Stand or Sit

This worksheet supports students in Grades 5 and 6 as they develop critical thinking, written explanation, civic reasoning, ethical decision-making, and historical understanding through modern-day protest scenarios. Students evaluate each situation and decide whether to “stand” by taking visible action or “sit” by using peaceful resistance, then clearly justify their choice using reasoning connected to civil rights history and nonviolent activism.

Instructional Objectives

• Written Explanation & Justification (Grades 5-6) – Students articulate opinions clearly and support choices with logical reasoning.
• Civil Rights Tactics – Learners connect historical protest strategies such as sit-ins, rallies, and peaceful resistance to present-day contexts.
• Civic Decision-Making – Students evaluate different methods of advocacy and consider their effectiveness and ethical implications.
• Critical Thinking – The activity strengthens analysis of real-world dilemmas and thoughtful response selection.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA, social studies, and civics standards.
• Engaging and Relevant – Modern scenarios help students see the continued relevance of civil rights strategies.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Works well for independent work, discussion-based lessons, small groups, or assessment.
• Supports Student Voice – Encourages respectful expression of viewpoints and reasoned defense of ideas.
• No-Prep Printable – Easy to implement in classroom or homeschool settings.

This Stand or Sit worksheet helps students explore how protest choices reflect values, strategy, and context. By connecting historical civil rights methods to contemporary situations, learners strengthen writing, reasoning, and civic understanding. It’s a thoughtful resource for classrooms and homeschool environments focused on ethical action and informed participation.

This worksheet is part of our Civil Rights Movement Worksheets collection.