The Civil Rights Movement can be a challenging time period to teach and discuss with children, especially with those who are extra sensitive or have experienced bullying and/or other trauma.
At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement is an incredibly important time period in our nation's history that needs to be talked about.
Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others are such great examples that can inspire our children to strive for peace and love.
Whether you're studying the history of the United States, looking for activities for Black History Month, or are celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, these Civil Rights Movement Activities for Kids with Free Printables are fabulous!
Civil Rights Movement Activities for Kids with Free Printables
Black Rights Then and Now
Jim Crow laws were real and affected many African Americans who lived in the south. In order to teach this aspect of history, I decided the best approach was to focus on then and now. Things were definitely not okay then, but they are better now.
There are two sets of cards included in this activity. One set shows kid friendly true-to-life images from history, during the Jim Crow laws era.
The other set of cards shows kid friendly true-to-life images of how black people and others can now integrate with white people during multiple day-to-day activities.
The first time I presented this work to Sunshine, I would select a "then" card and teach her about what is represented. She would then select a "now" card to match and tell me what things are like now.
Once she was capable of doing the work independently, Sunshine would match up the "then" cards with the "now" cards on her own.
She absolutely LOVED this activity and did it multiple times developing a great understanding of what separate but equal looked like then, and what integration means and looks like now.
Please know I'm not saying that all is well for black people in our country today. I am only saying that things have improved. We have a very long way to go as a nation when it comes to showing that all are equal under the law.
Source: The printable for this activity is included in our Civil Rights Movement History Printable Pack.
The Northern and Southern United States during Civil Rights Movement Map Activity
During the Civil Rights Movement and before, African Americans were treated differently in the north and the south. Jim Crow laws were a thing of the south. Black people in the northern United States experienced a completely different lifestyle.
This activity helped Sunshine understand where major events during Rights Movement took place and how life was different for African Americans depending on where they lived. Sunshine has always loved geography, so she loved this activity.
Using the control provided, Sunshine colored a map of the northern states and a map of the southern states.
She enjoyed learning the names of each state during the process. Names are included on the controls.
Timeline of the Civil Rights Movement Dates Activity
Included in this activity are cards that show the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement. They include a picture, event, and date.
Sunshine really struggles with time concepts in general. Lately she's been trying to understand how to write dates.
In this activity she selected a timeline card and then found the corresponding picture, month, day, comma, and year cards to match to create the date.
I love how this activity was such a great way to work on time and dates.
The Civil Rights Movement Timeline Book Activity
I worried that because Sunshine struggles so much with time in general, and is not quite ready to sequence dates, that creating a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement might be too complicated. Instead I created this book activity for her, which she loved!
We reviewed the timeline nomenclature and description cards, and then using the control book provided began the process of putting the book together, gluing pictures onto each page.
In the end, Sunshine did have a timeline of events made into a book, which she cherished. She may not know the exact dates things occurred, but she knows the order of events which is most important.
Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline of Life Activity
Since Sunshine enjoyed learning about the events of the Civil Rights Movement and showed particular interest in Martin Luther King Jr., we decided to make a timeline activity for his life.
She really loves Martin Luther King Jr. and looks to him as a hero.
Source: My husband created the printable for this activity. It is a subscriber's only freebie. For your copy, follow the directions at the bottom of this post.
Our study of the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. spanned months January and February and included a celebration of his birthday.
Sunshine helped make the pie crusts using a recipe we have at home.
So that Sunshine could better understand the Civil Rights Movement and all it included, we read the following books before we introduced activities.
There are so many books out there about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, but the books below were our favorites for Sunshine, who is extremely sensitive to events in history like this.
Books about the Civil Rights Movement for Kids
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Pies from Nowhere by Dee Romito
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