Student Handouts
Voting Rights Speech Before Congress
Is your class studying civil rights? Consider taking a look at President Lyndon B. Johnson's voting rights speech. This resource includes an abridged version and three related questions. Pupils consider Johnson's use of language and the...
DocsTeach
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1964: A victory for the civil rights movement! Scholars read a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discuss what affirmative actions means to them. The resource is a jigsaw activity, with each group focusing on one section of the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Equality: Changing Attitudes And Beliefs
Students analyze archival materials contemporaneous with the birth of the Women's Rights Movement, and begin to appreciate the deeply entrenched opposition the early crusaders had to overcome. They discuss whether or not such attitudes...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Rosa Parks: A Quest for Equal Protection Under the Law
Teach young historians about the historical legacy of Rosa Parks with a multi-faceted lesson plan. Pupils follow stations and use journals to explore prominent events, analyze primary resource documents, and engage in interesting...
Curated OER
Breaking Barriers
Determine how African-Americans have broken barriers in this history lesson. Middle schoolers discuss the 15th Amendment and the American civil rights movement prior to analyzing Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union," taking care...
Curated OER
Our Story: Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence
For this parent and child activity, young learners read Martin’s Big Words and a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is a wonderful guided reading pdf that defines challenge words and provides reading tips. The object of this...
University of North Carolina
Sitting Down To Stand Up For Democracy
Boycotts and bus rides, sit-ins and speeches. The focus of this amazing resource is on those people who were willing to put themselves at risk to take a stand for their belief in equal rights for all. A must-have for your curriculum...
Soft Schools
Civil Rights
Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score, answers—correct and...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
DocsTeach
The Path of Justice: Selma and the Voting Rights Act
The civil rights movement: An ongoing battle for change. The activity focuses on President Johnson's speech in response to the massacre at the Selma March. Academics study the speech, complete a hands-on-activity, and discuss President...
Curated OER
Separate is Not Equal: Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education was a landmark case, but what other cases were influenced by its decision? By researching 1 of 14 civil rights legislative events, scholars follow this court case through recent events. Keeping in mind 6...
Curated OER
Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights
Students complete a worksheet and study key vocabulary while researching the biography of Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Movement. They chose another Civil Rights leader to investigate and present to the rest of the class before...
Curated OER
The Women’s Suffrage Movement
A set of lessons about the women's suffrage movement will bring history to life for your middle schoolers. Learners study primary documents, learn about famous suffragettes, and compare the suffrage movement to current events...
Curated OER
Beyond the Playing Field -Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate
Students examine and discuss documents pertaining to issues of the civil rights movement.
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades K-2
A civil rights movement lesson designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school....
Curated OER
New Movements For Social Justice: The Latino Struggle for Equal Rights
Students examine myths and stereotypes about Hispanic immigrant groups. They appreciate and share the strengths of their diversity and view films that challenge ideas about education and cultural values. They explore the Latino Rights...
Curated OER
How did Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson affect the Civil Rights Movement?
Students research Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson then utilize their findings to determine what each of the three Presidents contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In this U.S. History instructional activity, students work in small...
Curated OER
Chapter 23 – The Civil Rights Movement
In this U.S. history worksheet, students read assigned textbook pages on the Civil Rights Movement and respond to 48 short answer questions.
DocsTeach
"We Are Badly in Need of a Breath of Fresh Air": A Letter to President Kennedy About LGBTQ+ Rights
The 1960s were a pivotal time for many Americans who had long been discriminated against. Scholars read a document addressed to President Kennedy in support of LGBTQ+ rights and why they are essential. The activity includes group...
National Woman's History Museum
Women's Suffrage Movement
The National Women's History Museum offers a 20-slide presentation that details the history of the Women's Suffrage Movement from its creation in the 1830s through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
Curated OER
Separate Is Not Equal
Based on discussion, analysis of primary source documents, and with the help of a graphic organizer, young historians discover the steps that were taken to eliminate segregation in public schools in the United States. This lesson from...
Curated OER
Researching Equality and Justice
Choosing from a list, researchers investigate topics that range from the women in the American Civil Rights movement to the quest for equal rights in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the plan is not detailed, a link to a PBS site that...
Center for History Education
Women's Rights in the American Century
Today, many young people find it hard to understand why it took over 150 years for women in the United States to get the right to vote—why there was even a need for the suffrage movement. As they read a series of primary source...
City University of New York
Women's Suffrage and World War I
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect with...