Civil Rights for Kids
The first half of the school year is packed with ideas for lessons. From back-to-school lesson plans to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas lesson plans there is a theme for every month.
When the new calendar year begins many teachers kick things off with a goal-oriented lesson plan which is a great way to engage students after the holiday season. However, that does not cover the entire month of January.
While January is not a month filled with festive holidays to celebrate, it is the month that we celebrate one of the most historic and important movements in the history of the United States. The Civil Rights Movement.
This is an important part of our history and an essential part of learning in schools. Moreover, it provides a perfect January theme for lesson plans: Civil Rights for Kids.
Civil Rights Movement for Kids
January is Civil Rights month. Therefore, it is the perfect time to teach your students about the Civil Rights Movement. Moreover, it is the perfect time to teach kids the importance of civil rights today.
However, we know that this important topic can sometimes feel overwhelming as a teacher. Where do you begin? How do you make the information available to first and second-graders?
To relieve the overwhelm we have created guided mini-research units to support you and your students in learning about civil rights. In addition, we have created several different resources so that you can choose how far you want to explore this topic.
Our Civil Rights for Kids Lesson Plans Bundle has four carefully crafted research units. These four units are part of our Digital Learning Quest Series. These Learning Quests help students explore non-fiction topics through guided research and are perfect for introducing students to complex ideas.
Civil Rights Movement Worksheets
Using our primary Civil Rights Movement for Kids lesson plan your students will gain an important overview of the historical events and important people who were a part of this movement. They will accomplish this through reading or listening to informational articles about Civil Rights.
Afterward, they will demonstrate what they have learned through different activities. One of the activities asks students to match the activist with the event they are known for.
Beyond learning about the events and people associated with The Civil Rights Movement, your students will learn about civil rights today. Students will explore examples of civil rights and how to protect civil rights in the modern world.
This Learning Quest is full of important information. Therefore, it is important to allow students the time they need to properly explore. Rather than trying to rush through this unit, spread it out over the course of a week.
It is easy to assign different sections of this mini-unit as individual lesson plans. That way you can learn something about civil rights each day of the week surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Civil Rights Facts for Kids
If you would like to invite students to dive deeper into the topic of civil rights this bundle includes additional research activities. Each mini-research unit gives students a chance to dive deeper into learning about the important members of The Civil Rights Movement in more detail.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Learning Quest
- Ruby Bridges Learning Quest
- Rosa Parks Learning Quest
- Jackie Robinson Learning Quest
A great way to use these additional resources is to assign them to small groups. Each group can learn about a new person and then teach their peers or give a mini presentation. In addition, you could assign one for each week in the month of January as a way to focus the entire month on the importance of civil rights.
January Lesson Plan Ideas
While teaching kids about the Civil Rights Movement is an important lesson during January it does not have to be the only theme. If you would like to explore several topics this month then we have created the perfect January-themed bundle for you.
This bundle includes Civil Rights Lesson Plans, New Year’s Resolution Lesson Plans, All About Snow Lesson Plans, and Polar Animals Lesson Plans.
Keep reading to see what we have included in each of these themed lesson plans and how to use them in your classroom.
Check out our Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas.
New Years Lesson Plans for Kids
Even though a New Years lesson won’t carry you through the entire month of January it can carry you through the first week back at school. Especially with a detailed lesson plan like our New Year’s Resolutions Learning Quest.
This themed unit goes beyond just setting goals and teaches students the history of this practice. Students read about the tradition of new year’s resolutions and explore different examples of resolutions.
In addition, this unit includes activities that invite students to explore when new years takes place around the world. This is a great addition to this theme that allows students to make a connection between themselves and the world around them.
If you have never used a Learning Quest in your classroom then this is an excellent way to kick off the new year. This introduces students to a new type of learning and sets them up to continue using Learning Quests throughout the rest of the school year.
While Learning Quests are amazing for independent learning they are also great for whole class instruction. Therefore, you can go through this unit as a whole class while students get comfortable.
Even if you have used Learning Quests in your class before this is still a great practice to reintroduce students to this type of activity and reestablish routines and procedures around this type of activity. In addition, it allows for you and your students to get reacquainted with one another after the winter break.
All About Snow Lesson Plans
If you do not want to use civil rights units throughout January there are other additional themes to explore. Snow is a great topic for January that aligns with the science and math curriculum.
Like the other units above, this digital set of learning activities guides students through an informational article and several supporting activities. One activity asks students to demonstrate their understanding of the snow cycle while another asks them to identify the shapes and symmetry of snowflakes.
While all of our Learning Quests are designed with digital features (such as YouTube videos and audio for the articles) these lessons can also be done offline. Therefore, if you prefer your students to take a break from the screen you can print all of these activities.
Polar Animals Lesson Plans
To further support a science focus you may enjoy using our lesson plans that are all about polar animals. In this themed unit, students learn about the different features of polar animals that help them live in the cold.
Along with the science focus, this series also includes lessons about where the Arctic and Antarctica are located. Moreover, it asks students to place polar animals in their appropriate habitats.
Students will love learning about these fun animals throughout this series of lesson plans. As with all of our Learning Quests you can allow students to work independently, in pairs, or in small groups. It can also be completed as a whole class activity.
January Activities for Kids
Whether you choose to focus on a specific event this January, like the Civil Rights Movement, or explore a variety of themes, our Learning Quests will help you along the way. All of them are ready to upload into Google Slides or Seesaw, or to print out.
And since they all follow the same format it is easy for students to work on these at their own pace once they understand the procedure. Simply choose one to begin with as a whole class activity and then use the other three in the bundle for independent or group work.
