Skip to content
PlayOwl

History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 4

Rights, Responsibilities and Different Perspectives

Fourth graders read the First Amendment and connect rights to responsibilities, then study how rights were denied and won in Illinois: the struggle over slavery and the state's Black Laws, the 1837 killing of newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy, the campaign that repealed the Black Laws in 1865, and the women's suffrage victories of 1913 and 1919. They compare perspectives at each step and identify the tools citizens use to change society.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 95 minutes
  • Rights and perspectives check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number and put in order
See plans Included with Family, Teacher and School plans. Open in PlayOwl

What learners will discover

  • Explain rights protected by the First Amendment and the responsibilities that come with them.
  • Describe how slavery and the Black Laws limited rights in Illinois and how people worked to end them.
  • Describe how women in Illinois won the right to vote, including the 1913 Illinois law and the 19th Amendment.
  • Explain why people held different perspectives on rights and identify the methods citizens used to change laws.

Lessons

  1. Rights and responsibilities 4 steps2 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Slavery, the Black Laws and the fight for freedom 5 steps3 practiceabout 26 min
  3. Women win the vote 5 steps3 practiceabout 24 min
  4. How citizens change society 4 steps2 practiceabout 23 min
  5. Rights and perspectives check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 4th grade social studies

Guide for grown-ups