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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Life of Harriet Tubman

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
A well-designed lesson teaches about the history of Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and the issues of civil liberties. Young historians watch a video, access Internet resources, and engage in cooperative activities which should...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

Analyzing the Inaugural Address

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address, the...
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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
Young scholars form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. In this Civil Rights movement lesson, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in freedom...
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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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Lesson Plan
2
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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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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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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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Lesson Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Freedom for All?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What did abolitionists have in common with those working for women's rights? How has the Native American struggle for voting rights differed from the struggles of other groups? Class members examine the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Controversial Issues

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Hot topics are often engaging and can get heated. High School students engage in an academic discussion were they must learn to engage with a person holding a different view than their own. They practice discussing different opinions...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dissidents Delicately Democratize

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read and discuss the article, 'Chinese Dissidents Issue a Sharp Challenge to the Government' on pro-democratic manifestos that were recently written in China, write a journal entry on what human rights means to them.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Right on Time!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars read portions of biographies about human rights activists before participating in a jigsaw activity in which they report out on what they read. They made a timeline of one of the human rights activist's lives. They write a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dou

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights lesson, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...

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