Curated OER
Freedom and Dignity Project
Eleventh graders explore slavery and the civil war. In groups, 11th graders discuss and slavery and identify reasons for its beginning. In groups, they role-play a character for a talk show. Students determine what slavery was like in...
National Woman's History Museum
Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...
Facing History and Ourselves
After Charlottesville: Contested History and the Fight against Bigotry
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 plan explores how Civil War monuments and celebrations have racist connotations...
Center for History Education
Helping to Move On? An Analysis of the Reconstruction Amendments
Reconstruction amendments: a helping hand or another form of slavery? An inquisitive lesson compares the Reconstruction legislation that ended slavery, granted citizenship, and protected voting right for African American men. Scholars...
DocsTeach
Responding to the Murder of Harry T. Moore
Heroic civil rights leader Harry T. Moore is murdered! An eye-opening activity delves into the past to understand the murder of prominent civil rights leader and educator Harry Moore and his wife. Academics also read President Truman's...
Albert Shanker Institute
Strategizing for Freedom
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and A. Philip Randolph developed different views on how to advance civil rights for African Americans. Class members research these famous figures and their strategies before developing...
Smithsonian Institution
Resistance to School Desegregation: The Boston Busing Crisis
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...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Letter from Jackie Robinson: "Fair Play and Justice"
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...
National Park Service
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House
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 plan uses primary sources, worksheets, written...
DocsTeach
Red Record of Lynching Map Analysis
Long before the civil rights movement, leaders were working to secure equal rights. An informative activity explains the 1922 anti-lynching campaign with a map. Scholars analyze the map, complete a worksheet, and participate in group...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Wrong Side of History: How One Group Justified Its Opposition on the Freedom Riders and Civil Rights for African Americans
Designed as a supplement to the study of the Freedom Riders, this resource uses primary sources to reveal the views of those who opposed the Freedom Riders. After careful study of the arguments presented by the members of the Montgomery...
American Battlefield Trust
Life at War
It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...
ESRI
Juneteenth: An American History through Maps
An interactive website traces the history of Juneteenth celebrations from their origin in Galveston, Texas, on June 19th to the present day. Using interactive maps, learners can find information about the African-American population...
C-SPAN
Last Days of Martin Luther King, Jr.
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Four video clips reveal the events of that time, including the shift in the focus of the Civil Rights Movement, the aftermath of the assassination, and...
American Battlefield Trust
The Battle of Saltville
It may be hard to see through the fog of war, but primary sources describing what happened at the Battle of Saltville during the Civil War shed some light on what happened there. Using primary sources, including descriptions from...
K20 LEARN
Analyzing The "I Have A Dream" Speech
The famous words of Martin Luther King still resonate with scholars today. An enlightening lesson plan helps pupils examine the "I Have a Dream" speech in more depth and learn what impact it had on the civil rights movement. Young...
National Endowment for the Humanities
"Sí, se puede!": Chávez, Huerta, and the UFW
"Sí, se puede!" Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta believed organizing farm workers and changing their working conditions were possible. Scholars examine provisions of the Bracero Program, videos, and the United Farm Workers' (UFW) work....
Albert Shanker Institute
The March on Washington Logistics Then and Now
I have a dream ... that all pupils will be able to organize a march of their own after learning about how Bayard Rustin organized the 1963 March on Washington for civil rights. Young reformers work collaboratively examining informational...
American Battlefield Trust
Pre-1860: Disunion
Using personas ranging from freed African Americans to wealthy plantation owners, young historians consider various points of view around the events in the days leading up to the Civil War including major milestones such as the Dred...
Adult Fiction by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Ghost Boys: Educator Guide
The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Letter to Congress About Bloody Sunday
The brutality of Bloody Sunday—when non-violent protesters who supported voting rights for African Americans were beaten by police—captured a nation. Young historians examine the letter of one horrified American to Congress to consider...
K5 Learning
Fight for Equality: Thurgood Marshall
Students read an informational text passage on Thurgood Marshall and his contribution to African Americans' rights, and then answer questions based on what they read.
Curated OER
The Civil War Experience
Eighth graders study the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, 8th graders read and analyze primary sources. Students complete handouts in relation to the primary sources.
Curated OER
The Land Promised: African-American Homesteaders
Middle schoolers explore the story of African Americans with agricultural backgrounds who migrated west following the Civil War and availed themselves of the opportunity to homestead. They access a multi-media narrative imbedded in this...