Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Segregation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students consider the implications of prejudice. In this segregation lesson, students experience a simulation that has school staff favoring students with blue eyes. Students discuss the simulation experience, watch "The Eye of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights after MLK and RFK

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students are assigned to groups representing minority populations who produce a research project in a digital format from the list. A few of the choices are: speech, letter to the editor, editorial cartoon, etc.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Court Documents Related to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Memphis Sanitation Workers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars read about the civil rights movement in their textbooks. They engage in a whole-class discussion of how nonviolent direct action can be a powerful tool for bringing about social, economic, or political change.
Lesson Plan
Rancocas Valley Regional High School

Teaching American History for All

For Students 11th Standards
Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both work for equal rights, social change, and political empowerment, their approaches were radically different. To better understand these contrasts, class members compare King's "I...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Have A Dream

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a reader response essay as they react to the I Have A Dream speech made by Martin Luther King. For this Martin Luther King lesson plan, students read the speech, fill out a Civil Rights movement sheet, have discussions,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Biography?

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Clothesline Timeline

For Teachers K - 12th
Students use print and online resources to obtain information about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. They identify important events in King's life. They sequence lists of important events by date.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eyes Worldwide on the Prize

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and see how it has been produced in China by reading an online article. They study discrimination in the world and write responses to the speech.
Lesson Plan
Mississippi Whole School Initiative

Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Word Art with King's Words

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners investigate equality and racism by creating a word art project.  In this civil rights lesson, students discover the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and create a word art project using the Internet site Wordle Web. ...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Andrew Young

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Pupils explore Andrew Young and his role alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Civil Rights Movement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King Jr.

For Teachers 1st
First graders examine the life and goals of Martin Luther King Jr. They listen to a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the "Let's Read Biography" book series and discuss discrimination and Dr. King's goals. Students complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Persuasion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn what goals Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had when he wanted to change the inequality of the United States.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding the Theoretical Basis for Civil Disobedience

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Students analyze Henry David Thoreau's 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' and Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In this civil disobedience lesson, students read Thoreau's essay and answer 6 questions for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Have a Dream...

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students explore the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. In this civil rights instructional activity, students utilize their computer skill as they compose "I have a dream" statements.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ruby Bridges & School Integration

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore school integration issues. In this Civil Rights Movement lesson, students read Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges and school integration and then write reflections about difficult experiences.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Fact Or Opinion Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students discuss the difference between fact and opinion, then read a brief biography of Martin Luther King Jr. They complete the Martin Luther King Jr.: Fact or Opinion worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Youth Participation in Nonviolence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the use of nonviolent resistance. For this social justice lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as the Apartheid Movement in South Africa.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracing the Idea of Civil Disobedience through Thoreau, Gandhi, and King

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students analyze civil disobedience through history studying Thoreau, Gandhi, and Dr. King. In this civil disobedience lesson, students read and analyze excerpts from Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. Students demonstrate their...
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
It's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pay It Forward

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders practice serial reciprocity. In this "Pay It Forward," lesson, 9th graders watch the film of the same name and discuss how it mirrors work by Martin Luther King, Jr. Students then discuss service projects they can carry out...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nonviolent Protest Around the World

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders complete research that exposes them to examples of nonviolent protest throughout the modern world. In this nonviolent protest research lesson, 12th graders discover information about signification nonviolent movements...