Curated OER
Gandhi Speech Writing
Explore non-violent protest in this social values and world history lesson. After viewing the movie Gandhi, and discussing important events in Gandhi's life, young orators write a speech defending Gandhi's position on the value of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Protesting Violence without Violence
The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A instructional activity compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till"...
Carolina K-12
The Vietnam War and Protest Music
Here's a must-have resource for your Vietnam War curriculum file. Class members view a PowerPoint that details the background of the conflict and then examines the reasons for and the effects of protest songs on American attitudes toward...
Speak Truth to Power
John Lewis: Non-Violent Activism
After comparing and contrasting non-violent and violent social movements, your young historians will take a closer look at the work and influence of John Lewis on the civil rights movement. They will then choose a current social justice...
K12 Reader
Glossary of Non-Violence
Make sure your class is sure of terminology when referring to the non-violent methods used in the civil rights movement. This glossary includes 19 terms paired with parts of speech and definitions.
Curated OER
Non-violent Protest Through The Ages
Middle schoolers are introduced to non-violent ways to solve disagreements with others. In groups, they analyze the ways Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Thoreau shared their views in non-violent ways. They complete a sketch of the life...
Curated OER
Concept Formation Lesson Plan: Understanding "Protest"
After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and components...
PBS
Breaking the Code: Actions and Songs of Protest
Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil changed history. Their sit-in at the lunch counter of the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960 became a model for the nonviolent protests that...
Curated OER
Protests against Bush
Non-violent conflict resolution is the focus of this instructional activity, which addresses the protests against President Bush in the UK (2003). Students list the strengths and limitations of non-violent conflict resolution, and chart...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Letter to Congress About Bloody Sunday
The brutality of Bloody Sunday—when non-violent protesters who supported voting rights for African Americans were beaten by police—captured a nation. Young historians examine the letter of one horrified American to Congress to consider...
PBS
Organizing the Farm Worker Movement
The food on young scholars' tables was likely harvested by hands that fought for fair wages and working conditions. By examining the life of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, learners connect their daily meals with the struggles of those...
National Woman's History Museum
Songs of Protest: Seneca Falls to Vietnam
Long before the songs of the 1960's Peace Movement, long before the songs of the Civil Rights Movement, and even before the songs of the Abolition Movement, were the songs of the Suffrage Movement. To understand the power of protest...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 1: Protest: Why and How
To some people, protesting is as American as apple pie, but the factors that lead to protests can be as confusing to veteran activists as to today's youth. Revolution '67 explores the riots in Newark, New Jersey as a case study. Using...
Curated OER
Gandhi’s 12 Vows: Training Warriors of Non-violence
Students examine Gandhi’s ‘Walk n Talk’ strategy. In this lesson on civil disobedience, students evaluate Gandhi’s non-violent method of satyagraha as an effective mode of revolution.
ProCon
National Anthem Protests
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem in 2016 as a form of protest. Were his actions appropriate? Using the provided website, pupils attempt to decide for themselves by reading the main...
Curriculum Project
Gandhi
Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...
C3 Teachers
Civil Rights: What Made Nonviolent Protest Effective during the Civil Rights Movement?
Sit-ins and boycotts, marches and speeches, songs and demonstrations were hallmarks of nonviolent protest of the civil rights movement. Young scholars research primary and secondary source documents to determine what made nonviolent...
National Woman's History Museum
Taking a Stand: Woman Suffrage and Protest at the White House K-8
A class discussion opens a lesson on women suffragettes. Learners imagine they are preparing to protest for women's voting rights. Scholars create a colorful poster to hold up high when marching in front of the White House.
Curated OER
Nonviolent Resistance: Gandhi and King
Students use the internet to research the major events and dates of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In groups, they use this information to create a poster to present to the class. They reflect on how these two men were...
DocsTeach
The Suffrage and the Civil Rights Reform Movements
It's the American way to put one foot in front of the other and march. Using images of protests from the civil rights and women's suffrage movements, young historians analyze similarities between the two watershed moments of social...
Fu Jen Catholic University
Cry Freedom
If you are considering showing the film Cry Freedom, directed by Richard Attenborough, to your class, you might show them this presentation first. The slides contain background information about South Africa, apartheid, Steve Biko, and...
Curated OER
20th Century Civil Disobedience
Students write from varying perspectives in the American South about the civil rights movements in the 1950s. In this civics lesson, students view video clips and take notes. Students discuss the film and listen to a lecture on...
US Institute of Peace
Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action Simulation on Colombia
With new leadership comes new hope! After years of violence, the people of Colombia elect a new president ... could this mean an end to conflict? Civics scholars take part in a large group role-playing exercise designed to illustrate the...