Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "March on Washington Handbill"

Brown v. Board of Education: Segregated America Lesson

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:52:05 GMT

In this classroom activity, students will identify and discuss the condition and aspirations of free African Americans in the years following the Civil War, identify the social factors that led to the rise of Jim Crow segregation and evaluate the effects of segregation. This lesson is part of the online exhibition entitled Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education: Achieving Equality

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:49:45 GMT

Students will learn about the equal rights movements that were inspired by the Brown v. Board decision, as well as the continuing struggles to bring equal opportunities to all Americans. Legacy: Achieving Equality is the sixth and final section of the online exhibition entitled Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education.

Voting: Punch Card Democracy

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:30:41 GMT

The impacts on voting due to social and technological advancements in the United States during the second half of the twentieth century are addressed in this section of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s online exhibition Vote: The Machinery of Democracy. Students will learn how reforms, such as the Voting Rights Act and the 26th Amendment, led to vote recording systems that could tap the processing power of computers. New technologies marketed to improve and accelerate the reporting of election results.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence Homepage

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:32:16 GMT

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of America's celebrated heroes for his use of nonviolent protest strategies during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring history together through children's literature, everyday objects, and hands-on activities. Focused around Martin's Big Words, an illustrated biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the module includes links to hands-on activities and a list of recommended readings for further exploration.

The Greensboro Lunch Counter and the Civil Rights Movement

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:25:52 GMT

This object-based learning activity revolves around the Greensboro, North Carolina lunch counter that was the site of a sit-in strike by four African-American students in 1960. Students will learn how the sit-in strike at the Woolworth's lunch counter sparked the widespread student activism that was at the heart of the Civil Rights movement. After exploring the lunch counter and its importance as a source of historical information, students will visit the forum section of the site to hear the Museum's curators and historians discuss the object and then use what they have learned to complete the Virtual Exhibit Activity.

This resource is included in The Object of History, a cooperative project between the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and George Mason University's Center for History and New Media.

To March or Not to March

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:39:56 GMT

In this activity, children pretend to be an American during 1963 and decide whether or not to join the March on Washington. Children base their choice on information gathered through guided observation of a handbill from the march. Included in an OurStory module from Smithsonian's National Museum of American History entitled Martin's Big Words, this activity is designed to help children and adults enjoy exploring history together through the use of children's literature, everyday objects, and hands-on activities.