Social and civil progress in the USA, c.1950-1973
I can assess the extent of progress experienced by African Americans and women in the USA between the 1950s and 1970s.
Social and civil progress in the USA, c.1950-1973
I can assess the extent of progress experienced by African Americans and women in the USA between the 1950s and 1970s.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Many women and African Americans felt like second class citizens.
- Women and African Americans benefitted from changes in the law in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
- Some new laws were poorly enforced.
- Some groups continued to oppose equality for women and African Americans.
Keywords
Second class citizen - someone who is not given the same rights and opportunities as other people in a society, usually because they belong to a particular group
Common misconception
New laws immediately improved the lives of women and African Americans.
Poor enforcement and unchanged attitudes undermined the impact of some changes in the law.
To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Social and civil progress in the USA, c.1950-1973, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Social and civil progress in the USA, c.1950-1973, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the USA Civil Rights: how successful was the American civil rights movement? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended