Lesson Plans
Why is the Civil Rights Movement Taking So Long?
Students analyze oral histories to explore potential social, economic, and geographic barriers to achieving or promoting civil rights. After, students craft a response to the lesson's question in writing or video format.
How Well Do Our Parties Represent Us?
Students analyze primary sources to better understand the two-party political system in the United States through investigation of the manner in which political parties gained and nurtured constituents in the later 19th century and actions they took in the mid-20th century that brought satisfaction/dissatisfaction among constituents. After, students identify one significant reform either in electoral processes or at the party level that could result in greater responsiveness to the will of the people.
What’s the Problem with Patents?
Students analyze 20th-century primary sources to scrutinize patents over time. Next, students are introduced to the subject of bioethics and investigate contemporary biological patents. After, students participate in a debate about the ethics of medical research and patents.
Asian American & Pacific Islander Perspectives & Experiences
Students analyze a map to gain background knowledge of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) perspectives and experiences and read an historical newspaper article to launch further investigation into ways that AAPI individuals and organizations engaged as civic actors in U.S. history. Next, students consider how art and literature provide windows, mirrors, and sliding doors to AAPI perspectives and experiences. After, students create a digital artifact that reveals how a contemporary AAPI person is engaging civically and contributing to U.S. culture.
The Long Civil Rights Movement
Students analyze primary sources to investigate the long arc of the civil rights movement by examining economic and social conditions and actions that were taken prior to and after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After, students interview a local civil rights activist and/or design an action plan to make their community aware of a contemporary civil rights issue.
Champions of Change
Students analyze a variety of primary sources to explore how African American song took root as a means of spreading the message of equality and as a critical part in unifying America in the struggle. After, students investigate the influence of contemporary music and musicians on memorializing the successes of the past and emphasizing the continuing need for equality today.
Making a Mark: Marching & Leaping Towards Reform
Students make connections between protest, reform, and legacy through investigation of the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have A Dream” speech, the poem "Crossing" by Jericho Brown, and an excerpt of a conversation about leaving a legacy to your country with poet, teacher, and activist Sonia Sanchez. After, students consider civic actions they might take that would support the promise of American democracy.
Civic Actions to Impact the Future
Students make connections between the past, present, and future of the environment through their own imaginings, analysis of a primary source image, and the poem "Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now" by Matthew Olzmann. After, students might assess waste or pollution in their school or local community, then consider actions they could take today to help positively impact the future by promoting environmentally friendly policies and/or programs.
The Importance of Voting
Students consider the importance of voting as they analyze primary sources and the poem “One Vote” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. They then learn more about the connection between poetry and the woman suffrage movement. After, students may investigate a contemporary politician or activist advocating for voting rights and present their findings to the class.
A New National Anthem
Students analyze the lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner, then investigate how a 1991 musical rendition of the song by Whitney Houston and a poem by Ada Limón provide them with deeper insights and understanding of the U.S. National Anthem. After, students create a new version of the national anthem by either creating an erasure poem from the lyrics or writing a response to Limón’s poem or the original anthem.