TeachersFirst's Resources on Racism and Discrimination
As educators, it’s our duty to teach our students to respect people of all races, genders, orientations, and cultures, both in our classroom and in the outside world. Racism, sexism, and orientation discrimination can be difficult topics to broach in the classroom but are essential to discuss as students find their voices and form their understanding of the world. In this collection, we share resources about combatting racism, lesson plans about the human cost of discrimination, and additional activities to spark meaningful discussion and encourage students at all grade levels to treat all people with respect.
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Case Maker - Bean Creative
Grades
6 to 8
2 Favorites
1 Comments
Case Maker is a collection of 20 civics challenges for middle school students. Share individual challenges with students using the provided Challenge Code. Once students access the...more
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Case Maker is a collection of 20 civics challenges for middle school students. Share individual challenges with students using the provided Challenge Code. Once students access the challenge, the site offers tools for adding annotations and creating case folders. Once complete, students use information as a reference for other assignments or share their work using the site's presentation mode feature. Use your free Case Maker account to modify text and associated primary sources within challenges and follow student progress. Be sure to watch the introductory videos for teachers and students.
tag(s): black history (124), civil rights (194), constitution (87), democracy (19), elections (80), freedom of speech (13), immigrants (33), immigration (64), inquiry (24), media literacy (102), politics (112), racism (76), Research (83), world war 2 (149)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free materials on this site to encourage debate and discussion within your current civics lessons and lessons on civil rights and racism. Introduce Case Maker by showing the class the student introductory video. Each lesson includes primary sources to use when responding to prompts; ask students to find and share additional primary sources to include in their response to each question. Instead of just creating a list of additional resources, engage students and augment classroom technology use by sharing additional resources using Padlet, reviewed here. Padlet offers features for adding comments; ask students to use this feature to indicate important information found on the document. Enhance learning by finding and sharing videos that support the topic being discussed. Use Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add comments and question prompts for students. Upon completing student projects, extend learning by having stidents share their thoughts through a podcast featuring students' challenge solutions. Be sure to include a group of students in each podcast featuring various points of view and their backup documentation. Try using Acast, reviewed here, to create student podcasts.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Who, Me? Biased? - New York Times
Grades
5 to 12
6 Favorites
0 Comments
Explore bias through this series of videos from the New York Times. Using titles such as Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism, and Why We're Awkward, this series explores types ...more
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Explore bias through this series of videos from the New York Times. Using titles such as Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Racism, and Why We're Awkward, this series explores types of bias, how to address and change prejudices, and ways to address racism. Most videos run around two minutes in length, making them perfect for a short introduction to the topics addressed.
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tag(s): bias (22), black history (124), bullying (49), character education (76), civil rights (194), difficult conversations (58), diversity (38), racism (76), tolerance (9)
In the Classroom
Share videos with students either with a projector, an interactive whiteboard, or use the link or embed codes on your class website to view at home. Have students view from home and enhance learning using Vibby, reviewed here, where you can stop the video and ask questions about the parts where students may need clarification right on the video! Have cooperative learning groups extend their learning by creating podcasts sharing their insight into biases and racism along with suggestions on ways to address each problem. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. Share this site with your school's counselor for use with ongoing lessons in tolerance and diversity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Civil Rights History Project - National Museum of African American History and Culture
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
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The Civil Rights History Project provides the personal stories of Civil Rights activists from the 1950's and 1960's through video interviews. Each interview also includes a written...more
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The Civil Rights History Project provides the personal stories of Civil Rights activists from the 1950's and 1960's through video interviews. Each interview also includes a written transcript for download. Each interviewee is a member of The Freedom Movement and discusses their early life as an African-American and how it led to their role in the Civil Rights movement.
tag(s): 1960s (27), african american (110), black history (124), civil rights (194), cultures (132), interviews (14), racism (76), video (258), women (137)
In the Classroom
Share these videos on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector as part of any Civil Rights or racism unit. Include a link to the interviews on your class web page. After watching a video, have students research more about the events discussed. Engage students by replacing pen and paper and having them write blog entries of what they are learning using a blogging tool such as Penzu, reviewed here. With Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Take this a step further by modifying and enhancing learning and challenging students to create an interactive timeline using Preceden, reviewed here, about the events in the life of one of the activists. Alternatively, challenge students to create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here, to share stories and events from the Civil Rights Movement. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map where the events take place.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Parable of the Polygons - Vi Hart and Nicky Case
Grades
6 to 12
3 Favorites
0 Comments
Parable of the Polygons is a playful, yet serious, interactive look at how racism shapes our communities. The underlying theory is that people are generally tolerant and will only want...more
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Parable of the Polygons is a playful, yet serious, interactive look at how racism shapes our communities. The underlying theory is that people are generally tolerant and will only want to move if less than 1/3 of their neighbors look like them. Using that pretext, you move unhappy polygons until everyone is happy through an ongoing scenario of different situations.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (157), percent (58), racism (76), ratios (47)
In the Classroom
Parable of the Polygons is excellent for use in both math and social studies classes. Use in your social studies class to discover how bias and racism affect diversity through the escalation of small situations into larger problems. Challenge students to explore and interact through different scenarios to view changes. Have cooperative learning groups create podcasts demonstrating their understanding of one of the concepts. Use a site such as podOmatic, reviewed here. Share this site as an excellent interactive for use during math fairs.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Black History Month Resources - PBS
Grades
K to 12
3 Favorites
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Commemorate Black History Month with 20 lesson plans and resources covering a variety of topics including racial discrimination, civil rights, and discussions about race in current...more
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Commemorate Black History Month with 20 lesson plans and resources covering a variety of topics including racial discrimination, civil rights, and discussions about race in current events. Scroll through the page to view topics and grade level suggestions. Content ranges from a history of discrimination through current events such as debating race through the Trayvon Martin shooting. Some lessons also contain Common Core correlations.
tag(s): black history (124), civil rights (194), cultures (132), martin luther king (43), racism (76), video (258)
In the Classroom
Explore this site for many different lessons and resources to use during Black History Month and with lessons on racism and bias throughout the year. Use lessons found here to differentiate for students of different levels. Be sure to check out the Discrimination - fair or unfair? lesson plan that is designed specifically for students who have difficulty with verbal and written expression.
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Inequality.org - Institute for Policy Studies
Grades
8 to 12
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Inequality.org aspires to be a portal for those seeking information on the impact of inequalities in areas such as income, health, race, and more. Choose the topic of Data and ...more
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Inequality.org aspires to be a portal for those seeking information on the impact of inequalities in areas such as income, health, race, and more. Choose the topic of Data and Statistics to view charts, graphs, and discussions of inequalities and changes over time. For example, you can view several videos with topics such as CEO pay, Tax the Rich Fairy Tale, and Wealth Inequalities. Although this site certainly has a one-sided point of view as its focus, it is one that is sure to get you thinking.
tag(s): inequalities (23), racism (76), statistics (114)
In the Classroom
Have students explore this website then search for alternate points of view. Use this information as a starting point for a classroom debate on current events, economics, racism, and more. Have students create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here. Zeemaps allows students to create audio recordings AND choose various locations on a map to "map" the information given on this site. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here to compare and contrast different points of view. Don't be surprised if your more news-savvy students (or those whose parents discuss political views openly) have very strong opinions about the ideas on this site. What better way to spark a discussion in a government/civics class? This would be a useful site to share with your gifted or more able students during an election year and have them create a position paper or video for a fictitious candidate on one of the inequity issues. In a math class, use some of the statistics here to work with plotting and interpreting data. The topics are certain to engage student interest!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Beyond The Bubble - Stanford History Education Group
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
Beyond the Bubble offers a new generation of history assessments that work hand in hand with Common Core Standards to provide a window into student thinking and promote academic literacy....more
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Beyond the Bubble offers a new generation of history assessments that work hand in hand with Common Core Standards to provide a window into student thinking and promote academic literacy. Refered to as "HATS" (History Assessment of Thinking), assessments go beyond recall to applying facts in context. Choose the assessment link to explore topics such as "Civil Rights Movement in Context" or "Edison and a Kansas Housewife." Lessons also include an interactive rubric and sample student responses. Don't miss the going deeper activities, such as videos. Click links to download materials available in PDF format.
tag(s): 1920s (15), assessment (146), civil rights (194), civil war (134), cold war (30), colonial america (95), immigrants (33), immigration (64), racism (76), rubrics (33), slavery (75), thanksgiving (24), war of 1812 (14), womens suffrage (44)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this excellent site as a resource for Common Core social studies literacy assessments. Many of these activities (and videos) are ideal for your interactive whiteboard or projector. Share the interactive rubric BEFORE the lesson, so students are aware of exactly what is expected. Use activities and materials provided on the site to teach lessons in character education, bias, and racism. Create your own similiar activities. Explore this site during professional development sessions for ideas for rubrics and lesson planning. Click on tags for "same assessment type" to find additional assessments not in the main list.
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Zinn Education Project - Zinn Education Project
Grades
6 to 12
2 Favorites
0 Comments
The Zinn Education Project provides teaching resources as a part of its effort to offer an alternative to traditional methods of teaching history. Inspired by the work of Howard Zinn,...more
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The Zinn Education Project provides teaching resources as a part of its effort to offer an alternative to traditional methods of teaching history. Inspired by the work of Howard Zinn, the site and its resources come from a clearly progressive point of view and focus heavily on issues of social justice. Understand there is a political agenda here. The website offers both lesson plans and other teaching materials and a bibliography of related books and other non-web-based resources. In order to access the teaching materials, you must register on the site.
tag(s): african american (110), bias (22), black history (124), civil rights (194), hispanic (28), racism (76), women (137)
In the Classroom
If you are looking for additional teaching materials that focus on issues of social justice, racism, or which provide information from a progressive point of view, you can search by time period or theme (i.e., African American, Mexico, Hispanic, Latinx, LGBT, War and Anti-War, Civil Rights, Racism, and many more). The teaching materials are in PDF format you can download once you log in. Language arts teachers will find the articles here great for nonfiction reading and terrific as discussion starters!
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Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas State University
Grades
6 to 12
1 Favorites
0 Comments
This site has strong content focused on the historical importance of the Negro Leagues Baseball teams. Clicking on Progams and About find the offerings of the NLB Museum, and a ...more
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This site has strong content focused on the historical importance of the Negro Leagues Baseball teams. Clicking on Progams and About find the offerings of the NLB Museum, and a searchable archive of photographs and multimedia resources that can be used either in conjunction with the lesson plans (which include national standards benchmarks), or independently.
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tag(s): baseball (33), black history (124), civil rights (194), racism (76), sports (77)
In the Classroom
This is a great resource for "hooking" students interested in sports into the study of the Civil Rights Movement, understanding racism and bias, or modern US History. Consider including the resources here in your recognition of Black History Month as well. Share the introductory video on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Ask cooperative learning groups to explore a specific part of this site and create a paper poster or modify student learning by challenging them to use a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or enhance learning using PicLits, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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A Class Divided - Frontline/PBS-WGBH Educational Foundation
Grades
6 to 12
10 Favorites
0 Comments
This is one of the most requested programs for effectively conveying the reality of discrimination, what it feels like, and how it can change a person. Frontline, the PBS news-magazine...more
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This is one of the most requested programs for effectively conveying the reality of discrimination, what it feels like, and how it can change a person. Frontline, the PBS news-magazine show, produced this gripping piece that tackles the controversy, complexity, and consequences of discrimination that have shaped our society. This film and collection of activities are based on the 1970 documentary of the daring lesson that teacher Jane Elliott taught her third-grade class to give them a firsthand experience in the meaning of discrimination, immediately following the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The film shows what she taught the children and the impact that lesson had on their lives. It includes three major segments: the footage of the original documentary of Jane Elliott's third-graders, (approximately 20 minutes), the reunion of those third-graders 14 years later who talk about the effect her lesson has had on their lives, (approximately 7 minutes), and also Elliott teaching her lesson to adult employees of Iowa's prison system and how their reactions to her exercise were similar to those of the children, (approximately 20 minutes). A Teachers' Guide, found here as well as an abundance of supplementary materials that allow students to wrestle with realistic ideas, are available on this site.
tag(s): black history (124), bullying (49), character education (76), civil rights (194), difficult conversations (58), diversity (38), racism (76), segregation (18), tolerance (9)
In the Classroom
Help your students understand why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and raise their awareness of discrimination and the struggle for civil rights by involving them in active viewing of A Class Divided projected on your classroom interactive whiteboard or projector. You can view the film in its entirety, or in separate chapters followed by the Discussion Questions. You may want to give students a specific task to do during the film. For example, you might ask them to listen for a particular issue or the answers to a set of questions, or take notes in preparation for one of the post-viewing activities. As a way to accomplish this and enhance learning in your classroom use playposit, reviewed here. Replay the video or pause for discussion whenever you choose with playposit for focused, in depth exploration. Depending on your students' background knowledge and grade level, you may want to review or introduce some of the basic tenets of the United States Constitution that provide the legal grounding for equality and protection of individual rights. Explain that there are examples in American history when individuals' rights were denied and that many civil rights activists were arrested for either challenging, demonstrating, or breaking rules that they thought were unfair. Pose some of the questions for written assignments and discussion. This is a perfect lesson for Black History Month! Divide the class into groups to brainstorm situations that exist today within our own communities, and how they would feel and deal with it if they were the subjects. Students can easily create mind maps, replacing paper and pen, by using free tools from Teachersfirst, such as TUZZit, reviewed here. Have students choose words from songs to explore themes of freedom and equality, using Stories Behind the Songs, reviewed here. High school students could extend this to a reading and study of the final chapter of "One America in the 21st Century," the 1998 report of President Bill Clinton's Initiative on Race, which lists 10 things that every American should do to promote racial reconciliation. Ask students to add anything they think is missing and make a commitment to continue the crusade to end discrimination.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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To Kill a Mockingbird - Historical Perspective - Library of Congress
Grades
9 to 12
1 Favorites
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The Library of Congress created this extensive site, which uses archival images and texts to provide background and context for a multi-part study unit on To Kill A Mockingbird. The...more
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The Library of Congress created this extensive site, which uses archival images and texts to provide background and context for a multi-part study unit on To Kill A Mockingbird. The entire project takes four to five weeks, but the unit can be subdivided into smaller components. If this book is in your syllabus, this site is well worth a visit.
tag(s): africa (137), african american (110), racism (76)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plan to include with your book study of To Kill a Mockingbird both as a whole class unit, or modify for use with independent reading groups. If you don't have time to teach the entire unit, use portions of the activities as part of your lessons on racism or US history during the Great Depression era.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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