Movement Sorting

This worksheet helps students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 build reading comprehension, classification skills, civic understanding, and critical thinking by examining major social movements connected to equality and opportunity. Students read six short descriptions of actions or achievements and sort each one into the correct category-Racial Civil Rights (RCR), Women’s Rights (WR), or Labor Rights (LR)-using context clues and prior knowledge to make accurate decisions.

Learning Goals

• Understanding Social Movements (Grades 4-6) – Students identify key goals and achievements of major civil rights movements.
• Civil Rights & Equality – Learners recognize how different movements worked to expand rights and opportunities.
• Interpreting Informational Text – The activity strengthens students’ ability to read, analyze, and categorize information.
• Analyzing Social Impact – Reflection questions encourage students to think about how movements helped expand access to the American Dream.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary social studies and ELA standards.
• Clear Sorting Structure – Categorization supports organization, comparison, and deeper understanding.
• Critical Thinking Extension – Follow-up questions promote reflection on progress, opportunity, and long-term impact.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Ideal for independent work, small groups, review lessons, or assessment.
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready for classroom or homeschool use with minimal preparation.

This Movement Sorting worksheet helps students understand how different civil rights movements contributed to greater equality and opportunity in the United States. By categorizing actions and reflecting on their impact, learners strengthen comprehension, reasoning, and civic awareness while gaining a clearer picture of how social change expands access to the American Dream.

This worksheet is part of our The American Dream Worksheets collection.