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Lesson Plans

Lesson plans relating to civil rights have been developed by numerous government agencies and organizations.  This page provides an outlet for  these additions to teachers' curricula.

This reading lesson identifies the ties between economics, civil rights, and education, as told through the life of Booker T. Washington.  

Amnesty International offers a number of resources for schools and classrooms.  On this website, teachers will find educational materials on human rights education, becoming a human rights friendly school, tips for safety during a peaceful protest, an educator's guide on "Write for Rights," tips for contacting your senator, and a multitude of other guides, curricula, and tools. 

This document contains a curriculum of seven lessons relating to civil rights.  They were developed by the Little Rock Central High School Freshman Academy.

March on Washington

This lesson comprises of two primary source documents relating to the March on Washington.  Two worksheets are provided to guide student thinking about this historical event.

Primary Source: March on Washington Final Plan Manual

Worksheet:  Goals of the March on Washington

Primary Source:  March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Program

Worksheet:  Primary Source Questions

Beaches are coastal landscapes which are incredibly significant in the struggle for the Civil Rights Movement.  This article provides an ideal source of discussion about the different types of places involved in the struggle for civil liberties.

PBS developed this 90-minute interactive lesson on the Civil Rights Movement, appropriate for grades 7-12.

This is a three-period lesson plan, published by Discovery Education, introducing high school students (grades 9-12) to the concepts and history of civil rights and civil liberty.

This lesson, published by The Conversation, addresses some of the myths about the history of American slavery.

This is a timeline of the history of civil rights in the United States.

This lesson, published by Edutopia, contains information about the life of Cesar Chavez and his significance for civil rights.  Students will engage in listening to and reading primary sources from Chavez.  Discussion questions guide the student conversations. 

This 15-minute lesson plan was developed by Esri's GeoInquiries project.  Students will use GIS maps and other resources to understand with impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s message for racial equality.  This lesson is ideal for English, history, social studies, and American literature. 

If a teacher needs a good audio clip on Civil Rights, they can use this 23-minute podcast on the history of the "Green Book," a travel guide that aided black travelers on trips across the United States.  This webpage also contains an article about the topic, as well as screenshots of primary source documents. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) published two lessons surrounding the subject: "Competing voices of the Civil Rights Movement."  The first lesson is entitled, "Martin Luther King, Jr. and nonviolent resistance."  Lesson two is called, "Black separatism or the beloved community? Malcom X and Martin Luther King, Jr."

The Equal Justice Society published a massive set of 50 lesson plans (61-page PDF) relating to civil rights. 

The National Park Service (NPS) developed this lesson plan to accompany resources for the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.  The central question is, "To what extend did the Civil War impact the Civil Rights Movement?"  The lesson is intended for grades 4-12.

Stanford University made available a PDF on the Civil Rights Act with the bell ringer: Was JFK a strong supporter of Civil Rights?

Teaching Tolerance includes a variety of ready-made classroom resources discussing historical and contemporary civil rights issues.  Lessons are available for all grade levels.

The Library of Congress offers seven lesson plans for grade levels 6-12.  Such resources include "After reconstruction: problems of African Americans in the South," "Baseball, race relations and Jackie Robinson," "Women in the Civil War: ladies, contraband and spies," and "Segregation: from Jim Crow to Linda Brown."

PBS created a media-based lesson plan on Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 70s.  This resource was intended for middle and high school students.

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