Middle School Lesson Plans

These lesson plans have been developed specifically for the middle grades.

Lesson Plans by SC Educators
(recently added are listed first)

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Onset of the Civil Rights Movement

Students will analyze primary sources from the Library of Congress to determine the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. Using 21st Century skills, students will use technology to examine primary sources, provide perspective, provide effective feedback, and use technology as a tool to inform and communicate with peers

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Larry Doby, Jackie Robinson, Baseball, and Civil Rights

After completing the instructional activity on this website, students will be able to determine the difference between primary and secondary sources as well as explain the importance of desegregation in baseball.

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Youth in the Civil Rights Movement

This website looks at the African American Civil Rights Movement, including initial strategies, landmark court cases and legislation, the roles of key civil rights advocates and the media, and the influence of the Civil Rights Movement on other groups seeking equality.

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Silent Resistance – The Silent Fight for Civil Rights While Enslaved

This website looks at one of the most common and important acts of resisting the institution of slavery: maintaining cultural identify.  By keeping the cultural traditions of their homeland alive, they silently resisted the psychological breakdown during the process of enslavement and continued their fight for their civil rights while creating a new and unique culture.

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Youth in the Civil Rights Movement

As part of a Civil Rights unit, students will participate in a novel study of “The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963,” learning about the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
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Jackie Robinson, Baseball & Civil Rights

This lesson will introduce the concept of Civil Rights in baseball and teach students to identify the differences between primary and secondary sources. 
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Understanding the Civil Rights Movement with Primary Sources

Students will analyze primary sources of the Jim Crow Era and the Civil Rights Movement, make historical and current event connections, and write a letter and/or give a speech to the leadership of the NAACP in the 1950’s and 60’s with ideas for how to implement today’s technology to help their cause with their analysis of the situation and their ideas for improvement.

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Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement

In groups, students will choose an event that influenced civil rights in the U.S. Events will range from the 1700s to modern day and focus on a variety of marginalized groups throughout the history of our nation. Students will create a presentation to share with other students. 

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Library of Congress Civil Rights Lesson Plans

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Segregation: From Jim Crow to Linda Brown

Students identify problems and issues facing African-Americans immediately after Reconstruction using text based sources.
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Baseball, Race Relations and Jackie Robinson

Students explore racism in the United States, both in and out of sports. The lesson focuses primarily on race relations in the 1950s.
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To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective

Students gain a sense of the living history that surrounds the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Students of all backgrounds may better grasp how historical events and human forces have shaped relationships between black and white, and rich and poor cultures of our country.