An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...

Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...

A timely and provocative lesson plan inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.

Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees....

After generating research questions rated to segregation, groups are given a primary source document (Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, Plessy v. Ferguson, etc.) and craft a presentation that details the key elements of their assigned...

The Massacre of Tlatelolco is the focus of a discussion-based lesson. Civil-minded learners consider the nature of student movements that have ended in violence based on over-reaction and government oppression. They discuss the social...

Your class will be discussing some hot topics today. This set of three essay questions covers multiple aspects of the conflict in the Middle East. They'll discuss the Iranian Hostage Crisis, define PLO (Palestine Liberation...

Eleventh graders determine the causes and effects of persecution. They read The Crucible by Arthur Miller. They analyze the historical significance of persecution. They use technology to research types of persecution.

Students share stories and role play about a time when they participated in, or facilitated, a discussion on racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, or another form of oppression that took an unexpected turn and caused conflict that was...

As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

The focus of this, the third in a five-activity unit study of human rights, is on individuals who made a difference. Billy Bowlegs, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Fannie Lou Hamer, Michi Weglyn, and Yuri Koshiyama are some of the people class members...

Young historians learn about the dehumanization process of stripping German Jews of basic, fundamental rights prior to the genocide of European Jews in the 1940s. Learners watch video clips of survivors who recount such events...

Notes of pride and persecution, exclusion and isolation resonate in flamenco. Introduce this musical art form to your social studies or Spanish language classes with a resource that follows a young flamenco guitarist as he...

While examining slavery's impact on women, historians compare and contrast the perspectives of a plantation mistress and an enslaved woman, both reflecting on the system of forced prostitution. Text analysis and written responses create...

To conclude their study of immigration and human rights, class members create a civic engagement project centered on an issue of immigration and designed to influence US immigration policy. They examine examples of attempts to...

Chapter 3 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X discusses how central ideas are developed in a narrative. Readers use the provided annotated bookmark to record evidence of ideas such as racial identity, integration/separation, and systemic...

Art can be a vehicle for social change and cultural expression. Upper graders examine the art of photographer David Goldblatt, as it pertains to apartheid, South Africa, and the AIDS epidemic. Discussion questions and image links...

Readers use the provided worksheet to analyze the narrative techniques Haley uses in chapter 6 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X to continue the development of the central ideas of racial identity and systemic oppression.

"How did the slavery system undermine the United States' democratic principles?" This question launches a study of how the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and Article IV,...

Not all food is created equal. The lesson dives into the world of migrant farm workers to show their struggles to earn livable wages and better working conditions. Academics learn why the Coalition of Immokalee Workers was created and...

Learners investigate the history of America with the help of children's literature. The story is structured as a timeline that begins at the time of Columbus and progresses to the present. The teacher reads the story with the class and...

To conclude a study of conflict resolution, class members watch and discuss a series of five videos that frame the conversation in terms of culture and identity, understanding bias, oppression, and interpersonal biases. 

Students listen to and discuss popular music that addresses political and social issues of oppression, but in a joyful way. They role play as artistic teams and plan a music video that may be used for a specific song.

Students investigate the example Gandhi set for others to not engage in violence when being oppressed.  In this rebellion activity, students identify violence and discuss how it is used and often ineffective.  Students create a...