Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice? Unit PlanMurder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice? Unit Plan
Publisher
C3 Teachers
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
9th - 12th
Subjects
Social Studies & History
2 more...
Resource Type
Unit Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
5 days
Instructional Strategies
Collaborative Learning
4 more...
Usage Permissions
Creative Commons
BY-NC-SA: 4.0
cc
Unit Plan

Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice?

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Murder of Emmett Till: Is It Ever Too Late for Justice? unit plan also includes:
  • Murder of Emmett Till (.html)
  • Murder of Emmett Till (.docx)
  • Emmett Till FBI Trial Transcript Excerpt (.pdf)
  • NAACP Press Release on the Lynching of Emmett Till (.jpg)
  • Eyewitness Account: Emmett till’s Cousin Simeon Wright Seeks to Set the Record Straight
  • The Ghosts of Emmett Till
  • The jury at the trial of two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, charged with murdering Emmett Till 9/20/1955 (.jpg)
  • 6 Decades Later, Acquittal Of Emmett Till's Killers Troubles Town
  • Investigation: 1955 Emmett Till Murder
  • Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016
  • Emmett Till Accuser Admits to Giving False Testimony at Murder Trial
  • Mississippi Law Code, 1942 (.pdf)
  • Justice Department May Reopen Emmett Till Case
  • Emmett Till’s Casket Goes to the Smithsonian
  • The Emmett Till Memory Project: About the Project
  • PBS Film: The Murder of Emmett Till
  • Activity
  • Assessment
  • Join to access all included materials

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.

57 Views 35 Downloads
CCSS: Adaptable

Concepts

social justice, social injustice, emmett till, racism, prejudice, timelines, persuasive arguments, primary source analysis, primary source images, primary sources, guided inquiry, arguments, counterarguments, supporting evidence, segregation

Instructional Ideas

  • Set aside additional prep time to prepare the many documents required for the lesson
  • Since the hour-long PBS video offers a timeline and suggests answers to many of the supporting questions, save the viewing until after class members have completed their formative and summative performance tasks
  • The video is powerful, painful, and poignant; preview the entire film to determine how you will approach the discussion of the film's content with your class
  • Use the resource during Black History Month

Classroom Considerations

  • Presumes learners are familiar with guided inquiry
  • Researchers need access to devices with internet

Pros

  • Includes both formative and summative performance tasks

Cons

  • None

Common Core

W.9-10.4 W.11-12.4 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest

PBS
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...
8th - 12th English Language Arts
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Miscast and Seldom Seen

Curated OER
Consider how well students' favorite TV shows, movies and video games reflect the diversity of society. The lesson introduces your class to several media literacy concepts, such as how media conveys values and messages, as well as the...
9th - 12th English Language Arts
Unit Plan

2020 Protests: Is There Anything New about the 2020 Protests?

C3 Teachers
Are marches and protests an effective form of resistance? That is the question high schoolers seek to answer in this inquiry lesson as they compare the 2020 protests to historical ones. Researchers use Venn Diagrams to compare images...
120 hrs 9th - 12th Social Studies & History
Unit Plan

BPS Civil Rights

Facing History and Ourselves
Include moments of heroism in a social studies module that includes three units. Focusing on the murder of Emmett Till, the movement of nonviolent resistance, and segregating schools in Boston, the units explore key events of the...
9th - 12th Social Studies & History
Lesson Plan

Emmett Till: Choosing to Remember

Facing History and Ourselves
Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and civil rights activist, believed that her son's murder was the last straw before public outrage over racial injustice spilled over into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. A history...
9th - 12th Social Studies & History
Unit Plan

Civil Rights Historical Investigations

Facing History and Ourselves
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights....
9th - 12th Social Studies & History
CCSS: Adaptable
Activity

Community Arts Showcase

Teaching Tolerance
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
6th - 12th English Language Arts
Lesson Plan

Case in Point

Curated OER
Students read about and discuss the re-opening of the Emmett Till murder case. They research and write about a famous civil rights trial and create a poster highlighting the importance of the trial.
6th - 12th Social Studies & History
Lesson Plan

Meting Out Justice

Curated OER
Students investigate the murder case of Emmett Till and identify the missing pieces from the case. Through research, they then work to fill in the gaps to create a basis for examining how justice might be served anew in this...
6th - 12th Social Studies & History
Lesson Plan

Applying Theories Of Class

Curated OER
Students apply their knowledge of theories of social class to an analysis of social class in their society. In this social class lesson plan, students work in small groups to complete a Knowledge-Matrix for Traditional Marxist,...
9th - 12th Social Studies & History
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use