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Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Changing America" by Barbara Radner

For Students 4th - 6th
This is an informational article about how Martin Luther King Jr. worked toward changing America in the 1950s and 1960s. It includes a short bio of Dr. King and a reading purpose: As you read, take notes on the problems that African...
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Website
Scholastic

Scholastic: Integrating Central High Melba Pattillo Story

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This is the story of Melba Pattillo, one of the nine African American students who were the first to enter Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her story is very informative, and the site ends with a reflection question of how...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Separate No Longer?

For Students 5th - 8th
An explantion of how the Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka turned the concept of separate but equal on its head. See how they determined that the 14th Amendment was being violated when schools did not fund...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Rubye Robinson

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical sketch on Rubye Robinson, an American civil rights activist whose short life proved to be a powerful influence on the Civil Rights Movement.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Naacp, Constance Baker Motley

For Students 9th - 10th
In this transcript of an interview for Eyes on the Prize, Justice Constance Baker Motley recalls her role as an NAACP attorney in landmark school desegregation cases.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Easy to read biography of anti-slavery activist, abolitionist and feminist, Sojourner Truth. Article covers her early life as a slave, her Civil War years, and her famous speeches.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Freedom Riders

For Students 9th - 10th
Article provides numerous detailed facts and a summary of the Freedom Riders who boarded their buses in May 1961 to test segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals in the South.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Montgomery Bus Boycott

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides detailed facts and a summary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregation on public buses that began on December 1, 1955. It was led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Scottsboro Case

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article tells about the several trials of the so-called Scottsboro Boys. This case became a beacon for later civil rights movements.
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Primary
Stanford University

Stanford University: Lesson Plan on "Beyond Vietnam"

For Students 9th - 10th
A well designed four part lesson plan on Dr. King's famous speech on the Vietnam War in which he came out against the war.
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Website
New York University

Nyu Archives of Irish America: 1981 Hunger Strikes: America Reacts

For Students 9th - 10th
Online exhibit chronicling the Reactions of Americans to the death of 10 men on hunger strikes, all from Northern Ireland.
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Primary
Other

Afscme: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the the events of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike which drew Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis, which is where he was soon to be assassinated. Excellent source of primary sources and first hand accounts of the...
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Handout
Other

Aclu: Title Ix the Nine

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biographies of nine visionary people who supported equal opportunity for women in education and sports.
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Article
Seeker

Seeker: Mlk Tested 'Dream' Speech as a Teen

For Students 9th - 10th
Article reports on a speech given by a teen Martin Luther King, Jr. and its similiarities to his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Includes a video.
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Lesson Plan
Everything ESL

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Teach your ESL students about Dr. Martin Luther King. This lesson plan includes the TESOL standards. You will find downloads and audio clips.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Seeing Integration From Different Viewpoints

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What does the world look like through someone else's eyes? Guide middle schoolers in using colorful paper glasses to examine a story of school desegregation from multiple perspectives.