Lesson Plan
Teaching for Change

Selma in Pictures: Socratic Seminar

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...
Lesson Plan
Teaching for Change

Stepping into Selma

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The 1964 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches are the focus of a lesson plan designed to introduce learners to people who took part in the Civil Rights Movement. Class members set into the role of one of the participants,...
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Interracial Democracy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
1
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Facing History and Ourselves

Reflection and Action for Civic Participation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Slacktivist or activist? Bystander or upstander? Positive social change requires involvement and commitment. After reading a series of articles about young people who chose to get involved, scholars examine a framework that helps peers...
Lesson Plan
Teaching Tolerance

Thanksgiving Mourning

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Two primary sources, a speech, and an article provide tweens and teens with different perspectives of the American Thanksgiving holiday. After analyzing Wamsutta James' suppressed speech and Jacqueline Keeler's article, class members use...
Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

The War on Drugs—Mechanisms and Effects

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The war on drugs doesn't have definite results. An interesting lesson examines the social, political, and economic effect of the war on drugs. Academics learn how the war on drugs has led to mass incarcerations and negatively affected...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Teaching Tolerance

Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore the impact of the war on drugs in a thought-provoking lesson for high school academics. Young historians delve into the world of the criminal justice system and the racial disparity that occurs in the US. The resource provides...
Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Understanding the Prison Label

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Break the chain. An engaging lesson examines why it is so hard to break free of the prison system in the US. Academics participate in a reader's theater, read primary sources, and discuss their thoughts. The lesson explains the hardships...
Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Parallels Between Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Is history repeating itself? A riveting lesson examines the parallels between mass incarceration in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws of the past. Academics review Jim Crow Laws and compare them to mass incarcerations of African Americans....
Lesson Plan
PBS

Keep Your Head Up | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Change may be slow in coming, but things do change. Oprah Winfrey and Black Entertainment Television CEO, Robert L. Johnson, discuss the opportunities available to them due to the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Out of the Shadows | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Two powerful video clips launch a study of race relations in the United States after the Selma, Alabama riots, the passage of the Votings Rights Act, and the riots in Watts, California. 
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Letter from Jackie Robinson: "Fair Play and Justice"

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball legend; he was an activist, too. An interesting resource explores Robinson's time in the military using primary sources. Scholars examine the racially inspired event that led to a court martial...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Travel back in time to examine how tragic events can spur positive change. Scholars explore the impact of the Selma Voting Rights March, including the tragic loss of life and the later signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Academics...
Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind

For Teachers 7th - 12th
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Objects in Time

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Artifacts can be used to study people and events of the past. That's the takeaway from the fifth lesson in a unit study of African Americans who served in Congress. Groups select an artifact associated with a Black Congress Member from...
Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Groups select a photograph from one of the four eras of African Americans in Congress and develop a five-minute presentation that provides background information about the image as well as its historical significance. The class compares...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Poetry of Maya Angelou

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Ida B. Wells and Anti-Lynching Activism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A packet of 13 primary sources provides young historians with insight into the anti-lynching activism of civil rights Ida B. Wells. Included are images of Wells, her letters, a political cartoon, newspaper lynching announcements, and a...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Fifteenth Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

After Charlottesville: Contested History and the Fight against Bigotry

For Teachers 9th - 12th
History doesn't always reflect all sides. Academics discover how the remembered history of the Civil War differs for White and African Americans. The lesson explores how Civil War monuments and celebrations have racist connotations for...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing Jackie Robinson's White House Letter

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Jackie Robinson: A hero on and off the field. An eye-opening activity focuses on Jackie Robinson's social activism during and after the civil rights movement. Academics read a letter addressed to President Nixon, answer questions, and...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Voting Rights Act of 1965

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...
Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

After Charlottesville: Public Memory and the Contested Meaning of Monuments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Are Civil War monuments a kind remembrance or a reminder of a dark past? The instructional activity focuses on the public's memory of the Civil War and the monuments that represent it. Young academics explore past efforts to change...

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