Curated OER
Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education
Pupils analyze photographs that feature segregation. In this human rights activity, students examine photographs of a segregated movie theater, a Ku Klux Klan gathering, a segregated business sign, and an illustration from "Harper's...
Curated OER
The WCTU and the Lynching Controversy
Eleventh graders analyze the writings of Frances Hard and Ida B. Wells and outline their positions and attitudes towards segregation and lynching. They utilize Wells' and Hard's arguments to explore lynching, racial attitudes in the...
Curated OER
Education as a Civil Right
Learners explore the implications of segregation. In this Civil Rights lesson, students investigate what equal education is as they discover the state of Boston schools in 1960. Learners define civil rights and discrimination as they...
Curated OER
Cultural Acceptance
Students are segregated into groups according to their clothing and experience first hand what it feels like to be a minority in everyday life. In this cultural acceptance lesson plan, students experience discrimination first hand....
Curated OER
Apartheid and Segregation
Students view a television program that depicts the history South African Apartheid and the United States' system of segregation. They discuss how laws were used to uphold these institutions and compare and contrast racism and...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Birmingham, Fall 1963
Can any good come from acts of evil? The 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the eventual outcomes of the tragedy, are the focus of a activity that asks groups to examine primary source...
C3 Teachers
Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice?
The murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.
Curated OER
Jackie Steals Home
Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...
Curated OER
Race riots
Students encounter what is meant by a race riot. Students show what caused the Bradford riots. Students discuss what could help to prevent race riots in the future. Students design a survey to see if there is any tension building up...
Curated OER
John Gary Evans and the Politics of Race
Young scholars read letters written by Evans and Gunton regarding race relations. For this Progressive Movement lesson, students interpret the intentions and tone of the letters to understand contemporary racial beliefs. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time
Eighth graders study the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In this US History lesson, 8th graders read excerpts from the Brown v. Board of education decision. Students investigate one of...
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,...
Scholastic
Connecting with Ruby Bridges
When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...
Stanford University
Lesson Plan: The Children's Crusade and the Role of Youth in the African American Freedom Struggle
Young people played significant roles in the Civil Rights movement. Class members examine the contributions of Barbara Johns, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, and the children of Birmingham,...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Birmingham, 1963: Spring Jubilation Part 2
The release of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Birmingham jail, the Children's March, and the bombings of the Gaston Motel and the home of Reverend A.D. King's home. As part of a study of the civil rights movement, class members...
Curated OER
In the Courts
Students explore desegregation in the courts. In this civil rights instructional activity, students listen to their instructor present a lecture on Supreme Court cases Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson....
Curated OER
Racism, Discrimination, and the Law
Seventh graders examine the various racism and discrimination faced by various ethnic groups in the United States. In groups, they research the legal system and describe the purpose of the United States Constitution. They review cases...
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
The Story of Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges' walk into the William Franz Elementary broke racial barriers and propelled the Civil Rights Movement forward.
Curated OER
The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement
Deepen understanding of the Civil Rights Movement with this collection of primary documents. This resource contains 22 video transcripts about desegregation, voting rights, black power, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and more. You might...
Curated OER
John's Dilemma
Students read and discuss the story "John's Dilemma". As a class, they answer discussion questions related to peer pressure and responsibility. They compare a quote by Anne Frank to the situation John is going through in the story to...
Curated OER
Our Unfinished Work
Students investigate the racism elements after the election of President Barack Obama. For this racism lesson, students read a recent article about 'post-racial' society. Students compile a list of achieving a post-racial society and...
Curated OER
School Desegregation in South Carolina
Eleventh graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this North Carolina history lesson, 11th graders examine the Briggs v. Elliott case in order to understand the difference in the state and...
Curated OER
Freedom Fighters
Students are introduced to the concept of segregation and explore its affects on society. They participate in a role-play about segregation, read books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., create self-portraits, sing songs and participate...