Civil Rights Unit

My favorite unit!  I love teaching the Civil Rights and my students always love learning about the Civil Rights.  And I feel like I need to teach this unit with webquests because majority of the time, I have to return my textbooks during or before this unit.  But I like that students can look up more pictures than what the textbook provides, along with video clips, speeches, current events, etc.  All of these webquests are available in pdf or google doc.

I give a basic overview webquest of the Civil Rights Movement in general.  This is 35 questions and covers the entire movement.  I like to start the unit off with this before I do any direct instruction.  I then go into depth with the entire unit, doing various activities along with webquests.

I first start with the Jim Crow Laws Webquest, after the Civil War and Reconstruction.  If students do not understand what the Jim Crow Laws are, the goal of them, how terrible they were towards African Americans, then they are not going to understand why there was an entire Civil Rights Movement Protest.

After I teach Jim Crow Laws, I then teach Brown v Board of Education and Little Rock 9.  I have webquests for both and tons of video clips for both.

The same year is when the Montgomery Bus Boycott happened, so I do a webquest on the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  This was the first major protest/boycott of the Civil Rights Movement and put Martin Luther King Jr on the map as one of the Civil Rights Leaders.  And who could forget Rosa Parks!  This boycott wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her.

Freedom Riders!  This is one of my new favorite things to teach in history.  I have a webquest that the students do first.  Once students finish this, they are hooked and want to learn more.  I then have them watch the PBS documentary and answer questions.  The documentary comes off more like a movie- it is done SO WELL!  Then students take a quick quiz on the Freedom Riders.

`I then do a webquest on March on Washington.  This has a little biography section on Martin Luther King Jr, then on the March on Washington itself, followed by analyzing Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream Speech."

After those comes my other favorite lesson to teach: Bloody Sunday/Selma to Montgomery March.  This always seems to be the students favorite and captivates them best.  I have a webquest that we do first.  Then I have them watch the movie Selma with movie guide questions.  It just makes a very powerful lesson for students!

If interested, I have all of the webquests mentioned above in a bundle of better value.  All 8 webquests are in this and can be printed in pdf form, or it also comes with a google doc link so you can use it in your digital classroom!

Cold War Webquests

When I teach the Cold War, for either US History or World History, I struggle.  One, it is at the end of the school year, so the kids are mentally checked out.  We all know teachers are just tired at the end of the year!  We all smell Summer Break!  Not to mention the end of the year activities that get in the way of this unit (at least for me): State Testing, Benchmarks, Assemblies, and end of the year activities.  I find this unit the most difficult for those reasons, not to mention, students like blood and guts, which doesn't happen so much with the Cold War compared to previous units.  I like to give my students webquests for this unit.  It is easy to assign them, they can look up the info on their phone or electronic device.  They can work on this at home or at school.  I find at the end of the year- teaching this unit through webquests is my saving grace!  That is not to say I don't do other actives, like posters, maps, direct instruction, etc.  But a big majority of their reading comes from webquests for this unit.  Here are all the webquests that I use for both my World History and US History class.  I also have them all available in one giant bundle if you are like me and teach both classes.

Cold War Webquest- general overview.  I always assign this first to both World and US History.  This is a good overview for the entire unit.









Berlin Airlift Webquest.  This explains why Berlin was split: the tensions between the Soviets and USA.  Then of course a great comprehensive explanation of the Berlin Airlift- why it began and how it ended.







Berlin Wall Webquest.  This webquest explains how and why Berlin was split.  But goes into the tensions of the two sides more, the reason for the wall, how people were escaping before and trying to escape afterwards.  Then how the wall finally came down.







Space Race Webquest.  Love this topic of the Cold War.  I mean it is Space!  And man lands on the moon!  This webquest explains the significance of this event during the Cold War, how NASA was created, the scare Sputnik caused for Americans, and how Americans finally won by landing on the moon.







Korean War Webquest.  The Forgotten War.  Explains how the war started and ended, along with the significance of the war.







Vietnam War Webquest.  This one is a bigger webquest, 30 questions, because the Vietnam War was so controversial to Americans.  So this webquest explain why and how America entered the war and goes into great explanation of the controversy and the protests Americans were having at this time.  Then it goes into the controversy of the memorial wall that was built- I am an Art History nerd!  I couldn't help but add some art in this!

Bay of Pigs Webquest.  This webquest covers how Fidel took over Cuba and how that became a problem with the USA.  Then it explains why America wanted to invade Cuba, how they trained the Cubans, and how miserably it failed.

Cuban Missile Crisis Webquest.  This covers the 13 days of pure panic during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  After my students complete this webquest, I actually have them draw a timeline with images to depict the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Freedom Riders- Civil Rights

I recently discovered the PBS documentary on the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights movement.  Now I am not going to lie, I do not mention the Freedom Riders too much when I teach the Civil Rights and I did not do the Freedom Riders any justice.  I watched this documentary and could not believe how great it was, how courageous they were.  How could I not teach them as well as I had before?  I know the word documentary scares people off because it may be boring, but trust me, this is SO AMAZING!  It is dramatic, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and keeps you engaged throughout the entire time.  I then showed it to my students who had the same reaction that I did.  The movie led to the students looking up more information on the Freedom Riders and other Civil Rights movements that occurred.  It was one of those perfect lessons, that then had me assign a socratic discussion!  I mean where is admin when you want them to come in???

So for this lesson, I assigned a Civil Rights webquest first so students had a great idea of the entire Civil Rights movement, from beginning to end.  Because students were wanting to research more afterwards, I created a Webquest on the Freedom Riders  and Jim Crow Laws before the class participated in a Socratic Seminar.

I love showing Civil Rights Movement videos- I think all students enjoy watching them.  But this one was by far the best I have ever shown.  And there are questions and quiz included to ensure students are engaged!

Art History Movies

I taught an Art History elective to both Middle School and High School students, and it was not AP.  So I had to water the content down a bit and add lots more projects and movies.  Here are the movies that are related to Art History that I have shown both grade levels before.

Mona Lisa Smile.  I love this movie.  It talks about modern art often enough to justify the movie for me! haha.  And there is plenty of content with the expectation of women in the 1950's which I love as well.  And students love this movie and there are so many classroom discussion options for after the movie is done.

Da Vinci Code.  This is perfect when showing Renaissance art or after you've taught about Leonardo da Vinci.  Plus it is full of adventure and mystery, so students are always engaged!

Angels and Demons.  This movie is great when discussing Renaissance art as well.  Or any art from the Vatican Museums.  During the Renaissance I teach more about the Catholic Church, since majority of that art is Catholic art.  So this movie shows a little bit about the Catholic religion which is interesting for students to see as well.  Again, adventure and mystery- good times!

Inferno.  Again, perfect when showing Renaissance art.  This features more of the art in Florence, Italy and shows so many historical landmarks from that city.  Again, full of adventure and mystery, so students enjoy it.

There is a bundle with all 3 Da Vinci Code movies if you plan on watching all 3. 

Fun Historical Movies for testing or end of the year

Earlier this week I got an email from my principal about the state testing schedule coming up!  Yikes!  Not that I don't mind the testing, but kids are drained after they take the test and I am not blind- they don't want to do anything after a state testing morning.  So here is a list of movies that I play that are historical (so I can justify it to anyone who may come in) but fun, so students enjoy it.

1.  Any and all of the Night at the Museum movies.  Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.  All students love these and I can justify this for any grade level.  Fun, full of adventure, and funny.

2.  Any and all of the Da Vinci Code Movies.  Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, and Inferno.  All are great movies, full of adventure, and students enjoy them.

3.  National Treasure.  Again, a perfect movie for any age group.  Funny, adventurous, and action.

4.  The Blind Side.  Ok, so this one may not be so historical like the other ones are.  But it is an awesome inspirational movie.  And I feel great conversations can take place afterwards about the people in poverty vs the people of wealth.  

5.  Remember the Titans.  Students of any age love this movie.  What is not to love?  Inspiring football team who over comes all the odds to win state championships.  But the biggest challenge they face is overcoming the desegregation of their school district and being forced to play with different races for the first time.  Great movie!

6. Catch Me if You Can.  Love this movie.  It is full of adventure.  But it takes place in the 1960's, so it is interesting for students to see how technology has evolved since then.  It is based off of a true story and that is history!

OJ Simpson Mini Series- perfect for teaching criminal law

How many of us loved the OJ Simpson American Crime story mini series? I loved that series- I thought it was done so well and I am not ashamed to admit I became obsessed.  I teach a criminal law class and I always used to show documentaries on OJ Simpson criminal trial because it is the most famous criminal case and students are always interested in this case.  Plus, it is a great case to show the difference between criminal vs civil law.  So when the OJ mini series became available on Netflix, I knew I had to show it to my Criminal Law class.  I created questions for students to answer for every single episode.  Then afterwards there is a quiz, an opening statement for students to participate in, and an essay prompt, which I also make into a debate.  And for each episode, I am able to discuss with my students numerous aspects of criminal law, between the crime scene, investigation, leads, tips, criminal proceedings, district attorney jobs, jury selection...I could go on and on.  And my students love the show- they love OJ Mini Series.  All I can say is, I recommend this!

Great Depression Movie- Cinderella Man

The Great Depression is such a fun unit, but the typical movie that students watch is Grapes of Wrath. And lets get real- that is not what they want to see.  As great as it is, historically speaking and content wise- the students see it as an old movie.  Or teachers show a documentary, which again, students see as old and boring.  So when I teach the Great Depression, at the end of the unit I show the students Cinderella Man!  This movie is so perfect for the Great Depression.  What I love about the movie is that is talks about everything that I spoke about during this unit!!  SCORE!!

• It shows how the main character had all the money and then losing it all in the stock market crash.  
• It talks about bread lines and people going hungry
• it shows people struggling for work
• it constantly refers to the New Deal and FDR
• it shows the dangers of the Hoovervilles

And it really shows the struggle that everyone faced.  I can talk about the struggle, I play games to show how people have no money and how are they going to pay for their bills, but this movie does such a great job demonstrating it.  When my students see the mom deciding to send her kids with someone else because they couldn't afford heat- it just tied everything together.  It clicked- they got it.  Cinderella Man really is a great movie to show at the end of the Great Depression unit.  And as always, I use movie guide questions for students to answer throughout the movie to keep them engaged and have discussions with after the movie.