Story of Our Rights and Freedoms - Struggles for Rights and Freedoms Around the World

In this Finding Out lesson, students will explore civil rights, with a specific focus on the African American civil rights movement in the United States of America. They will use a ‘Think-Pair- Share’ visible thinking routine to explore their understanding of what civil rights are. The class will discuss a definition of the concept, with a focus on the differences and similarities with human rights. The class will analyse images relating to the reaction to desegregation in the USA, and respond to a set of prompts about them. Students will then research and organise into chronological order a set of key events within the USA civil rights movement. Students will dig deeper into key figures and events in the fight for civil rights, and create a set of exhibits for a class gallery walk. They will then reflect on their new understanding using a ‘Here Now/There Then’ visible thinking routine.

Essential questions:

• How did people campaign for civil rights?
• What is the connection between civil rights and rights and freedoms?