Books for Teaching Civil Rights
From Unit Plan: Liberty and Justice for All
The following books are helpful for exploring diversity and teaching students a variety of facts about the Civil Rights Movement.
Celebrating Diversity Grades K-3 (10 books)
Various leveled-reading titles that explore diversity.
Classroom Tip: These books can be used to illustrate differences and similarities as they relate to different cultures and people.
The Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Shot: A Photo History of the Civil Rights Movement) by Jim Haskins
A stirring look at the history of the fight for civil rights and the gains made since the fateful day of King's death. Includes powerful photographs and illustrations.
Classroom Tip: Offer this title as another research tool.
If a Bus Could Talk — The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold
Engage students with a biographical account of Rosa Parks.
Classroom Tip: Read this version and compare it to another biography.
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine; illustrated by Anna Rich
Vivid full color illustrations and question and answer text bring historical events, eras and people to life.
Classroom Tip: This book can be used as an additional reference tool for providing students with an understanding of Civil Rights history in a "child friendly" format.
Scholastic First Biographies: Let's Read About...Rosa Parks by Courtney Baker
Biographical account of Rosa Parks and her contribution in the struggle for equality.
Classroom Tip: This book can be used as a read aloud to illustrate the atmosphere of inequality during the Civil Rights Movement.
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles; illustrated by George C Ford
A beautifully illustrated true story of the first African American child to de-segregate a New Orleans school.
Classroom Tip: This book can be used as a resource for providing students with a link to the past and the first steps towards achieving liberty and justice for all.
Super Social Studies Quick & Easy Activities ,Games, and Manipulatives by Camille Cooper, Shirley Lee, Liz Van Tine, Barbara White
A great resource filled with classroom-tested, creative, hands-on activities like wonder circles, fold-up maps, paper-chain timelines, and more. Find mapping, timeline, and report-writing ideas that will make Social Studies a highlight of your students' days.
Classroom Tip: Use this resource as a creative alternative to constructing a traditional timeline in Lesson Two.
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Rosa
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Rosa
Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This picture book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.
$16.95
books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 4-8
Ages 4-8 $16.95
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March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
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March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
by Dr. Christine King Farris and London Ladd
$14.39 You save: 20%
2009 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winner
From Dr. Martin Luther King's sister, the definitive tribute to the man, the march, and the speech that changed a nation.
On a hot August day in 1963, hundreds of thousands of people made history when they marched into Washington, D.C., in search of equality. Martin Luther King, Jr., the younger brother of Christine King Farris, was one of them.
Martin was scheduled to speak to the crowds of people on that day. But before he could stand up and inspire a nation, he had to get down to business. He first had to figure out what to say and how to say it. So he spent all night working on his "I Have a Dream" speech, one that would underscore a landmark moment in civil rights history -- the Great March on Washington. This would be one of the first events televised all over the globe. The world would be listening, as one of the greatest orators of our time shared his vision for a new day.
From the sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., comes this moving account of what that day was like for her, and for the man who inspired a crowd -- and convinced a nation to let freedom ring.
London Ladd's beautiful full-color illustrations bring to life the thousands of people from all over the country who came to the nation's capital. They sing, they join hands, they march, and they listen as speaker after speaker inspires social change, culminating in Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 9-12
Ages 9-12 $14.39
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