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Civil Rights Webquest
Students, working individually and in teams, research life in their community during the civil rights era. They take part in a role-playing discussion about civil rights issues based on their research, and create individual and group...
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What is Equality and How Does it Affect Me?
Students explore the concept of civil rights and the ways in which Dr. Martin Luther Kind and others utilized non-violent protests to achieve their goals. They participate in a variety of discussion and role play activities during this...
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Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Students listen to and discuss the purpose of protest music. They analyze an editorial cartoon related to Jim Crow and read questions from the literacy tests given to African-Americans. They work together to write a song about the...
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Your Safety and Security or Your Civil Liberties - Which is More Important?
Students examine provisions of USA PATRIOT Act and controversies that led the ACLU to take legal action against the legislation. They create, conduct, and document results of a survey related to the PATRIOT Act and controversies...
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Foreign War and Domestic Freedom: A Delicate Balancing Act
Students investigate civil liberties in the U.S. They watch and discuss a PowerPoint presentation, conduct research on an event from a timeline, complete a worksheet, take an ideology quiz, and conduct a debate.
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Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 9
Young scholars examine and compare/contrast the steps of criminal and civil cases. They define key vocabulary terms, develop an outline of a criminal and civil trial, and analyze the differences in standards of proof in legal cases.
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Lessons in Courage: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges
First graders discover the contributions of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges in the Civil Rights Movement. Books and recordings are used to help students explain how important they were in the movement.
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Free at Last: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students view the "I Have A Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. They use the Internet to research Martin Luther King's life and work.
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All Access Spotlight: U2
Students listen to songs from the group U2 to examine civil rights issues.
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Creating A Bill Of Rights In Space
Students define rights, analyze and apply the U.S. Bill of Rights to hypothetical situations, and create an Intergalactic Bill of Rights.
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A Letter Read 'Round the World
Young scholars examine primary document to examine the concept of free assembly, and analyze Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's letter to the clergy to explain the rationale for this tactic to advance civil rights.
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The Many Faces of Paul Robeson
Students discuss and construct timelines based on the life of author/performer/Civil Right's activist, Paul Robeson. They view photographs of him at various times in his life and discuss the roles he may have been playing at those times.
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Comparing/Contrasting Northern Life to Southern Life
Students compare and contrast the lives of African Americans who moved North vs. those who stayed in the South during the era of Jim Crow Laws.
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Why Can't I Vote?
Fourth graders take an unannounced test (failure is expected) and the top scores are rewarded with candy bars. They compare this test to the literacy tests given before 1960 and votes to candybars. They journal their responses.
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Rosa Parks Refused to Do What?
First graders listen to two books about Rosa Parks. They contribute factual information for a web. They listen to an interview with Rosa Parks on the internet, adding more information to the web. They write and illustrate a book using...
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Remembering Rosa
Students research and profile figures in American civil rights such as Rosa Parks, from 1955-68, to create commemorative posters.
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Taking A Stand - Rules and Laws
Students explore the purpose of rules and laws in society, as well as some of the basic tenets of the Constitution that address equal rights for all citizens. Next, they examine historical examples of segregation and consider its impact...
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Civil Liberties And National Security
Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties
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Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Power of Nonviolence
Middle schoolers examine the philosophy of nonviolence developed by Martin Luther King, Jr. and how this turned into practice during the Civil Rights Movement. They compare these teachings to those of Mohandas K. Ghandi.
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Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Learners dramatize incident that started the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s: Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
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The Right to Know Your Rights
Students read a New York Times article in order analyze the Miranda Rights. They explore various legal views of these rights through group interviews and presentations.
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And Justice For All
Students compare three justice systems currently in place in the United States: the civilian criminal justice system, the military criminal justice system (courts-martial) and the secret wartime tribunals that President Bush has proposed...
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Keeping A Watchful Eye
Students explore the use of satellite surveillance systems to track criminals. They consider how the use of this technology in law enforcement might affect them and write opinions on whether or not such a system should be adopted by...
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Valuable Lessons
Students explore how immigration, citizenship, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech and assembly have shaped American values throughout American history