8th Grade Social Studies
Civil Rights Unit Information
Milestones Domain/Weight: History 47%
Content Map: Civil Rights Content Map
Milestones Civil Rights Study/Resource Guide
Civil Rights Teacher Notes
Prerequisites: Civil Rights Elementary Standards
Unit Length: Approximately 12 days
Click on the links below for resources by Essential Question:
EQ 1: How did political events during the 1940s and 1950s fuel unrest in Georgia?
EQ 2: How did influential people help ignite the Civil Rights Movement?
EQ 3: How did national and political events influence the Civil Rights Movement, its
outcome, and Georgia?
The Modern Civil Rights Movement Review – this is a pdf document of a ppt
reviewing all of the concepts of the unit from:
Sample Civil Rights Movement Menu Project
TCSS 8th SS Civil Rights Unit
Essential Question and
Standard(s)
Vocabulary
Resources [Back to Top]

1. How did political events
during the 1940s and 1950s
fuel unrest in Georgia?
Standard:
SS8H11a. Describe major
developments in civil rights
and Georgia’s role during the
1940s and 1950s; include the
roles of Herman Talmadge,
Benjamin Mays, the 1946
governor’s race and the end
of the white primary, Brown v.
Board of Education, Martin
Luther King, Jr., and the 1956
state flag.
Essential*
Ellis Arnall
White Primary
Herman Talmadge
1956 State Flag
1946 Governor’s Race


Supplemental**
Platform
Abdicate
Censured
Desegregation
Segregationist
Primus E. King
Melvin Thompson
One-Party State
Denmark Groover
Eugene Talmadge
Confederate Battle Flag
King v. Chapman et al.
Dr. Thomas Brewer
Democratic Primary
Lieutenant Governor
Progressive Reform
Anti-Talmadge Democrats
Gubernatorial Campaign
“Three Governor’s Controversy”



*Essential Vocabulary listed in the
Standards
**Supplemental Vocabulary listed
in the state frameworks and/or
other state document


TCSS
Civil Rights Placemat Brainstorming – Put students
in groups of 2-3 and give each group a Civil Rights
“placemat”. The groups should brainstorm and
record responses to the questions about the Civil
Rights Movement
Political Events Causing Unrest in Georgia ppt
Civil Rights Movement Overview – select one of the
two videos to show as a short activator to the entire
unit. The first video is more engaging in a sense,
but the second video has more information
o Civil Rights Movement Overview [4:20]
o History of the Civil Rights Movement [5:52]
White Primary Document Analysis
Unrest in Georgia During the Civil Rights Movement
Graphic Organizer
1946 Governor’s Race (Three Governors
Controversy)
o Three Governors Controversy Part I – the
video does not play well when embedded in
the ppt. You may want to download the
video to your computer or just open from
here. With a partner, students will discuss
the problem. Once discussed briefly with the
class, the students will write down a brief
summary on their graphic organizer
o Three Governors Controversy Part II – the
video does not play well when embedded in
the ppt. You may want to download the
video to your computer or just open from
here.
o Optional video with comments from each of
the contenders - Governor Feud in Georgia
[3:02]
1946 Governor’s Race Review
Unrest in Georgia During the Civil Rights Movement
Summarizer
2/9/2016
Assessment

SS8H11a. Sample
Assessment Items
2
TCSS 8th SS Civil Rights Unit
Essential Question and
Standard(s)
Vocabulary
Resources [Back to Top]

2. How did influential people
help ignite the Civil Rights
Movement?
Essential*
Benjamin Mays
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Supplemental**
Standards:
NAACP
YMCA
Mentor
Advocate
Mahatma Gandhi
Morehouse College
Nobel Peace Prize
“Nonviolent Protest”
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference
SS8H11a. Describe major
developments in civil rights
and Georgia’s role during the
1940s and 1950s; include
the roles of Herman
Talmadge, Benjamin Mays,
the 1946 governor’s race and
then end of the white
primary, Brown v. Board of
*Essential Vocabulary listed in
Education, Martin Luther
King, Jr., and the 1956 state the Standards
flag.
**Supplemental Vocabulary
listed in the state frameworks
and/or other state document




TCSS
Activator – On the first slide of the ppt, students are
asked to discuss what they know about Benjamin Mays,
Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Allow students to
work with a partner. They may not know about Benjamin
Mays, but the students learned about Gandhi in 7th grade
social studies and all students should know enough about
Martin Luther King, Jr. to make some comparisons.
Additional resource: Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Comparison
Influential People of the Civil Rights ppt – please note
that the information provided in this ppt is an overview of
topics. Topics such as the Albany Movement and the
March on Washington will be covered in more depth
during the next lesson
Influential People of the Civil Rights Movement Graphic
Organizer – the students do not have to know the specific
dates of the events just a general sense of when they
occurred
Writing Prompt page 98 of Georgia Experience workbook:
How did Benjamin Mays influence Martin Luther King,
Jr.? Write a fictitious letter from Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., to Benjamin Mays, thanking him for his tutelage
(instruction) and describing his plans to follow his
guidance as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Videos
o Benjamin Elijah Mays [12:59 linked in ppt]
o The Montgomery Bus Boycott [1:55 linked in ppt]
o Martin Luther King, Jr. Mini Bio [4:47 linked in ppt]
o Voices of the Civil Rights Movement [5:17]
2/9/2016
Assessment

3
TCSS 8th SS Civil Rights Unit
Essential Question and
Standard(s)
Vocabulary
Resources [Back to Top]

3. How did national and
political events influence the
Civil Rights Movement, its
outcome, and Georgia?
Standards:
SS8H11a. Describe major
developments in civil rights
and Georgia’s role during the
1940s and 1950s; include the
roles of Herman Talmadge,
Benjamin Mays, the 1946
governor’s race and then end
of the white primary, Brown v.
Board of Education, Martin
Luther King, Jr., and the 1956
state flag.
SS8H11b. Analyze the role
Georgia and prominent
Georgians played in the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1960s
and 1970s; include such
events as the founding of the
Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), Sibley Commission,
admission of Hamilton Holmes
and Charlayne Hunter to the
University of Georgia, Albany
Movement, March on
Washington Civil Rights Act,
the election of Maynard
Jackson as mayor of Atlanta,
and the role of Lester Maddox.
SS8H11c. Discuss the impact
of Andrew Young on Georgia.
TCSS
Essential*
Desegregation
Hamilton Holmes
Sibley Commission
Charlayne Hunter
March on Washington Maynard Jackson
University of Georgia
Andrew Young
Albany Movement
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Brown v. Board of Education
Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC)

Supplemental**

Unconstitutional
Null and Void
“All Deliberate Speed” Sit-ins
Freedom Rides
Freedom Summer
Federal Mandates
John Sibley
“Massive Resistance” Laurie Pritchett
Gov. Ernest Vandiver
Bo Callaway
Citizenship Schools
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Voting Rights Act of 1965
“I Have a Dream” Speech
Help Our Public Education (HOPE)
Reapportionment Election
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport



*Essential Vocabulary listed in the
Standards
**Supplemental Vocabulary listed in the
state frameworks and/or other state
document
2/9/2016
Events that Influenced the Civil Rights
Movement ppt
Events that Influenced the Civil Rights
Movement Chart
Examining the Civil Rights Acts – this
examination of primary source documents is
intended to give students a brief examination
of the Civil Rights Acts before giving them
the general information. This task may be
given individually, in small groups, or as a
jigsaw.
Events that Influenced the Civil Rights
Movement Review
Events that Influenced the Civil Rights
Movement Summarizer
Videos
o Brown v. Board of Education – select
one of the videos
 Brown: A Landmark Case
[6:56 linked in ppt]
 Brown v. Board of Education
in PBS’ The Supreme Court
[4:53 linked in ppt]
o Desegregation of UGA
 https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=QBo9Jrm2Y9g [23 secs
linked in ppt]
 http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibit
s/show/activism/educationactivism/universitydesegregation [1:45 linked in
ppt - students debating the
desegregation of UGA]
 Dr. Clark's interview on the
admittance of Charlayne
Hunter into UGA: [5:54]
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=6f0B1H32FFY
Assessment



SS8H11a. Sample
Assessment Items
SS8H11b. Sample
Assessment Items
SS8H11c. Sample
Assessment Items
4
TCSS 8th SS Civil Rights Unit
Essential Question and
Standard(s)
Vocabulary
Resources [Back to Top]
o
o
o
o
o
TCSS
2/9/2016
Assessment
Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC)
 CNN: SNCC’s legacy: A civil
rights history [5:56 linked in
ppt]
Albany Movement – All of the videos
are not necessary. Select one to two
videos to show
 http://www.myfoxal.com/story/
16047367/recalling-thehisotry-of-the-albanymovement [8:17]
 https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=F7dGWAY2AcM [3:44]
 http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibit
s/show/activism/movements/a
lbany-movement Various
clips about the Albany
Movement that range from 1
minute to 8 minutes
March on Washington
 History Specials: King Leads
the March on Washington
[3:21 linked in ppt]
 “I Have a Dream” Speech
shortened with words and
music [3:41 linked in ppt]
 Martin Luther King “I Have a
Dream” Full Speech [17:28]
Georgia Capitol Tour Lester Maddox
[2:10 linked in ppt]
Maynard Jackson – select one of the
following if needed
 Maynard Jackson [7:03 cuts
off suddenly but provides
information directly from
Jackson]
 A Tribute to Maynard Jackson
5
TCSS 8th SS Civil Rights Unit
Essential Question and
Standard(s)
Vocabulary
Resources [Back to Top]

TCSS
2/9/2016
Assessment
[9:26 focuses on the airport]
Other Resources:
o Interactive Timeline of Civil Rights
o Brown v. Board: An American
Legacy Article from Teaching
Tolerance
6