Making Change Through Activism

Grade Level: 5

Subject: Language Arts and Social Studies

Making Change Through Activism is a unit designed for fifth grade students where they will explore the concept of human rights and the use of activism when those rights are violated. They will examine historical activist movements and their foundations, leaders, goals, strategies, and achievements, before making connections to current movements and issues. The unit aims to highlight social justice issues and center marginalized BIPOC voices of empowerment and resistance through a close look at activist movements fighting for the rights of migrant farm workers and LGBTQ+, Black, and Indigenous populations, including the migrant farm workers movement of the 1960s, the Stonewall Riots, the Dakota Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Students reflect upon important issues in their own communities and become activists as they brainstorm and develop an activist artifact. This integrated unit meets core content standards in Language Arts and Social Studies.