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Grade 5Civil Rights Leaders

Civil Rights Leaders and Their Impact

Grade 5 worksheet on civil rights leaders: students match figures to their actions, answer multiple-choice questions, and write short responses.

15 questions · Matching · Multiple choice · True or false · Short answer · Application

This Grade 5 worksheet focuses on the people who led the American civil rights movement — who they were, what they did, and when they did it. Students will match leaders such as Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, and Harriet Tubman to their most important contributions, answer multiple-choice questions about key events, and evaluate true-or-false statements about dates and facts they have studied. The sheet closes with two short-answer questions that ask students to explain, in their own words, why events and individuals mattered. Suitable for use during a civil rights unit or as a review before a test, this worksheet builds both knowledge and the reasoning skills students need for Grade 5 social studies.

Civil Rights Leaders and Their Impact — Grade 5

Read each section carefully and answer every question. Use what you have learned about civil rights leaders and the events they shaped.

Remember

  • The civil rights movement worked to end racial segregation and win equal rights for Black Americans.
  • Leaders used peaceful protest, court cases, speeches, and marches to challenge unjust laws.
  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were two major legal victories.

Part A — Match each civil rights leader to their contribution

Write the letter of the correct contribution next to each civil rights leader's name.

Choose from

  • A. Guided enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad
  • B. Refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955
  • C. Co-founded the NAACP in 1909
  • D. Led marches for voting rights, including the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march
  • E. Argued the Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court in 1954
  1. 1.

    Rosa Parks

  2. 2.

    Thurgood Marshall

  3. 3.

    John Lewis

  4. 4.

    Harriet Tubman

  5. 5.

    W.E.B. Du Bois

Part B — Choose the best answer for each question

Read each question and circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. 6.

    During which event did Martin Luther King Jr. give his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963?

    1. A.The Montgomery Bus Boycott
    2. B.The March on Washington
    3. C.The Selma to Montgomery March
    4. D.The Birmingham Campaign
  2. 7.

    In which year did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus?

    1. A.1953
    2. B.1955
    3. C.1957
    4. D.1963
  3. 8.

    Thurgood Marshall argued which landmark Supreme Court case that ended school segregation?

    1. A.Plessy v. Ferguson
    2. B.Brown v. Board of Education
    3. C.Loving v. Virginia
    4. D.Marbury v. Madison
  4. 9.

    Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to attend William Frantz Elementary School in which city?

    1. A.Birmingham, Alabama
    2. B.Atlanta, Georgia
    3. C.New Orleans, Louisiana
    4. D.Selma, Alabama
  5. 10.

    Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside which other leader?

    1. A.Fannie Lou Hamer
    2. B.Medgar Evers
    3. C.Dolores Huerta
    4. D.Bayard Rustin

Part C — Decide if each statement is true or false

Write True or False on the line. If the statement is false, write the correction below it.

  1. 11.

    Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968.

  2. 12.

    Rosa Parks was arrested after she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus on December 1, 1955.

  3. 13.

    Thurgood Marshall argued the case of Plessy v. Ferguson before the Supreme Court.

Part D — Answer each question in your own words

Answer each question in one or two sentences, using what you have learned.

  1. 14.

    Why was the Montgomery Bus Boycott an important event in the civil rights movement?

  2. 15.

    Choose one civil rights leader from this worksheet and explain how their work helped change life in the United States.

Answer key

Part A — Match each civil rights leader to their contribution

  1. 1.Refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955
  2. 2.Argued the Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court in 1954
  3. 3.Led marches for voting rights, including the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march
  4. 4.Guided enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad
  5. 5.Co-founded the NAACP in 1909

Part B — Choose the best answer for each question

  1. 6.The March on Washington
  2. 7.1955
  3. 8.Brown v. Board of Education
  4. 9.New Orleans, Louisiana
  5. 10.Dolores Huerta

Part C — Decide if each statement is true or false

  1. 11.False - Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, not 1968.
  2. 12.True
  3. 13.False - Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board of Education, not Plessy v. Ferguson.

Part D — Answer each question in your own words

  1. 14.Example: The Montgomery Bus Boycott showed that peaceful protest could challenge unjust laws. Black residents refused to ride the city buses for 381 days, and in 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional.
  2. 15.Example: Thurgood Marshall helped change life in the United States because he argued Brown v. Board of Education, which led the Supreme Court to rule that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional, giving Black children the right to attend the same schools as white children.

What this sheet teaches

  • Identify at least five civil rights leaders and describe one key action each took.
  • Explain how specific events, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, advanced equal rights.
  • Analyze how the work of civil rights leaders changed laws and daily life in America.

Notes for the adult

  • Students often repeat the myth that Rosa Parks was too physically tired to move; she was tired of giving in to injustice.
  • Remind students that no single person won civil rights alone: success came from thousands of organized actions over many years.
  • A student is ready to move on when they can name at least four leaders, state one specific action, and explain why it mattered.

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