PBS
Latinos at the Ballot Box
Latinx people have had a profound effect on voting patterns, going back to the 1950s. Using video clips from the PBS series "Latino Americans," scholars work to assemble a timeline of the interesting history. Then, pupils consider the...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Women's Suffrage: 140 Years of Struggle
Students create PowerPoint presentations about women's suffrage. In this women's rights instructional activity, students use primary documents to study the women's suffrage movement. In pairs, students create a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments And Gay Marriage
Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...
C-SPAN
Last Days of Martin Luther King, Jr.
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Four video clips reveal the events of that time, including the shift in the focus of the Civil Rights Movement, the aftermath of the assassination, and...
Curated OER
Voting And Elections
Students examine the voting practices of the past several presidential elections while using data to determine the influence of different factors. They identify the reasons for high or low voter turnout and then display the outcome of...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights -- Americans with Disabilities Act
Students focus on the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Before visiting a museum, they examine the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the visit, they work together with a museum member to watch a video and get...
Curated OER
A New Birth of Freedom: Black Soldiers in the Union Army
Students investigate the history of civil rights by viewing historical photographs. In this U.S. history lesson, students discuss why Black Soldiers fought for their rights by joining the Union Army in the 1800's. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Women in Texas Politics: Winning the Vote, Three Pioneers, and Serving the People
Fourth graders study women's involvement in Texas politics. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss woman suffrage, examine three Texas female pioneer legislators by reading biographies, and explore women's issues by generating a...
Curated OER
Unintended Consequences: Policies that Impact Migration
Learners examine the cause-and-effect relationship between the Agricultural Adjustment Acts of the New Deal or the 1965 Voting Rights Act and African-American migration. They write an essay evaluating the effectiveness of the Voting...
Curated OER
The Journey to Civil Rights
Students investigate the concepts that surround the Civil Rights Movement. They conduct research with the help of the teacher and use chart paper to create posters about major people involved. Students also complete a timeline graphic...
City University of New York
Electoral College
A presidential election is a lot like the 2004 World Series, and it's also a lot like choosing an orange in a paper bag. Apply the process of the electoral college to these two analogies with a set of lessons about government...
K20 LEARN
Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era
High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
NPR
Progressive Era Lesson Plan
The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...
Curated OER
In the Courts
Students explore desegregation in the courts. In this civil rights lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Supreme Court cases Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson. Students examine the cases and...
Curated OER
Suffragettes
Students investigate peer pressure by discussing women's suffrage. In this Women's rights instructional activity, students explore the history of voting in the United States and when women were finally allowed to do so. Students create a...
Curated OER
What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments
Students explore the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, students participate in classroom debate regarding the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Students then vote for the amendments they would like...
Curated OER
Population Diversity And Human Rights
Students explore the concept of economic sanctions. In this population diversity and human rights lesson, students examine how the United States uses economic sanctions to support or prohibit international activities. Students present...
Curated OER
Role Model Medal
Students investigate positive female role models. In this Women's History Month lesson, students read the book Mama Went to Jail for the Vote and think about how the character was a role model for other women. Students brainstorm a woman...
Texas State Historical Association
Tejanas and LULAC
Seventh graders explore the Latino Civil Rights Movement. In this civil rights lesson plan, 7th graders discover the role of the League of United Latin Citizens (LULAC) as well as the women's arm of the organization and write essays that...
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third lesson plan in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to...
Scholastic
Women's Suffrage for Grades 6–8
Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...
Facing History and Ourselves
Interracial Democracy
Radical Reconstruction, the 10-year period referred to after Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, saw the establishment of manhood suffrage, men voting without any racial qualifications. Southern states also rewrote their...