Curated OER
Comparing/Contrasting Northern Life to Southern Life
Young scholars compare and contrast the lives of African Americans who moved North vs. those who stayed in the South during the era of Jim Crow Laws.
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...
University of Arkansas
Promises Denied
"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Understanding Carlotta’s Journey
How do incidents in A Mighty Long Way provoke the author, Carlotta Walls LaNier, to make certain decisions that shape her story? Scholars engage in a close reading of the memoir, analyzing events in US history and Carlotta's personal...
Curated OER
No Day
Students learn about discrimination and the Jim Crow laws. In this discrimination lesson plan, students are presented with new classroom rules that discriminate against certain types of clothing. Students discuss the effects of the new...
Teaching Tolerance
Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control
Mass incarceration: A result of a tough stance on crime or racial discrimination, you decide. Academics explore the history and reasons behind mass incarcerations in the United States and its impact on ethnic communities. The...
Orlando Shakes
To Kill a Mockingbird: Study Guide
Who was Harper Lee, and what led her to write one of the most celebrated novels of all time? Scholars learn about the author of To Kill a Mockingbird and read a summary of a dramatic production of the novel. They also discover the...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Journey of Reconciliation, 1947
After examining the Jim Crow laws and reading primary source materials about the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, class members create historical markers that honor riders and their journey.
K20 LEARN
Oklahoma and Segregation
It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Young scholars read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. In this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Young scholars...
Curated OER
The Civil Rights Movement
Learners examine the Jim Crow Laws and goals of the Civil Rights movement. They read and discuss handouts, answer questions, conduct research, and write an essay about the effects of the Civil Rights movement.
Huntington Library
The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes
Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...
Curated OER
Amazing Grace
Students study the meaning of the term 'Jim Crow'. They examine how this term originated, when it was used, and how it served its purpose? They read two short biographies of Maya Angelou and James Comer discover that both authors...
Curated OER
Seeking Civil Rights
Students explore the impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. In this social justice lesson, students examine the case, Jim Crow laws, and non-violent forms of protest. Students write essays to persuade the government regarding unjust laws.
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third instructional activity 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...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
"Scottsboro Boys": A Trial Which Defined an Age
Here's a must-have resource. Whether your focus is racism, the Great Depression, the "Scottsboro Boys" trial, or part of a reading of To Kill A Mockingbird, the information contained in the seven-page packet will save hours of research...
PBS
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
Curated OER
Lesson 2-Profiles in Courage: To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial
Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....
Core Knowledge Foundation
The Civil War
A unit covers many aspects of the Civil War. Over six weeks, fifth graders delve deep into the history of slavery, the Civil War—before, during, and after—Abraham Lincoln, women's contributions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and...
Soft Schools
Civil Rights
Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score, answers—correct and...
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
Anti-Defamation League
Women's Suffrage, Racism, and Intersectionality
The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote—as long as they were white. High schoolers read articles and essays about racism in the suffrage movement and consider how intersectionality played a role in the movement. Scholars...
Curated OER
Latinos and the Fourteenth Amendment: A Primary Document Activity
Students explore Latinos and the Fourteenth Amendment. In this government and law lesson, students analyze the ruling in Hernandez v. Texas. Students predict how the United States would be different if the court had made an alternated...
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...