Curated OER
Civil Services
Learners investigate important themes, figures, and events of the Civil Rights Movement. They create a class mural that demonstrates their understanding of the continuing impact of the movement on American society.
Curated OER
The Story of Emmett Till
Students discover the story of Emmett Till. For this Civil Rights Movement lesson, students watch "Awakenings" and investigate the impact of the Emmett Till lynching. Students compose an essay that explore the lynching as a pivotal...
Curated OER
Impact of the Civil Rights Movement on American Policies, Laws and Procedures
In this history worksheet, students participate in a voter registration simulation where their trying to get Black Americans registered to vote in Mississippi in 1961. Students create a "memory trunk" that documents their experiences.
Curated OER
Social and Cultural Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
Young scholars watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.
Curated OER
Life and Times: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968
The life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. are outlined in this simple-yet-informative presentation. This is an image-rich slide show depicting scenes from his personal and public life. A great resource to use with a unit on the civil...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson plan challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads...
PBS
The Black Panthers
Stanley Nelson's acclaimed film, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution uses interviews, archival footage, and images to document the story of the radical political party established in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. A...
Newseum
Civil Rights: Your Stories of Change
Young activists examine local civil rights issues presented in news media sites to determine what elements make these stories attention-grabbing and trustworthy. Using this information and their worksheets from the first two lessons in...
Curated OER
The Role of Affirmative Action in the Civil Rights Movement
Students debate Affirmative Action. In this Civil Rights lesson students examine the development of affirmative action. Students discuss whether affirmative action is advancing equality and civil rights or not.
Curated OER
Social Activism in the United States
Seventh graders explore the goals of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In this US History lesson, 7th graders read a newspaper article that reported a significant event during this era. Students write a...
Curated OER
America's Civil Rights Movement, Activity Three
Students investigate the events that led to the Civil Rights Movement and the attributes of the movement that led to its success using the Jigsaw method.
Curated OER
Civil Rights: Rosa Parks Centers
Research the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks. Set up different centers and have learners rotate through the activities aimed at researching Rosa Parks. They read The Bus Ride that Changed History: The Story of Rosa Parks, write a...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" Speech
Invite your class to investigate racism and civil rights by analyzing the great Dr. Martin Luther King's speech. Your learners will read the words from the "I Have a Dream" speech and analyze the political and racial overtones. They will...
Curated OER
Unit 2: Post-Revolution: The Critical Period 1781-1878
The post-Revolutionary Period of 1781-1787, also known as the Critical Period, is the focus of a series of lessons that prompt class members to examine primary source documents that reveal the instability of the period of the...
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades 3-5
Through character trait graphic organizers, a vocabulary sorting activity, class discussion, and a civil rights movement slide show, your young historians will be introduced to the amazing story of Ruby Bridges and her experiences as the...
Stanford University
Lesson Plan: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson unit prompts class...
National Woman's History Museum
Dolores Huerta: The Life and Work of a 20th Century Activist
Extra! Extra! High schoolers read about Dolores Huerta, the social activist who helped organize the United Farm Workers. Researchers read primary and secondary sources about Huerta's work and craft a headline, supported by three pieces...
DocsTeach
The Impact of Bloody Sunday in Selma
Who is to blame when a peaceful protest turns deadly? Scholars research the impact of the civil rights march in Selma, better known as Bloody Sunday. The activity uses files from the FBI's investigation to help academics understand the...
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Protesting Violence without Violence
The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A activity compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" and prompts...
Curated OER
America's Civil Rights Movement, Cubing
Young scholars explore cubing as a graphic organizer to better explain the key concepts of the Civil Rights Movement and take positions on key concepts regarding the Movement.
Curated OER
Adding to the Picture: The 1963 March on Washington
Who do your scholars imagine when they think about the civil rights movement? If only a few faces come to mind, this lesson will expand their concepts of the movement's leaders. Learners examine an image of the 1963 March on Washington,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Eyes on the Prize Lesson 1: The Philosophy of Nonviolence
Students explore the concept of nonviolent demonstration. In this Civil Rights Movement activity, students investigate examples of injustice and discuss the philosophy of nonviolence fueled by leaders of the movement. Students apply...
Curated OER
Standing Up to Injustice
To help students move beyond the role of bystander, give them real-world examples of young people who fought injustice.
Teaching for Change
Stepping into Selma
The 1964 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches are the focus of a lesson 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,...