Lesson Plans

Use the short evocative videos and films in this lesson plan to engage young people in conversations about identity, diversity, bias and social justice.

Teach students about the CROWN Act, the need for the bill and have them reflect on real-life examples of hair discrimination.

Teach students about media bias and reflect on the Ukraine example as well other examples of media bias.

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making To what extent do the Brian Flores lawsuit, the Rooney Rule, and other historical issues reveal racial discrimination in the N.F.L.? In February 2022, former N.F.L. (National Football League) Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the…

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making What are Reasons and Explanations for Challenging and Banning Books? Challenging and banning books goes back centuries. In recent times, children’s and young adult books have been challenged and banned. The reasons and explanations are many and varied and include profanity, “values,…

GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making 7-Year-Old Morgan Bugg Advocates for More Diversity in Avatars In April 2021, seven-year-old Morgan Bugg of Tennessee was using an educational gaming app called Freckle, which is used by more than 900,000 teachers in the U.S. This app gives students a chance to win coins while…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What is privilege? How does privilege impact the criminal justice system? On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old Black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The officer was not indicted. The story captured the attention of the nation and the media, and in many ways became the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement. Many stories like this occurred in the following years and continued…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School How is Dialogue Different than Debate? Technology is enabling students to be increasingly aware of news and current events. Along with this increased awareness, we see more and more students becoming actively engaged in conversations around hot-button topics. While students often talk in digital spaces about current events that concern them, they also continue the conversation in person. When disagreements happen in those conversations, what…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What Needs to Change to Increase Voter Turnout? After every election, regardless of the outcome, people wonder how many people showed up at the polls to vote. The number is never as high as people would like, especially during midterm elections. In the 2016 Presidential election, 60.1% of the population eligible to vote showed up to the polls. During the midterm elections in 2018, only 50.3% of those eligible voted. While thousands of dollars…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School On What Grounds, If Any, Should an Adult U.S. Citizen Be Prevented from Voting? Should There Be Felony Disenfranchisement Laws?   During the 2018 midterm elections, Florida voted on whether to allow those who have been incarcerated to gain back their right to vote. Florida was one of a handful of states that did not allow previous felons to have their voting rights restored following completion of their prison sentences…

GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Introducing Bills to Limit Transgender Athletes from Playing Sports In 2020, twenty bills in eighteen states were introduced by state legislatures to limit athletes who are transgender from competing on sports teams. Only Idaho was successful in passing such a law. By the end of January 2021…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School How Were Youth Involved in the Civil Rights Movement? Throughout history, young people have stepped up and into leadership roles during different civil rights and social movements. This was never more evident than in the Civil Rights Movement, where young people were on the frontlines of the Montgomery bus boycotts, Freedom Rides and sit-ins. Given that student activism is on the rise again across the U.S., understanding how those young voices…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What is My Role in Creating and Participating in a Brave Space for Myself and Others?Educators want a welcoming classroom where every student feels appreciated, supported and able to express their ideas. While creating a safe space has been the focus for a long time, we are now calling on educators and students to create “brave spaces.” These are spaces where everyone feels that they can contribute, that they will be heard and they…

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School, High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language SEL STANDARDS*: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Responsible Decision-Making Baseball and Segregation In December 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that they will correct a longtime injustice in the game’s history by officially elevating the Negro Leagues (of 1920-1948) to “Major League” status. For historical context, in the…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What is Bias? What is Implicit Bias?In What Ways Could Bias Have an Impact on Your Civic Participation? The U.S. Constitution embodies ideals of equal opportunity and fair treatment for all and is reinforced by laws like the Civil Rights Act and Title IX. Yet, marginalized people who have experienced discrimination and unfair treatment historically, continue to do so in the present day. The stories in the news and social media seem to…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What is the Electoral College? How is the Electoral College Democratic or Not? In the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, President Donald Trump won even though he did not win the popular vote. Why? He won the Electoral College vote. In other moments in U.S. History, the presidential candidate who won the popular vote was not elected, as the other candidate won via the Electoral College (including George W. Bush in 2000). These election results…

GRADE LEVEL: High School What is the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? What was Frederick Douglass’s Argument for Why Black Men Should Have the Right to Vote?   During the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, large questions loomed about the futures of four million formerly enslaved people. The 15th Amendment, one of three crucial amendments passed in the immediate wake of the Civil War, was essential to securing voting rights for African-American men. One…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School Which Form of Government Has the Most Power? What are the Differences in Power Between Each Form of Government? Which Form of Government Has the Most Power to Address Equity and Social Justice Issues?   Aside from the separation of powers at the federal level, the U.S. Constitution also describes the power relationships between state and federal governments, how that power will be distributed, and the relationships between the…

Civics Lesson GRADE LEVEL: High School What are Human Rights? What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?   In 1946, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, with hopes of preventing future atrocities, an international committee with varied legal and cultural backgrounds began to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR was proclaimed by the new United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This document contains 30 Articles that set a standard…