson, students explored the causes of the movement through photography and a PowerPoint...
Curated OER
Civil Rights
Twelfth graders survey how controversial court cases have changed the viewpoints of civil rights. For this U.S. Government lesson, 12th graders work in small groups to prepare summaries of specific court cases, then present their...
Curated OER
Debating the Issues: Ralph Bunche and Civil Rights
Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...
Curated OER
Meeting Needs Four Ways: The Drive (6th)
Learners study the U.S. economic sectors and their philanthropic role in communities. In this civil society lesson, students brainstorm and classify businesses in their community. Learners discuss the for-profit, nonprofit, government...
Curated OER
Children's Organization for Civil Rights
Pupils analyze a speech from Constance Baker Motley, examine student Organization for Civil Rights' documents, and then create their own plan of action for what the C.O.C.R. might be like if it existed today.
Curated OER
Civil War Diaries
Fifth graders examine excerpts from a diary of a Confederate soldier and his experiences in a Union prison camp. After receiving character cards, they write diary entries from the perspectives of their Civil War identity. As an...
Center for History and New Media
Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s–1930s
What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...
Curated OER
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Use the historical account of Claudette Colvin to study civil rights and connect past injustices to modern issues. As learners read, they examine chapter titles, record quotes, and participate in discussion. Next, they research active...
Curated OER
Decision Making: Who Was Right?
Help your class explore the question "Is it ever right to disobey a law?" With a strong base of knowledge about the Civil War, anti-slavery movement, and Underground Railroad, your class explores civil disobedience in Marshall, Michigan...