Balanced Learning Resources
Lesson Plans

Grade 6-12: Students will learn about the life and legacy of the late U.S. Representative John Lewis, a major leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Through two short videos, discussion, and activities, students will explore leadership, nonviolence, and standing up for justice.

Grades 9-12. Students apply 10 objective criteria to analyze a social justice movement that is widely noted for its non‑violent, dignity‑centered tactics: the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (Nov–Dec 1989). Using short videos and primary‑source snippets, learners test whether the movement’s goals, methods, and outcomes align with genuine social justice for all, or reveal red flags.

Grades 9-12. Students will examine the civil rights movement through two key films: Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech and The March (1964), a restored documentary on the March on Washington. After viewing, students will use 10 criteria to evaluate whether the movement meets the standards of a true social justice movement.

Grades 7-8. This lesson uses historical case studies of authoritarian regimes to help students tell the difference between authentic justice movements and propaganda movements that use justice-themed language to hide censorship, control, or oppression. Students will analyze how governments in Soviet Russia, Maoist China, and Communist Cuba used powerful ideas like “equality,” “liberation,” and “protection” — not to empower people — but to brainwash, punish dissent, and silenc

Grades: 8-12. Explore our lesson plan for grades 8-12 on the Russian Revolution. Featuring a concise video, key events, and critical analysis of its social justice impact, this resource includes objectives, discussion questions, and activities to foster critical thinking and empathy.