Curated OER
The Making of a Holiday: MLK, Jr. Day
Students explore the life of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. They discuss the events surrounding his death and the significance of the federal holiday honoring Dr. King. As a class, they read about Dr. King's work for...
Curated OER
A New Twist on Race Relations
Learners analyze the impact of American Bandstand on race relations. In this race relations instructional activity, students use the music and dance show American Bandstand to learn about race relations. Learners categorize pivotal...
Curated OER
Women's Suffrage: Their Rights and Nothing Less
Students explore women's rights. For this women's history lesson, students examine primary and secondary sources regarding the women's suffrage movement in the United States. Students compare and contrast the states' methods for...
Curated OER
Growing Like Dr. King
Students explore American History by reading biographical material. In this civil rights lesson, students read information about Martin Luther King Jr. and his successful demonstrations which led to equal rights for African Americans....
DC Vote
One Kid, One Vote
Learn about why the citizens of Washington, D.C. feel unrepresented in Congress with an article about D.C voting rights. Individuals read about the movement toward congressional representation in Washington, D.C., before...
Freeology
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have A Dream" is hailed as one of the most eloquent and moving speeches of the 20th century. But what makes his words hit his listeners' ears in just the right ways? Young orators study Dr. King's...
Albert Shanker Institute
Making the Case for Equality: A Comparison
Martin Luther King Jr's " I Have a Dream" speech and Atticus Finch's closing argument during the trial of Tom Robinson both address the societal need to overcome racism. After examining the rhetorical devices and figurative language used...
Defining US
Integration of Education and American Society
How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Breaking Barriers with Melba Pattillo
Students are introduced to individuals who made the civil rights movement a success. They examine, analyze and interpret the events and people who had a significant and stirring impact on the course of history through stories, interviews...
Curated OER
The Art of Nonviolence: Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Concepts of Nonviolence in Indian Art
Students make connections between nonviolent ideals and art. In this visual arts lesson plan, students discuss the successes of the American Civil Rights Movement and discuss Gandhi's influence on the movement. Students then examine...
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
In the Struggle for Equality and Justice for All
Learners focus on the struggle for minorities rights. They describe the civil rights movement of the late 1950's and the 1960's. They trace the roots of the movement in the second-class treatment accorded many black Americans and...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Memorial
Students discuss the Civil Rights Movement and the key events that ended segregation in the United States.
Curated OER
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Learners investigate the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In this American Civil Rights Movement lesson, students determine whether or not they would have taken part in the boycott and write a 5 paragraph essay about the implications of partaking.
DocsTeach
Extending Suffrage to Women
Votes for women! The activity highlights the push for the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote. High school scholars learn how the Fifteenth Amendment giving African American men the right to vote helped to spark the...
DocsTeach
Suffrage Photograph Analysis
Votes for women! Young scholars use images to explore the suffrage movement and its impact on the United States. Historians work in groups or pairs to interpret the photograph, complete a worksheet, and discuss how their opinions of the...
Smithsonian Institution
Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis
Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...
Curated OER
Civil Rights through Photographs
Students examine why racial tensions continued after laws were put into place to try and create equal treatment. For this two part Civil Rights lesson, students explored the causes of the movement through photography and a...
Curated OER
Reaching to the Clouds for Equality
Students explore the concept of equality. In this Martin Luther King, Jr. lesson, students read Martin's Big Words, discuss fairness, and create a cloud with their dream recorded on it.
Curated OER
Differences Make Us Special
Learners explore the similarities and differences among their classmates. They are introduced to the Civil Rights Movement-that all people be treated equally and fairly. Students discuss the importance of appreciating individual...
Curated OER
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Students discuss the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and affirmative action) and how it has influenced American history in the decades since it's signing.
Curated OER
Bringing Animal Issues into the Classroom: César Chávez
Fifth graders get critical and political while they begin thinking about human and animal rights in relation to the US Constitution. This hand out includes answers to several questions regarding Cesar Chavez and his work to secure rights...
National Woman's History Museum
19th Amendment
As part of a study of the women's suffrage movement and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, young historians examine documents that detail when voting rights were granted to women in various countries and when US states...
National Woman's History Museum
Seneca Falls Convention
The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention was a historic milestone in the quest for women's rights. After researching one of the participants of the Seneca Falls Convention, young historians craft and share a short presentation about their subject.