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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women's Votes, Women's Voices

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate Women's Suffrage by analyzing images from the past.  In this equal rights lesson, students read biographical work about Emma Smith DeVoe, an activist who fought for women's rights.  Students view a comic style...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars watch the Discovery program "Racial Inequality: Remnants of a Troubled Time" then examine the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. They research one of three events that tested Brown v....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Racism: Law and Attitude

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine discrimination laws. In this racism lesson, students compare and contrast de facto and de jure discrimination. High schoolers also explore the Bill of Rights and determine what makes some acts and speech illegal.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Twelve Angry Men: Trial by Jury as a Right and as a Political Institution

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the constitutional guarantee of the right to trial by jury. In this U. S. Constitution lesson, students read or view Twelve Angry Men and respond to discussion questions regarding the jury. Students examine the...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction

For Students 5th
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
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Lesson Plan
Syracuse University

Women's Suffrage Movement

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Women gained the right to vote in the twentieth century, but the fight for equality dates back centuries. Using an invitation to an 1874 suffrage convention, eager historians consider the motivations behind supporters of the suffrage...
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Unit Plan
Tennessee State Museum

Understanding Women’s Suffrage: Tennessee’s Perfect 36

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Tennessee was the pivotal state in ratifying women's suffrage in 1920, with its vote coming down to one man: Harry Burn, a 24-year old state representative who changed his nay to an aye on the advice of his mother. Learn more about...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Individual Rights - The Right To Equal Protection

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students examine the concepts of equal protection, discrimination, affirmative action, and racial profiling. They analyze the Equal Protection Clause, participate in a mock trial, and discuss the different parts of the trial.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do You Have a Prayer?

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students review the 1st Amendment and the clauses which deal with prayer/religion in schools. They discuss, in groups, the Equal Access Act, which gives students the right to practice/express their religion at school and take a quiz on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Justice Demands an End to Segregation, But it Does Not End

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students define human rights and describe how it applies to politics, economics and cultural rights. As a class, they watch a video how the Constitution was made and discuss its purpose. In groups, they present information to the class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We the People

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine both the Preamble of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They work in small groups to connect the two documents and analyze how the documents are important to their lives today. They create a poster that visually...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
K12 Reader

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 
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Lesson Plan
1
1
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
State Bar of Texas

Baker v. Carr

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Can the federal government override the state government to protect the citizens of the United States? The 1962 Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr outlines the issue of equal protection under the law. Scholars investigate with a short...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Museum of Tolerance

Making Lemonade: Responding to Oppression in Empowering Ways

For Teachers 11th Standards
An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the anti-Semitism...
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Writing
Curated OER

Women’s Suffrage Movement

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
Though the movement for Women's Suffrage stretched over several decades and across two centuries, the final few years were the most difficult hurdle in many ways. Use a document-based question writing exercise to make inferences about...
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Activity
US Institute of Peace

Governance, Corruption and Conflict Simulation on Nepal

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Can your class help the people of Nepal? Scholars take an in-depth look into the social injustices and struggling economy of a country in turmoil during a multi-day role-playing exercise. After reviewing information on the problems...
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Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Government: Defending the Bill of Rights

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils examine the proposition of a country without the Bill of Rights. In a role-playing activity, teams of learners gather information to build a case for retaining the Bill of Rights and present it before their congressperson.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights Movement in America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the Civil Rights movement as a culmination of history and cultural perspectives developed from the Slave Trade and Reconstruction. They identify leading persons and organizations and their personal philosophy to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights and the ADA

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine and discuss the 14th and 15th amentments, and evaluate the agendas of Americans from underrepresented groups in the quest for civil rights. They conduct Internet research and create essays or posters regarding Civil Rights.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Denying Civil Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students continue their examination of the United States Constitution. Individually, they identify events in which the government has limited our civil rights and write an essay. In groups, they debate the issue and answer...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making More Places at the Table: The American Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the biography of Henry B. Gonzalez. They examine primary source documents from Congressman Gonzalez's personal papers related to his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill of Rights: Shapers of Meaning

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review the Bill of Rights as a class. In groups, they use the internet to research the contributions made by historical figures in forming these rights. They create a poster showing the information they collected and present...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Teaching Tolerance

Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice | Legal Action: The Supreme Court

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A social justice lesson focuses on the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia which struck down laws that prohibited marriages between African Americans and white Americans. The lesson begins with class members examining a photograph of...