6 Resources for Teaching Homeschoolers about Civil Rights

Fifty years ago this month, civil rights activists set out on a march from Selma, Alabama, to the state’s capitol city, Montgomery, in defense of their voting rights. Making it no farther than the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, the peaceful protesters were stopped by state troopers, asked to disperse, and severely beaten and gassed when they held their ground in an event remembered today as Bloody Sunday.

As homeschool parents, it’s important to educate our children about such events in our country’s history; however, it can also be difficult when significant events like Bloody Sunday, which led to subsequent marches and contributed to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, expose children to such violence.

Using your judgment to evaluate your youngster’s maturity level is likely the best approach to studying tough historical topics in your homeschool. Check out the resources below to see if they’re a good fit for your family as you teach the topic of civil rights.

Civil Rights Movement, Game 1: A History Mystery Activity (Grades 4-8)
Solve the mystery of which historical civil rights person, place, event, or object Professor Carlotta Facts is referencing by using her clues to conduct your own research on the topic.

Rosa Parks: How I Fought for Civil Rights (Grades 7-8)
Explore Parks’ life as an active member of the civil rights movement, and write an essay about how you would feel if you were in her position.

Holding Fast to King’s Dream 50 Years Later
Enjoy printable educational resources designed to help homeschoolers study Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech from a literary and historical standpoint.

To Kill a Mockingbird
This Pulitzer Prize-winning, classic novel portrays a heart-wrenching story of racial inequality in America's deep South during the Depression.

An Ordinary Hero
The amazing true story of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, a white civil rights activist who, despite being attacked by angry mobs, put on death row in the notorious Parchman Penitentiary, and coming face-to-face with the KKK, never wavered from her belief that we are all created equal.

Selma
An Oscar nominee released on the big screen earlier this year, Selma stars Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo in an account of Martin Luther King Jr.’s effort to obtain equal voting rights through a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

Plugged In Movie Review: Selma

What resources do you use to teach your homeschooler about the civil rights movement?