The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Students “become” several of the social groups who participated in the 1934 Longshore Workers Strike—some of whom had to answer the question, “Which side are you on?”
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Social Class
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40 Acres and a Mule: Role-Playing What Reconstruction Could Have Been
Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools, 2020.
This multimedia, creative role play introduces students to the ways African American life changed immediately after the Civil War by focusing on the Sea Islands before and during Reconstruction.
Time Periods: Reconstruction Period: 1865 - 1876
Themes: African American, Reconstruction
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How the Word Is Passed: Discussion Questions, Writing Prompts, and Teaching Ideas
Teaching ideas and discussion questions for How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith.
Themes: African American, Criminal Justice & Incarceration, Reconstruction, Economics, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance
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Andrew Jackson and the “Children of the Forest”
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A lesson in which students develop critical literacy skills by responding to Andrew Jackson's speech on "Indian Removal."
Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849
Themes: Native American, Racism & Racial Identity
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Birth of a Rank-and-File Organizer
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Writing activity for students to complete the narrative of women workers striking at a glove-making factory, exploring possible outcomes.
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Social Class, Women's History
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Blockadia: Teaching How the Movement Against Fossil Fuels Is Changing the World
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow, Adam Sanchez, and Tim Swinehart.
A role-play activity engages students in building solidarity among different groups and organizations fighting fossil fuels and searching for alternatives.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Climate Justice, Environment, Organizing
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Burned Out of Homes and History: Unearthing the Silenced Voices of the Tulsa Massacre
Teaching Activity. By Linda Christensen. Rethinking Schools.
Teaching about racist patterns of murder, theft, displacement, and wealth inequality through the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Economics, Racism & Racial Identity
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COINTELPRO: Teaching the FBI’s War on the Black Freedom Movement
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. 29 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Through examining FBI documents, students learn the scope of the FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt all corners of the Black Freedom Movement.
Time Periods: 20th Century, People’s Movement: 1961 - 1974, Post-Civil Rights Era: 1975 - 2000
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
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The Cherokee/Seminole Removal Role Play
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
What led up to the Trail of Tears? In this lesson, students learn about the decision to remove the Cherokee and Seminole people from their lands.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849
Themes: Democracy & Citizenship, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity
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The Climate Crisis Trial: A Role Play on the Roots of Global Warming
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools.
Who — or what — is to blame for the terrible effects of the climate crisis? This trial role play helps students understand the complicated factors involved.
Time Periods: 20th Century, 21st Century
Themes: Climate Justice
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Coal, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mountaintop Removal
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 15 pages. Rethinking Schools.
Using chocolate chip cookie "mining," this lively activity takes a critical look at how the coal industry teaches the impact of coal mining.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Climate Justice, Environment
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The Color Line
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A lesson on the countless colonial laws enacted to create division and inequality based on race. This helps students understand the origins of racism in the United States and who benefits.
Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764, 18th Century, Revolution & Constitution: 1765 - 1799
Themes: African American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance
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Congo, Coltan, and Cell Phones: A People’s History
Teaching Activity. By Alison Kysia. 28 pages.
In this lesson, students learn about the colonial history of Congo, debate responsibility for crimes against humanity, and investigate the connection, past and present, between the exploitation of natural resources and violence.
Time Periods: 19th Century, 20th Century
Themes: Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
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Constitution Role Play: Whose “More Perfect Union”? and The Constitutional Convention: Who Really Won?
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 24 pages.
The U.S. Constitution endorsed slavery and favored the interests of the owning classes. What kind of Constitution would have resulted from founders who were representative of the entire country? That is the question addressed in this role play activity.
Time Periods: 18th Century, Revolution & Constitution: 1765 - 1799
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance, Social Class
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Daughter of Earth: Reading, Writing, and Social Class
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 7 pages.
Students read a poignant excerpt from Agnes Smedley's novel, Daughter of Earth, and use it to think and write about how schooling—their own included—teaches lessons about social class.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Turn of the Century: 1900 - 1909
Themes: Education, Social Class, Women's History
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Deportations on Trial: Mexican Americans During the Great Depression
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this role play students analyze who is to blame for the illegal, mass deportations of Mexican Americans and immigrants during the Great Depression.
Time Periods: Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Immigration, Labor, Latinx, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
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Dirty Oil and Shovel-Ready Jobs: A Role Play on Tar Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline
Teaching Activity. By Abby Mac Phail. 17 pages. Rethinking Schools.
A role play on the Keystone XL Pipeline battle.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Climate Justice, Environment, Native American, Organizing, US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
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Discovering Columbus: Re-reading the Past
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools.
How to engage students in a critical analysis of the textbook version of "discovery."
Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764
Themes: Education, Imperialism, Native American
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‘Don’t Take Our Voices Away’: A Role Play on the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change
Teaching Activity. By Julie Treick O’Neill and Tim Swinehart. 16 pages. Rethinking Schools.
A role play on the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change asks students to develop a list of demands to present to the rest of the world at a climate change meeting.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Climate Justice, Environment, Native American, Pacific Islander, Science, World History/Global Studies
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The Draft Riot Mystery
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
Students are invited to solve a mystery, using historical clues, about the real story of the Draft Riots.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Immigration, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery and Resistance, Social Class, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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