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Lesson Plan
PBS

Standing Up Against Injustice

For Teachers 9th - 12th
“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Baseball: The Tenth Inning

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Bring the historical relevance of baseball into the classroom, as pupils discover the lessons learned from the breaking of baseball's color barrier by Jackie Robinson. Learners view video and analyze Robinson’s character, as well as his...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Music Motivates

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. In this Civil Rights movement instructional activity, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Rights Education Handbook: Packing Your Suitcase

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars are given a scenerio in which they receive a letter threatening their lives for suspected subversive activities. They must pack their bags and flee. Students list what they will take. They read their list to the class, the...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Making a Change: Letter From Birmingham Jail

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity," written by eight white ministers from Birmingham and published in the local newspaper. After reading both letters and following a list...
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance

For Teachers 4th Standards
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 the...
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Activity
PBS

The Black Panthers

For Students 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Dolores Huerta: The Life and Work of a 20th Century Activist

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill of Rights

For Teachers 8th - 10th
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
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Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

American Civil War Songs

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners will compare and contrast two songs from the Civil War era, one from the North and one from the South. They'll write a comparative essay on their songs, and then compare their essays and songs with others in their small groups....
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Freedom Crossword Puzzle

For Students 3rd - 6th
Individuals tackle a crossword puzzle that tests their knowledge of key documents and individuals associated with the Civil War era.
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Lesson Plan
C-SPAN

1968: The Poor People's Campaign

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
The Poor People's Campaign of 1968 marked a shift in the civil rights movement to economic issues. Speakers in four C-SPAN video clips discuss different aspects of the campaign including Resurrection City, the Economic Bill of Rights,...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was an extraordinary woman, no matter the time period. Academics research the life and achievements of Mrs. Cary, who was born a free African American in 1823. The lesson uses primary sources, worksheets, written...
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Lesson Plan
1
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University of Arkansas

Promises Denied

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Promises Denied," the second instructional activity in a unit that asks learners to consider the responsibilities individuals have to uphold human rights, looks at documents that illustrate the difficulty the US has had trying to live...
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Lesson Plan
Historical Thinking Matters

Rosa Parks: 1 Day Lesson

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
You've heard of the historical moment when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, but did you know that some historical accounts disagree on where she sat? Investigate this query with your young historians, and practice...
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Activity
Library Sparks

When Marian Sang: Reader's Theater

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Put on an eight-actor show based on Pan Munoz Ryan's When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson. The resource comes with a color-coded script that includes some images from the picture book.
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Organizer
1
1
Common Core Sheets

Reading a Timeline

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Sometimes the most important details of an informational text aren't within the text at all. Teach your class how to read timeline with a set of activities that prompts them to find specific dates and events on the timelines, as well as...
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Assessment
California Education Partners

Letter From Birmingham Jail

For Students 9th Standards
To demonstrate their ability to comprehend complex text, ninth graders are asked to craft an essay in which they use evidence drawn from "Letter From Birmingham Jail" to analyze how Martin Luther King, Jr. uses rhetorical devices such as...
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Lesson Plan
Free Library of Philadelphia

Resources for Ghost Boys

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, wanted to bring the historical legacy of Emmett Till and the current topic of racial prejudice into today's young readers' mindsets. Use a reading guide and set of discussion questions to...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson Taking the Measure of a Man

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
During his first few games as the first black player in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson proved that he could withstand the wily curveball of Johnny Sain as well as the racial epithets shouted from opposing teams' dugouts. A short...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Launching the Text: Building Background Knowledge of the Jim Crow South

For Teachers 8th Standards
Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Singing for Justice: Following the Musical Journey of “This Little Light of Mine”

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Scholars go on a musical journey to discover the origin, importance, and evolution of the song, "This Little Light of Mine". Class members boost their voice talents and clap to the beat while learning the lyrics in both English and Zulu....
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Interactive
DocsTeach

School Desegregation Court Cases: Mendez v. Westminster and Brown v. Board

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Separate is not equal! Young historians analyze the petition from the U.S. Supreme Court case Mendez v. Westminster filed in 1945 and examine background material about the case. They then compare it to the more famous Brown v. Board of...

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