Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Lesson Plans
This lesson plan focuses on using music as the basis of teaching about freedom riders. In this lesson, the song that is used is called We Shall Overcome, which is known as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The lesson plan includes a sheet with questions that students can use to analyze the song when they hear it, as well as a vocabulary sheet for the song to aid their understanding as well. This is a great resource for students in fifth through eight grade because it also has an activity in which they get to do a mock interview of a freedom rider who would have sang this anthem during the Civil Rights Movement. The focus on using music also throws in a creative element that the students are not always exposed to when they learn about this period of history, and having it can make a lasting impression.
This is a lesson plan that focuses on comparing and contrasting the styles of leadership demonstrated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights Movement. It is an important difference to examine because the ideas of nonviolence and peaceful protest are evident in King’s works, but Malcolm X takes approach of “an eye for an eye” with his followers. This is a good lesson plan for grades sixth through twelfth, and teachers can use it to promote civility and understanding amongst their students and teach them that there are ways to fight for what you believe in in a peaceful way. This also gives students a good look into Civil Rights Movement from a different perspective.