The Civil Rights Movement Activities for Kids 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Middle School
First, let's review the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is considered the most significant piece of civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the era immediately following the Civil War.
It was passed on July 2 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in voting, public accommodations, public facilities, public education, federally funded programs, and employment.
Here are 10 civil rights activities for kids in elementary or middle school. You may use them in a social studies unit for Black History Month, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, for African American studies or for other classroom lesson plans.
to see best-selling and best-reviewed Civil Rights books, activities, timeline, and classroom posters from my Amazon Associate store. I did the searching for you to save you time.
Here are 10 civil rights activities for kids in elementary or middle school. You may use them in a social studies unit for Black History Month, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, for African American studies or for other classroom lesson plans.
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ACTIVITY IDEAS:
1. Students may listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have a Dream Speech" from August 28, 1963 around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
After students listen to the videos, they may answer questions about the speech and the Civil Rights Movement.
Here is a Quizlet to get you started. Click HERE.
After listening to or reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous I Have a Dream speech, have your students think about their own dreams for the world. They can write their own “dream” speeches about what they want to change or improve in the world. This can lead into discussions about kindness, fairness, and making the world a better place.
2. Student may listen to real life interviews as provided by the Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009.
This features interviews providing oral history related to the Civil Rights Movement to obtain justice, freedom and equality for African Americans.
For example, here is an interview from Ruby Nell Sales. Click HERE.
More interviews my be found HERE.
Here are a five project ideas for students after listening to an oral history video:
1. Write a summary paper of at least 10 historical facts from the video.2. Write a reflection paper telling thoughts and feelings from watching the video.3. Have students watch different videos. Then in small groups, students discuss and share information about their video.4. Student research more information on a historical fact learned in the video.5. As a large group, students create a word wall of vocabulary and key phrases compiled from watching oral history videos.
3. Students may view an online exhibit about the March on Washington.
August 28, 2013–August 30, 2014This exhibition transports visitors to the momentous day of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963—a day that transformed our nation—when 250,000 people from all walks of life participated in the largest non-violent demonstration for civil rights that Americans had ever witnessed.
Click HERE to see the overview, exhibit items, slideshow and more.
4. Student may explore some of the historic civil rights places online. Click HERE.
After students explore the map, they may choose one location and make a travel brochure leading people to this historic site.
5. Interactive Timeline Walk
Set up a physical timeline in your room using string and paper clips. Write key events on index cards—Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington—and have students take turns placing them in order. This can help students visualize the progression of the movement.
6. Research how other people were involved in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Here are some individuals to get you started:
- President John F. Kennedy,
- President Lyndon B. Johnson,
- Everett Dirksen,
- Emanuel Celler,
- Hubert Humphrey,
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
- Mike Mansfield,
- William Moore McCulloch,
- Roy Wilkins,
- Clarence Mitchell, and
- A. Phillip Randolph
Students may then write a story, a poem, or a song about how working together and with others they made the Civil Rights Act of 1964 happen
7. Students may research to discover more male and female Freedom Fighters in history.
Here is a foldable craft activity for students to record their findings. Click HERE to download the file.
8. Have students listen to music from the civil rights era.
Click HERE to listen to samples from Smithsonian Folkways.
9. Have the students make a civil rights quilt for the bulletin board.
Break the class into small groups, with each group researching a Civil Rights figure such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, or John Lewis. After they learn about their hero, have them create a quilt square illustrating the hero’s life or a key moment. Put the squares together to form a “Civil Rights Heroes” quilt to display in your classroom or homeschool area.
10. Check out best-selling activities on Amazon.
Click HERE to view my Amazon Associate store with a list of best-selling and best-reviewed resources for your students to learn about the Civil Rights Movement.
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Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!
