Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence
Using the book, Martin's Big Words, learners will discover the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Vocabulary is identified throughout the story by using several his famous protest speeches as examples. Class discussions on racism, during...
Curated OER
Civil Rights and Americans with Disabilities
Students apply the principles of American democracy to people with disabilities. They analyze how individuals and groups in American society have struggled to achieve the liberties and equality promised in the principles of American...
PBS
March on Washington: A Time for Change
Young historians conclude their study of the events that lead up to and the planning for the March on Washington. After examining videos and primary source documents, they consider the civil rights objectives that still need to be...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King and Malcom X on Violence and Integration
Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries. Both were gifted orators, both were preachers, both were leaders during the Civil Rights era, both were assassinated. But the two had very different views on violence and...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third lesson in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to Congress...
Smithsonian Institution
Re-Segregation of American Schools: Re-Segregation
Examine the re-segregation of public schools in a thought-provoking resource. Young scholars read articles and primary sources, complete worksheets, and watch a video to explore the idea that desegregation made schools more segregated....
American Institute of Physics
The Physicist's War: Dr. Herman Branson and the Scientific Training of African Americans during World War II
The mobilization of soldiers for World War II resulted in a worker shortage in the defense industries, especially in the fields of physics and other sciences. The Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program (ESMWT) was...
US House of Representatives
Permanent Interests: The Expansion, Organization, and Rising Influence of African Americans in Congress, 1971–2007
The fourth installment of the seven-instructional activity unit focused on African Americans elected to and serving in the US Congress looks at the period from 1971 through 2007. Class members read a contextual essay that provides...
Center for History Education
African Americans and the Democratic Party
Why did African American voters switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic party during the Depression Era? That is the question young historians attempt to answer as they study primary source documents from the period. The focus...
US House of Representatives
Legislative Trends and Power Sharing Among Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1977–2012
Bilingual education, voting rights, and Congressional redistricting come up often in the news. Explore these topics from another view—the perspectives of Hispanic members of Congress. Activities include an article with comprehension and...
US House of Representatives
Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
Curated OER
The Making of a Holiday: MLK, Jr. Day
Students explore the life of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. They discuss the events surrounding his death and the significance of the federal holiday honoring Dr. King. As a class, they read about Dr. King's work for...
Curated OER
Understanding Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Third graders explore civil rights by researching the late Dr. King. In this African American leader lesson, 3rd graders read the book Martin's Big Words which explore the foundation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s principals and...
Anti-Defamation League
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought, Unbossed and Unforgotten
A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...
Maryland Department of Education
Our Children Can Soar
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson plan on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
Learning for Justice
Mary McLeod Bethune
Young historians conduct a close reading of the text of an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves who taught herself to read, grew up to establish schools for other Black women, and went on to become an advisor...
PBS
The Goals of the March on Washington
Who else had a dream other than Martin Luther King, Jr.? Pupils explore civil rights leaders in a fourth lesson out of a series of five about people who paved the way to freedom for African Americans. The inquiry-based unit has your...
Curated OER
Discrimination in the Workplace
Students become familiar with civil rights law, particularly Title VII of Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which addresses instances of discrimination in the workplace. Students then recognize instances of workplace discrimination against...
Curated OER
Learning to Respect Each Other
Discover how important Martin Luther King Jr. is to our society. In this civil rights lesson plan, investigate how Dr. King was an advocate for nonviolence and how he fought for civil rights for all Americans. Read and analyze Dr. King's...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King
Students examine the contributions made by Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss civil rights, conduct research in small groups, participate in a discrimination simulation, and create a collage.
Curated OER
Growing Like Dr. King
Students explore American History by reading biographical material. In this civil rights lesson, students read information about Martin Luther King Jr. and his successful demonstrations which led to equal rights for African Americans....
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...