Introduction to Inequality, Sneetches

Resources:
www.tolerance.org
www.ababj.com
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of
a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1a Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an
opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1b Provide reasons that support the opinion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1c Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore,
since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1d Provide a concluding statement or section
Objectives:
The student will experience discrimination and develop a sense of fairness and equity.
The student will apply literature to real life experiences.
Grade Level:
3rd Grade
Time Duration:
In-class activity: 30 minutes
Out-of-class activity: 1Hour
Follow-up activity: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours
Materials:
The Sneetches by Dr. Suess

Green construction paper cut into stars

Safety pins
Behavior Expectations:
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the story. After
completion of reading the book, the students will randomly be called, to answer the
questions from Blooms. The students will have a chance to pass if they are
uncomfortable answering, after time has been given for them to think about their
answers. While participating in the whole group discussion they will listen attentively,
respond to questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers. The students
will be respectful of one another. The students will work in small groups following our
small group roles. I will remind them of these before we begin working in small groups.
Small group roles:
Gate Keeper: The person who makes sure everyone has a turn
Task Master: This person keeps everyone on task.
Quiet Captain: Keeps group at a reasonable noise level.
Encourager: Everyone has this job to respectfully encourage, facilitate, and listen to
ideas.
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
As students enter the classroom, I will give half of them die-cut stars. I will instruct the
students with the stars to sit in the front of the classroom and the students without stars
to sit in the back half of the classroom.
At the beginning of the day, I will explain the difference between what the star students
can do and what the students without stars can do.
Star students will have:
They will sit in the seats towards the front of the classroom.
Every student with a star will have a seat.
They will have access to sharp pencils.
They will have a teacher to help them with questions.
They may use the restroom as needed.

They may work together in pairs.

Students without stars.
Students without stars will not have any of those things and
They will not all have seats.
They will not have all of the materials for any activities, whether that is books or
worksheets.
They will not all have writing utensils.
The teacher will not answer their questions when asked.
They may not use the restroom.
Before I read the story, I will pass out a favorite snack to only the star students. I will
allow the star students to eat their snack.
I will wait a couple of minutes and start the lesson. (I will allow the privileges to continue
for an extended time to simulate prejudice.)
Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
The student will experience discrimination and develop a sense of fairness and equity.
The student will apply literature to real life experiences.
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
Read The Sneetches aloud as a whole class (or in small groups).
After I have completed reading the story and allowed enough time for the privileges/no
privileges groups, I will then give the students who did not receive a treat, treats.
I will then divide them into small groups and have them discuss questions with Blooms
Taxonomy action verbs to question their higher-level thinking.
Can you recall what happened before/during/after we read our story? (Remembering)
Can you describe how the Star-Belly Sneetches look? (Understanding)
Can you describe how the Plain-Belly Sneetches look? (Understanding)
Can you contrast the difference in language between the plain and Star-Belly
Sneetches? (Analyzing)

Appraise how you felt when you were without a star, how did you feel about classmates
with stars? (Analyzing)
Evaluate how you felt about the students who received privileges felt about getting
privileges when others did not? (Evaluate)
Create a list of the lessons you learned when you were without/with a star? (Create)
After they are given time to answer the questions we will come together and each group
will share their ideas with the class. Now I will explain that I was demonstrating
prejudice or unequal treatment.
We will then brainstorm together what prejudice and discrimination means. After we
have brainstormed, I will give them a working definition of prejudice and discrimination.
Prejudice: an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed without knowledge, thought, or
reason. Any fixed opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable. Unreasonable
feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of an aggressive nature, regarding a racial
group.
Discrimination: happens when one group is treated differently from another. Unfair
treatment of a person or a group.
(If necessary, I will also define race)
Race: Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics.
I will explain that our next unit is about a time in the history of the United States when
people were treated unfairly just because of the color of their skin. Much like the
Sneetches were treated differently if they had stars.
Guided Practice:
Today we will apply how you felt when you were with/without a star and think about how
you would feel if you were denied things because you were a black person during this
time in history and you were denied things just because of the way they looked.
Building on the ideas from small group discussions, we will brainstorm and make a list
of suggestions for ending discrimination in the class or school. (Examples might be to
stop teasing, be kind to people who are different from us)
I will facilitate this discussion by asking more questions:
What kinds of things do we use as "stars" that make people feel special?

What makes you feel like a Plain-Belly Sneetch, a Star-Belly Sneetch?

What feelings did you have during the class activity?
List actions you will take to help everyone feel like they belong.
They will use this list on their independent assignment. I will then explain the
assignment.
Closure: Ask the students if they have ever been guilty of discriminating against
someone. What could they do to change this?
Independent Practice: Using their list the students will choose three separate things
from the action plan and write at least two paragraphs for each choice. They will write
three paragraphs about how they will integrate their list of what they intend to do to fight
discrimination. Encourage students to set goals for extending the activity into the
classroom.
Assessment: I will monitor eye contact and facial expression to assess the students
listening skills.
I will assess their feelings on fairness with Blooms questions.
I will assess their understanding of book through informal questioning.
I will assess their feelings on prejudice by reviewing their list.
I will assess the students understanding of the concept with their action plan.
Integrated Lessons:
Drama: Discuss the story. Re-read and act it out.
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RTI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students will make a list of things and pick one thing to integrate.
My gifted students will take this activity and extend it to the whole school. They will do
this to write a proposal for the principal.
My ESL students will share what if any their own country has as far as prejudice.
Student________________________ Teacher____________ Score___
4-EXCELLENT 3-ACCEPTABLE 2-BELOW AVERAGE 1-UNACCEPTABLE
Scor

Traits

Comments

e
___4
___3
___2
___1

___4
___3
___2
___1

___4
___3
___2
___1

CLEAR, WELL ORGANIZED, WELL

DEVELOPED IDEAS
Main idea (thesis) for each idea is clearly
written in the introductory paragraph.
Topic sentences in the body paragraph clearly
support the main idea.
Supporting details clearly support the topic
sentence.
Transition words/phrases connect paragraphs
smoothly.
WORD CHOICE
Vivid, lively verbs are used. (Weak: Lu is a
soccer player.
Strong: Running like the wind, Lu blasts the ball
down the field.)
Imaginative, unusual adjectives are used.
(menacing, bloodcurdling, chilling)
Vague, overused, repetitive language is avoided
(a lot, very, really, then, big, pretty, and, like).
EDITING FOR GRAMMAR, USAGE,
MECHANICS
Punctuation is correct.
Capitalization is correct.
Spelling is correct.
Paragraphs are indented correctly.

2 Through the Eyes of a Child

Resources:
www.icivics.org
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com
Standards:
16.A.1a Student will be able to explain the difference between past, present and future
time; place themselves in time.
16.A.1c Student will be able to describe how people in different times and places
viewed the world in different ways.
4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
4.B.1b Participate in discussions around a common topic.
4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
26.B.1d Demonstrate knowledge and skills to create visual works of art using
manipulation, eye-hand coordination, building and imagination.
CC.2.SL.1.a Comprehension and Collaboration: Follow agreed-upon rules for
discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care,
speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
CC.2.SL.2 Comprehension and Collaboration: Recount or describe key ideas or details
from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
Objectives:
Students will construct a triorama of a scene from the book "Child of the Civil Rights
Movement by Paula Young Shelton and Raul Coln
The student will remember how they felt while reading "Child of the Civil Rights
Movement" and apply that to how the girl in the book felt. 26.B.1d
The students will gain an understanding of the rights we now enjoy and how citizens of
different races did not enjoy those rights in the past. 16.A.1a
The students will recognize how differently black and white people were treated before
and during the civil rights movement. 16.A.1c
The students will understand what it feels like to be treated unfairly. 4.B.1b

The students will be able to respond to question to display comprehension. 4.A.1b

Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Time Duration:
The reading should take approximately five minutes, followed by ten minutes of
discussion of the story and questions from Blooms Taxonomy. We will finish with the
instructions on construction of the triorama. Followed by five minutes of closure.
Total time: 35-40 minutes.
(Two weeks for triorama assignment)
Materials:
Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Young Shelton and Raul Coln
Diorama of a scene from "Child of the Civil Rights Movement" (that I made as an
example)

What if questions for Elmo

Behavior Expectations:
They will walk calmly and orderly to the story rug and will sit Indian style. The students
will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the story. While listening to
the story they will not touch one another. They will also listen attentively, respond to
questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers. After completion of reading
the book, the students will randomly be called on using the Popsicle stick method with
their names on them, to answer the questions from Blooms. I will remind them of this
process before I begin to draw the names. The students will have a chance to pass if
they are uncomfortable answering, after time has been given for them to think about
their answers. The students will work with partners for think-pair-share and will be
respectful of one another. The students will not talk to one another while listening to
instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
Before I start the lesson, I will ask the students if they remember what they learned in
their last lesson. I will ask them how they felt during the last lesson and then talk again,
about how life was very different during the civil rights era for black and white people, I
will call them to our story rug, and read the picture book, "Child of the Civil Rights
movements."

After I have completed reading the story, using Blooms taxonomy questions, I will ask
the children who did not receive snacks how they felt about that.
Bloom's taxonomy questions:
Can you recall what happened before they moved home in the story?
Can you describe how she felt about moving home?
Can you contrast how the blacks and whites were treated differently?
Purpose/Overview:
The purpose of this lesson is for children to understand and recognize what
discrimination is. After listening to the book, Child of the Civil Rights Movement, children
will respond to higher-level questions to solidify their comprehension. I will check their
comprehension of the story orally, while teaching them about discrimination. I will use
Blooms Taxonomy action verbs to ask question for their higher-level thinking.
Examples of each category:
Who participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery? (Remembering)
List the characters of the story. (Remembering)
Explain how we would feel if we were a child of the civil rights movement.
(Understanding)
Choose which part of the story is your favorite and explain why you chose it. (Applying)
How did the younger Shelton feel when her family was not allowed to eat lunch?
Compare and contrast the life of these little girls compared to your life.(Analyzing)
Why do you think the author wanted to keep walking when her mother asked her if she
wanted to ride in the car? (Evaluating)
Determine why this story is important to us. (Evaluating)
The Final will be to construct the triorama. (Creating)
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
I will talk to students about how they felt when I read the story to them, then I will have
students' think-pair-share about their feelings.
I will explain to the students that I want to tell them about a time in the history of the
United States when people were treated unfairly just because of the color of their skin.
I will define:

Prejudice: intolerance of someone who is different in any regard whether it is race,

ethnicity, or religious affiliation
Race: Each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics
Discrimination: happens when one group is treated differently from another
I will ask what if questions. (Questions on paper for Elmo)
I will read the story, Child of the Civil Rights Movement, again this time instructing them
to listen for things that they feel strongly about.
Guided practice:
At this point, I will help them with guided practice to write out their feelings and explain
what scene in the story made them feel the most and why.
I will model how to make a triorama and explain my expectations.
A triorama is simply a diorama made from a single square of paper, cardboard or poster
board. Once you have made the triorama you can then go ahead and put your diorama
scene inside it. Start with a square of poster board or paper. The larger the square the
larger your triorama will be. Fold it diagonally one-way then unfold. Then fold it
diagonally the other way and unfold. Cut it with a pair of scissors from one corner to the
center. Now just grab one of those flaps and slide it all the way over the other flap. The
triorama will fold right up into shape.
I will then assign a triorama of their favorite scene or a scene they felt strongly about
from the book, Child of the Civil Rights Movement. I will send home a rubric for students
so that guardians at home will know of my expectations.
Guided Practice: I will guide the students by helping them complete their paragraph.
Closure: To close my lesson I will randomly select students using my Popsicle sticks
and allow them to read their paragraph about their feelings.
Independent Practice: The students will make a diorama/triorama depicting a scene
from the book Child of the Civil Rights Movement.
Assessment:
Students will think-pair-share their feelings from the reading of the story.
I will monitor eye contact and facial expression to assess the students listening skills.

I will assess their feelings on fairness with what if questions.

I will assess their understanding of book through informal questioning.
I will assess their feelings by reviewing their letter to parents.
I will assess the students understanding of the book Child of the Civil Rights Movement
with their Triorama.
Integrated Lessons: I will use the book, Child of the Civil Rights Movement to
incorporate reading into my Social Studies lesson.
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students, instead of writing a paragraph, will draw a picture of how they felt
about the anticipatory set.
My gifted students will write their own version of a time when they felt they were treated
unfairly.
My ESL students will translate a paragraph about the story for their parents at home.

Name: ________________________
Date : ___________________

Teacher: Nicole Dickson

Title of Work: ___________________
Criteria

1
The student followed
Understanding of
few directions. Project
assignment
is not a triorama.
There was little effort
put forth and the result
is an unsatisfactory
Neatness/Effort project. The student
colored outside of the
lines. The student's
work is sloppy.

Theme

The student did not

follow the theme
whatsoever.

Creativity

The student showed no

creativity in
constructing the
triorama.

Points
3

The student
The student
followed some
followed most
The student
directions.There are directions. There
followed all
important things
are few things directions. Nothing
missing from the
missing in the
is missing.
chosen scene.
triorama.
The student's work The student's work
The student's work
shows a small shows considerable
shows extra effort.
amount of effort.
effort. They
Project is neat with
They colored partly colored neatly with
no mistakes in
in the lines and the very few mistakes.
coloring. The
project needs
The project is
project is excellent.
improvement.
satisfactory.
The student barley
followed the theme
The student
The student mostly
of the triorama and
followed the theme
followed the them
there are things
of the triorama
of the triorama.
which do not belong
completely.
included.
The student
The student showed
The student
showed great
little creativity in showed creativity creativity in the
constructing the in constructing the
triorama,
triorama.
triorama.
completeing a
superb project.

____

____

____

____

____

Total---->
Teacher Comments:

____

3 Why Civil Rights?

Resources:
www.pbs.org
www.nbclearn.com
www.icivics.org
Standards:
18.B.2a Describe interactions of individuals, groups and institutions in situations drawn
from the local community (e.g., local response to state and national reforms).
16.D.2c (US) Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B.
Anthony/suffrage and Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois
and the United States.
14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the
individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting, protection under
the law).
Objectives:
The students will gain an understanding of the rights we now enjoy and how African
Americans did not enjoy those rights in the past.
The students will recognize how differently black and white people were treated before
and during the civil rights movement.
The student will become aware of the reasons why the movement started
The student will become aware of some of the issues of the various groups involved
Grade Level:
3rd Grade
Time Duration: 45-50 minutes
Materials:
Cards cut into squares with topics written on them.
1. Rosa Parks
2. Martin Luther King Jr.
3. NAACP formed
4. Jackie Robinson

5. Jim Crowe Laws

6. Brown V. the Board of Education
7. Plessey V. Ferguson
8. Greensborough sit in
9. Ruby Bridges
10. Little Rock Nine
11. Freedom Rides
12. March on Washington
13. Birmingham Church Bombings
14. Thurgood Marshall
15. Martin Luther King Jr.
16. Freedom Summer
17. Voting Rights Act
18. Bloody Sunday
19. Civil disobedience
20. Malcolm X
21. Klu Klux Klan
22. Sidney Poritie
23. Assassination of Medgar Evers
24. Medgar Evers
25. Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
26. I Have a Dream Speech
Computer access for students.
Behavior Expectations:
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the excerpts
from MLKs life. While participating in the whole group discussion they will listen
attentively, respond to questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers.
The students will use their computer properly and according to school rules.
The students will be respectful of one another.
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
I will tell the student to close their eyes. Then I will read them the following excerpts:
I was forced to sit in the back of the bus. Then more people got on the bus, and I had
to stand for hours because a white man wanted my seat.
I wasnt allowed to use the white bathroom when the bus stopped, and the colored
bathroom was filthy. It had no paper or soap, and the toilet was broken.

It smelled awful.
I was starving, too, but they wouldnt let me buy any food. I felt dizzy and sick and
began to argue, but they refused to serve me.
Then I will ask the students to tell me what they saw or visualized as I read these
sentences to them.
Then we will discuss the emotions these people must have felt. After we have talked
about their emotions I will ask the students why they think they felt that the way they did.
Having already discussed what is fair and what is not I think the students will conclude
that these laws are not fair and that it is the responsibility of people and the community
to change it.

Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Student will be able to evaluate the behavior of whites towards blacks.
The student will be able to understand discrimination and develop a sense of fairness
and equity.
Students will gain an understanding of the reasons why the Civil Rights movement
began.

Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)

I will then explain to the students that the civil rights movement was full of these
ordinary women and men who struggled for their beliefs.
AS I give this brief overview I will use images from www.nbclearn.com and www.pbs.org
this will allow the students to actually see what was happening.
I will give a brief overview:
We Shall Overcome
The Jim Crow laws that discriminated against African Americans might still exist today if
it wasn't for the hard work of people in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and
1960s. There had always been resistance to the discrimination that blacks faced, but

during that time people joined together, organized, and protested more than ever
before. New laws were passed, other laws were declared unconstitutional, and things
started to change in peoples everyday lives.
The civil rights movement was made up of many well-known people as well as political
groups and ordinary citizens. They all stood up to intimidation, violence and threat of
arrest. Even kids got involved!
A few civil rights activists:
Martin Luther King, Jr. helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC). He delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington.
Malcolm X promoted black independence, self-defense, and human rights. He often
disagreed with the non-violent methods of King.
Medgar Evers was civil rights activists who investigated cases for the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) and helped James
Meredith integrate the University of Mississippi.
The Little Rock Nine integrated their all white high school in 1957. A third grader
named Linda Brown helped change the laws about school segregation.
I will explain that these changes were needed and in order to force people to change
they had to get people to pay attention. Activists used a variety of strategies to end
racial discrimination. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., many activists chose to use peaceful
or nonviolent methods to call attention to the problem and pressure the government to
change. Other people, like Malcolm X, thought civil rights would have to be gained
through any means necessaryeven violence. Both approaches influenced the civil
rights movement by calling attention to the discrimination African Americans faced on a
daily basis.
This involved several strategies:
Marches involved large groups of protestors taking to the streets with signs, banners,
songs, and chants.
Sit-ins were a way to integrate (bring the races together) a business or public area.
African Americans would sit at whites only areas and wait to be served.
Boycotts called for consumers to avoid a product or service that discriminated
against African Americans.
Court cases challenged unfair laws.
Then I will explain that we will do a timeline of the civil rights era and understand why it
was necessary for change.

Guided Practice:
I will use the event cards at the end of this lesson plan. I will give students one topic
from the Pre Civil Rights/Civil Rights Eras to research. The student will record the date
of the event on the front of their card and draw a picture/symbol to represent the event
this is considered the front. On the back, students write a detailed description of the
event. (this is their independent practice)
Closure: Once the timeline is completed we will come back together and each student
who has become
the expert will teach the other students why it was important and
what effects it had on future civil rights.
For example, Rosa Parks standing up to the bus driver and refusing to give up her seat
was important because it was a single person standing up against the laws and its
effect was Martin Luther King Jr. organized the bus boycott.
Independent Practice:
Students will research their topics using
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline/civil_02.html at PBS to research their year.
Assessment:
I will informally assess them as they explain their topic and put it in the correct order on
the clothesline timeline.
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
As my gifted students finish I will allow them to finish more cards.
My RTI students will give more instructional support as they research their time period.
My ELL learners I will translate the materials for the timeline into their native language.

Lesson Plan 4 Family Night

Standards:
14.D.2 Explain ways that individuals and groups influence and shape public policy.
14.F.2 Identify consistencies and inconsistencies between expressed United States
political traditions and ideas and actual practices (e.g., freedom of speech, right to bear
arms, slavery, voting rights).
Objectives:
The student will construct a lap book of civil rights leaders.
The student will identify civil rights leaders and their contributions to change.
The student will label the civil rights leaders.

Civil Rights Movement

For many years, African Americans were slaves and after they were
freed, they did not have the same rights as Whites. Nearly 100 years
after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern
states still lived in this unequal world. Jim Crow laws at the local and
state levels barred them from classrooms and bathrooms, from
theaters and train cars, from juries and legislatures. In 1954, the U.S.
Supreme Court reversed the separate but equal laws and for the
decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent
protest and civil disobedience to bring about change. Many leaders
from within the African American community and beyond fought for
Civil Rights. They riskedand sometimes losttheir lives in the name
of freedom and equality.

Biography Lap Book

Materials:
Construction paper
Glue
Pictures and Information
Scissors

Procedure:
1. Pick a few civil rights leaders that have impressed you while
we were studying our civil rights unit.
2. Fold a long piece of construction paper into fourths. Fold
this paper making each edge fold to the center, creating
double doors that open to the inside of the paper.
3. Cut out your picture
4. Read over the information on your chosen civil rights leader
and IN YOUR OWN WORDS write a few important facts
about your leader.
4. Cut out your geometric shape.
5. Paste you picture and write your information into the
shape. This will create "foldables" with facts about different
civil rights leaders.
6. Glue the shape into your book.

Thurgood Marshall

Linda Brown

Rosa Parks

Martin Luther King Jr.

Malcolm X

Andrew Goodman

The Little Rock Nine

Medgar Evers

Rosa Parks
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, an African-American
seamstress, left work and boarded a bus for home. As the bus became crowded,
the bus driver ordered Parks to give up her seat to a white passenger.
Montgomery's buses were segregated, with the seats in the front reserved for
"whites only." Blacks had to sit at the back of the bus. However, if the bus was
crowded and all the "whites only" seats were filled, black people were expected to
give up their seatsa black person sitting while a white person stood would never
be tolerated in the racist South. Rosa had had enough of such humiliation, and
refused to give up her seat. The bus driver had her arrested. Martin Luther King,
Jr., heard about Parks' brave defiance and launched a boycott of Montgomery
buses.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King became the leader of the civil rights. King advocated civil
disobedience, the non-violent resistance against unjust laws: "Non-violence is a
powerful and just weapon which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who
wields it." Civil rights activists organized demonstrations, marches, boycotts,
strikes, and voter-registration drives, and refused to obey laws that they knew
were wrong and unjust. Dr. King said, "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for
freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred," he urged. "We must

forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline." King's
philosophy of "tough-mindedness and tenderheartedness" was not only highly
effective, but it gave the civil rights movement an inspiring moral authority and
grace.
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was a courageous civil rights lawyer during a period when racial
segregation was the law of the land. At a time when a large portion of American
society refused to extend equality to black people, Marshall realized that one of
the best ways to bring about change was through the legal system. Between 1938
and 1961, he presented more than 30 civil rights cases before the Supreme Court.
He won 29 of them. His most important case was Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka (1954), which ended segregation in public schools.

The Little Rock 9

The Little Rock 9, as they later came to be called, were the first black teenagers
to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. These
remarkable young African-American students challenged segregation in the deep
South and won. Although Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in
schools, many school systems defied the law by intimidating and threatening black
studentsCentral High School was a notorious example. However, the Little Rock 9
were determined to attend the school and receive the same education offered to
white students. On the first day of school, the governor of Arkansas ordered the
state's National Guard to block the black students from entering the school. Every
morning on their way to school angry crowds of whites taunted and insulted the
Little Rock 9they even received death threats
Malcolm X
Malcolm X, the activist and outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith,
challenged the mainstream civil rights movement and the nonviolent pursuit of
integration championed by Martin Luther King Jr. He urged followers to defend
themselves against white aggression "by any means necessary." Born Malcolm Little,
he changed his last name to X to signify his rejection of his "slave" name.
Charismatic and eloquent, Malcolm became an influential leader of the Nation of

Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism and sought to encourage and
enfranchise disadvantaged young blacks searching for confidence in segregated
America. After Malcolm X's death in 1965, his bestselling book The Autobiography
of Malcolm X popularized his ideas, particularly among black youth, and laid the
foundation for the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.
Medgar Evers
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers became the first state field secretary of the
NAACP in 1954. He organized voter-registration efforts, demonstrations, and
economic boycotts of companies that practiced discrimination. He also worked to
investigate crimes against blacks. On June 12, 1963, Evers was assassinated
outside of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. While a virtual unknown elsewhere,
Evers was one of Mississippi's most prominent civil rights activists. He fought
racial injustices in many forms, including how the state and local legal system
handled crimes against African Americans.
Linda Brown
Linda Brown was a third-grader in Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s. During this time
the national civil rights organization was trying to get people involved in a lawsuit
against separate but equal, a Supreme Court ruling that had permitted
segregation in American. In the fall of 1950, the Browns and 12 Topeka families
were asked by the NAACP to try and enroll their children in their neighborhood
white schools, with the expectation that they would be rejected. The NAACP then
filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education in Topeka. That lawsuit and others
brought on behalf of other students were presented together on appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court. The landmark 1954 decision that ended legalized segregation
in America went down in history as Brown v. Board of Education.
Andrew Goodman
In 1964, Andrew Goodman went to work as part of the "Freedom Summer" project
to register blacks to vote in Mississippi. In mid-June, Goodman was sent to
Mississippi to begin to register blacks to vote. One night in June, a black man who
was a civil rights activist joined Andrew and his friend. The next morning the three
of them set out to investigate the recent burning of a local black church. On their
way, the three were arrested for allegedly driving over the speed limit. The three
were taken to the jail and after they were released, they were told to leave the

county. On their way back to Meridian, they were stopped by two carloads of KKK
members who shot and killed them.

Rubric
13 to 16 A
9 to 12 B
8 or below D
ContentOverview:
Information
about the
topic

Had many
details. All
details were
correct.

Had many
details about
the topic. A
few details
were not
correct.

Had few
details about
the topic.
Some
information
was not
correct.

Work was not

about the
topic.

WritingContent and
neatness

Writing was
neat and
easy to
understand.

Writing was
neat. Some
details were
hard to
understand.

Writing was
not legible.
Details were
difficult to
understand.

DesignOverview:

Lap book
used many
pictures to
make it
interesting.
Work used
excellent
words to
paint
a clear
picture.

Lap book had

pictures to
make it
interesting

Writing was
somewhat
neat. The
details were
somewhat
understandab
le.
Lap book had
too many or
too few
pictures.

Work used
words that
took away
from the
meaning.

Work
used the
same
words over
and over.

Work did not

have
adjectives or
descriptive
words.

Writing-Word
Choice:
Correct words
and details

Lap book had

no pictures.

5 Rosa Parks
Resources:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/nonviolence.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_parks
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/aframer/parks/
Standards:
14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the
individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting, protection under
the law).
16.D.2c (US) Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B.
Anthony/suffrage and Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois
and the United States.
Objectives:
The students will gain an understanding of the rights we now enjoy and how African
Americans did not enjoy those rights in the past.
The students will recognize how differently black and white people were treated before
and during the civil rights movement.
The student will be able to identify Rosa Parks and her contributions to the civil rights
movement.
Grade Level:
3rd Grade
Time Duration: 30-45 minutes
Materials:
Rosa Parks graphic organizer
Copies of the Rosa Parks story
Interview with Rosa Parks
Behavior Expectations:
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the story. After
completion of reading, the students will collaborate and fill in the graphic organizer.
While participating in the whole group discussion they will listen attentively, respond to
questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers. The students will be

respectful of one another. The students will work in small groups following our small
group roles. I will remind them of these before we begin working in small groups.
(Detailed in previous lessons)
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
I will set up eight chairs in two columns like a bus. Then I will have eight students sit in
the bus seats and tell them (and the class) that they have been working all day and they
are tired. They are riding the bus home on a half-hour trip. Tell them that you are a new
passenger getting on the bus. Role-play that you are getting on the bus. Pick one
student (not a sensitive one) and tell him or her that he or she must get up and give you
his or her seat. If the student hesitates, say "You know the law, people with (red or
whatever color shirt they have on) shirts must give up their seats if someone with a
(blue or whatever color shirt I have on) shirt comes on the bus. So get up or I will have
you arrested."

Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Student will be able to evaluate the behavior of whites towards blacks.
The student will be able to understand discrimination and develop a sense of fairness
and equity.
Students will gain an understanding of the importance of Rosa Parks in history.
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
I will then ask the students what happened during the anticipatory set.
I will ask them how they felt about what happened.
Then I will give them an overview of what happened with Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks Story

Rosa Parks lived in a time when racial prejudice was everywhere. She lived in the
Southern part of the United States and during the 1950s, segregation laws prevented
AfricanAmericans from going to the same schools and businesses as white people.
They could not live in the same neighborhoods, use the same drinking fountains, or
even sit in the front section of buses. Whites Only signs could be seen in restaurants
and store windows. Rosa lived in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Rosa
got on a bus after a long, tiring day at a department store where she worked as a
seamstress.
In those times, African-Americans had to sit in the back of the bus, while whites sat in
the front. That day the bus got very crowded. At each stop, more and more white people
kept getting on. The bus driver decided that since the white section was full, black
passengers should give up their seats to the white passengers. Rosa noticed the bus
driver was James Blake, who had been mean to her before. One time he told her to reenter the bus through the back door, but sped off as
soon as she stepped outside. She had to walk all the way home. On this day, Blake
shouted to all the black passengers to get out of their seats and move to the back of the
bus. Yet there were no seats in the back of the bus.
Rosa decided that she had had enough bullying from Blake and was tired of the unfair
rules of the bus. So she refused to give up her seat. Blake called the police and they
arrested Rosa. The next day African-American leaders in Montgomery, including Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., gathered to plan what to do about Rosa Parks arrest. They
decided that on December 5, African-Americans would not ride the bus. They walked

and took carpools. As it turned out, they stayed off the buses for 381 days. The city lost
money from people not riding the bus.
In the time that African-Americans were not riding the buses, they experienced
harassment and violence. A bomb went off at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s house and
black churches were blown up. Rosa Parks, Dr. King and others started the civil rights
movement through their courageous actions. Their work paid off. On November 13,
1956, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in the schools was illegal. This was a
positive start for African-Americans and their quest for equal rights. Rosa continued to
be a champion for the civil rights cause throughout her life. She passed away on
October 24, 2005. She lay in state at the U.S. Rotunda in Washington, D.C. and is the
first woman and second African-American to be given this honor.
For a quiet act of defiance that resonated throughout the world, Rosa Parks is known
and revered as the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement."
As I tell the story we will access the documents at the link below so that students may
see the actual report in pdf format.
Guided Practice:
I will have the students fill out this Graphic organizer in preparation for their essay.
Rosa Parks Graphic Organizer
Name_______________________________________________ Date
________________
Directions: For Boxes 1 and 2, fill in each box with at least 3 details about the topic. For
the third box, you will select the Pillar that you think best represents Rosa Parks and
give three reasons why.
1. Rosa ParksLife and Times

2. Bus Incident in Montgomery, Alabama

3. Rosa Parks and her effect on us

Closure:
We will watch an interview with Rosa Parks Courtesy of the Academy of Achievement
http://achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0int-1
Independent Practice: Students will then take their graphic organizer and use it as an
outline for a 5-paragraph essay. Students will write an essay on what they have learned
about Rosa Parks and her importance as a civil rights leader.

Assessment: I will informally assess students as they fill in their graphic organizer by
walking around and helping when needed. I will use the rubric to formally assess their
understanding of Rosa Parks.
Integrated Lessons: Language Arts writing an essay.
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students will write two paragraphs instead of a 5 paragraph essay.
My gifted students will research and give background about Rosa parks life.
My ESL students will find a hero in their own country and write about them and their
contributions to their country.
The documents shown here relating to Mrs. Parks arrest are copies that were submitted
as evidence in the Browder v. Gayle case. They are preserved by the National Archives
at Atlanta in Morrow, Georgia, in Record Group 21, Records District Courts of the United
States, U.S. District Court for Middle District of Alabama, Northern (Montgomery)
Division. Civil Case 1147, Browder, et al v. Gayle, et al.
I will have this link set up so that as I tell the story I can let them see these documents in
a pdf format
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/rosa-parks/

Police Report, December 1, 1955

Page 1
Civil Case 1147
Browder, et al v. Gayle, et. al;
U.S. District Court for Middle District of Alabama, Northern (Montgomery) Division

Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration-Southeast Region, East Point, GA.
ARC Identifier 596074

Police Report, December 1, 1955

Page 2
Civil Case 1147
Browder, et al v. Gayle, et. al;
U.S. District Court for Middle District of Alabama, Northern (Montgomery) Division
Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration-Southeast Region, East Point, GA.

Fingerprint Card of Rosa Parks

Civil Case 1147
Browder, et al v. Gayle, et. al;
U.S. District Court for Middle District of Alabama, Northern (Montgomery) Division

Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration-Southeast Region, East Point, GA.

Illustration of bus where Rosa Parks sat,

December 1, 1955
Civil Case 1147
Browder, et al v. Gayle, et. al;
U.S. District Court for Middle District of Alabama, Northern (Montgomery) Division
Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration-Southeast Region, East Point, GA.
ARC Identifier 596069
Rubric for essay
Student____________________________Teacher__________________Score_____
___
4-EXCELLENT 3-ACCEPTABLE 2-BELOW AVERAGE 1-UNACCEPTABLE
CLEAR, WELL ORGANIZED, WELL DEVELOPED IDEAS
___Main idea (thesis) is clearly written in the introductory
paragraph.
___Topic sentences in the body paragraphs clearly support the main
idea.
___Supporting details clearly support the topic sentence.
___Transition words/phrases connect paragraphs smoothly. (First,
Finally, In addition, On the other hand, After . . .)
___Introduction, body, and conclusion provide logical sequencing of
ideas.
___4
___3
___2

___1
WORD CHOICE
Vivid, lively verbs are used. (Weak: Lu is a soccer player.
Strong: Running like the wind, Lu blasts the ball down the field.)
Imaginative, unusual adjectives are used. (scary, menacing,
bloodcurdling, chilling)
Vague, overused, repetitive language is avoided (a lot, very,
really, then, big, pretty, and, like . . .).
___4
___3
___2
___1
EDITING FOR GRAMMAR, USAGE, MECHANICS
Punctuation is correct.
Capitalization is correct.
Spelling is correct.
Paragraphs are indented correctly.

6 Martin Luther King Jr.

Resources:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson248.shtml
Standards:
14.C.2 Describe and evaluate why rights and responsibilities are important to the
individual, family, community, workplace, state and nation (e.g., voting, protection under
the law).
16.D.2c (US) Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B.
Anthony/suffrage and Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois
and the United States.
Objectives:
The students will gain an understanding of the rights we now enjoy and how African
Americans did not enjoy those rights in the past.
The students will recognize how differently black and white people were treated before
and during the civil rights movement.
Students will recognize that prejudice and discrimination has been a problem for African
Americans in the U.S.A. for many years.
Students will be able to identify contributions that Martin Luther King, Jr. made to
society.
Grade Level:
3rd Grade
Time Duration: 45 minutes
Materials:
Construction paper
Scissors
Excerpt from MLK life
Behavior Expectations: The students will remain seated and make eye contact while
listening to the excerpts from MLKs life. While participating in the whole group

discussion they will listen attentively, respond to questions by raising their hands, and
not shout out answers. The students will be respectful of one another. The students will
work in small groups following our small group roles. I will remind them of these before
we begin working in small groups.
Small group roles:
Gate Keeper: The person who makes sure everyone has a turn
Task Master: This person keeps everyone on task.
Quiet Captain: Keeps group at a reasonable noise level.
Encourager: Everyone has this job to respectfully encourage, facilitate, and listen to
ideas.
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
After several lessons the students should be able to offer several answers to the
brainstorm questions. I will ask the students what they know about how African
Americans have been treated throughout American History. I will write their answers on
the board.
Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Student will be able to evaluate the behavior of whites towards blacks.
The student will be able to understand discrimination and develop a sense of fairness
and equity.
Students will gain an understanding of the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. in
history.
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
Then I will explain that for many years African Americans were slaves and that even
after they were freed, they did not have the same rights as whites. Many people worked

to get blacks equal rights. Show students a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. Explain that
Dr. King worked for civil rights, the basic rights and freedoms of citizens.
I will then give the students excerpts from MLK life.
Martin Luther King was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a
Baptist minister and his mother was a highly respected school teacher. His parents
originally named him Michael, after his father. But later his father changed both of their
names to Martin Luther. As a child, Martin enjoyed singing, riding his bicycle, playing
football and baseball, and reading. He spent many hours at his fathers church, listening
to him preach, and singing in the choir. He was a very good student and he skipped
grades in elementary school and in high school
Martin learned about discrimination first hand at a very young age. When he was five
years old he often played baseball with the white sons of a nearby grocer. One day,
when he went to ask the boys to play, their mother told him that her sons could not play
with him ever again because he was black. Martin was deeply hurt. When Martin was
fourteen and in the eleventh grade, he entered a speaking contest in Dublin, Georgia,
sponsored by the Negro Elks Society. His speech won first place. However, on the bus
ride home, Martin was forced to give up his black section seat to a white person. He
stood up for the ninety mile trip home.
Martin wanted to keep up the family tradition, so he decided to become a minister. He
graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 and then went to Crozer Seminary to
become a minister. It was at Crozer that Martin learned about Gandhi. Gandhi was an
important leader in India. To get the British rulers of India to leave his country, Gandhi
had the people protest non-violently. Martin was very impressed with Gandhi and he
would later follow Gandhi's example of non-violent protests.
On December 1, 1955, a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and taken to jail. Martin Luther King, Jr. was
immediately called. He had been waiting for a chance to challenge the segregation laws
called Jim Crow laws. These laws made blacks use separate drinking fountains,
restrooms, sinks, hotels, restaurants, and swimming pools from whites. They also had
to use separate entrances to theaters, and baseball parks. Black children had to use
separate playgrounds and go to separate schools. King wanted to put an end to these
laws.
He organized a boycott of the city buses. The boycott was very successful. King was
made the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Martin Luther
King, Jr. led the fight for civil rights in the South for the next twelve years. During this
time, King led many marches and gave many famous speeches. His leadership in the
fight for civil rights won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was relaxing on a balcony when he was shot. He
was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Memphis, but it was useless. His murder, James
Earl Ray, wasn't caught until June 8th.
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work did not die with him. In 1983 Congress decided to create a
national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Because his birthday was on January
fifteenth, the third Monday of January became Martin Luther King Day. It was first
celebrated in 1986. We now take time on Martin Luther King Day to remember what Dr.
King did to make the world a better place for all people.
Guided Practice:
Then I will divide the students into small groups. I will again remind them of our group
roles (mentioned in previous lessons). I will give each group a specific period in MLKs
life. For example, childhood, college, years in seminary, etc. We will spend time in the
library checking out books about MLK. I will require students to answer these specific
questions about their time period.
What most impressed you about Martin Luther King, Jr.?
What event(s) stands out in your mind?
Do you think it is important for us to recognize his birthday, and if so, why.
I will explain how to do the 3dpop up page and show them an example (Which I
created)
Then I will break the students up into small groups so that they can work on their pop
page and answer their questions.
Once they have found information on their time period and they have answered their
questions they will create a 3d pop up page. The students will then present their 3d pop
up page to the class and briefly share what they have learned about this time in MLK
life.
Closure: Once students have completed their research we will come together share our
pop up page and share what we have learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Independent Practice: The 3d pop up page will be completed in groups on their own.
Assessment: I will informally assess students as they work on their group projects.
Then when they present their information to the class I will assess their understanding
of Martin Luther King Jr. and his importance in history.

Integrated Lessons: Art: the students will create a 3d pop up page.

Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students will give more instructional support as they research their time period.
My ESL students will translate the excerpts from MLKs life into their native language.
My gifted students will listen to MLKs I have a dream speech and write a summary of
what he was trying to say in his speech.

7 Greensboro Sit-ins
Resources:
http://www.sitinmovement.org/history/greensboro-chronology.asp
http://youtu.be/Xbbcjn4d1cE
http://www.osceola.k12.fl.us/depts/2ndaryEd/Pages/documents/FreedomontheMenuLes
sonPlan.pdf

Standards:
16.D.2c (US) Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B.
Anthony/suffrage and Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois
and the United States.
18.B.2a Describe interactions of individuals, groups and institutions in situations drawn
from the local community (e.g., local response to state and national reforms).
4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
4.B.1b Participate in discussions around a common topic.
4.A.1b Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group
members to improve comprehension.
Objectives:
The students will gain an understanding of the rights we now enjoy and how African
Americans did not enjoy those rights in the past.
The students will recognize how differently black and white people were treated before
and during the civil rights movement.
Grade Level:
3rd Grade
Time Duration: 30-45 minutes
Materials:

Pictures of the Greensboro sit-ins

Link to chronology to review with students:
http://www.sitinmovement.org/history/greensboro-chronology.asp
Link to 8 min video about the sit-ins: http://youtu.be/Xbbcjn4d1cE

Behavior Expectations:
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while looking at the pictures and
listening to the chronology of the sit-in. While participating in the whole group discussion
they will listen attentively, respond to questions by raising their hands, and not shout out
answers. The students will be respectful of one another. The students will work in small
groups following our small group roles. I will remind them of these before we begin
working in small groups.
Small group roles:
Gate Keeper: The person who makes sure everyone has a turn
Task Master: This person keeps everyone on task.
Quiet Captain: Keeps group at a reasonable noise level.
Encourager: Everyone has this job to respectfully encourage, facilitate, and listen to
ideas.
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Anticipatory Set:
I will show pictures of the Greensboro sit-in. I will ask the student what they think is
happening in the photographs. I will write their answers on the board.

Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.

Student will be able to evaluate the behavior of whites towards blacks.

The student will be able to understand discrimination and develop a sense of fairness
and equity.
Students will gain an understanding of the importance of the actions of a few.
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
After we have talked about what the people in the picture might be feeling I will explain
to the students that today they will be reporters and they will be interviewing the people
in the photographs questions. Explain that you will be a reporter and interview the
people in the photograph. I will divide the students up into groups. Each group will have
an interviewer and the other students will represent the people in the photographs.
Some interview questions they might ask:

(Image 1) To the men sitting at the counter:

Why are you sitting at this counter? How long do you intend to sit? Do you anticipate a
change with the way society views segregation and how long will that change take? To
the man serving: Are you concerned about losing your job if you serve these men? Why
dont you serve them so that others can be served?

(Image 2) To the man carrying the sign: What is the double standard? How do you
propose eliminating the double standard? How long have you been picketing and how
long do you intend to continue? Are you concerned about what other whites will think?

(Image 3) To those pouring the food: What do you hope to accomplish by this barbaric
behavior? To those having food poured on them: Why would you continue to sit and
have food poured on you?

Guided Practice:
We will look at the chronology and how this sit in created a movement for sit ins across
the country.
http://www.sitinmovement.org/history/greensboro-chronology.asp
In the fall of 1959, four young men (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and
David Richmond) enrolled as freshmen at North Carolina A&T University. The four
young men quickly became a close-knit group and met every evening in their dorm
rooms for "bull sessions". It was during these nightly discussions that they considered
challenging the institution of segregation.
The breaking point for the group came after Christmas vacation when Joseph McNeil
was returning to N.C. A&T after spending the holidays at home in New York. McNeil was
denied service at a Greyhound bus station in Greensboro. McNeils frustrating
experience was shared by the group, and they were willing to make the necessary
sacrifices - even if it meant their own lives - to provoke change in society.
On that final night in January 1960 in Scott Hall, the four friends challenged each other
to stop talking and take action. They didn't realize the journey they would take the next
day would ignite a movement, change a nation and inspire a world.
Then the students will brainstorm other questions and possible answers for these
questions for their interview.
In the fall of 1959, four young men (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. and
David Richmond) enrolled as freshmen at North Carolina A&T University. The four
young men quickly became a close-knit group and met every evening in their dorm
rooms for "bull sessions". It was during these nightly discussions that they considered
challenging the institution of segregation.
The breaking point for the group came after Christmas vacation when Joseph McNeil
was returning to N.C. A&T after spending the holidays at home in New York. McNeil was
denied service at a Greyhound bus station in Greensboro. McNeils frustrating
experience was shared by the group, and they were willing to make the necessary
sacrifices - even if it meant their own lives - to provoke change in society.
On that final night in January 1960 in Scott Hall, the four friends challenged each other
to stop talking and take action. They didn't realize the journey they would take the next
day would ignite a movement, change a nation and inspire a world.

Closure:
We will watch the 8 min video from the History Channel about the sit in
http://youtu.be/Xbbcjn4d1cE
Independent Practice:
Each group will prepare a presentation and will act out their interview with answers for
the class.
Assessment:
I will informally assess them as they work in their small groups on their interview. I will
formally asses them according to the rubric for their presentation.

Integrated Lessons:
Drama: pretending/acting out the interview.
Literature: Read Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford.
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students will My RTI students will give more instructional support as they
research their interview.
My ELL students will read a translated document about the chronology of the sit-in and
its lasting effects.
My gifted students will read the book Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston
Weatherford look at the signs in the book and create a sign about something they
believe strongly in.
Presentation Rubric
Evaluating Student Presentations
1
Organization Audience
cannot
understand
presentation
because there
is no
sequence of

Audience has
difficulty
following
presentation
because student
jumps around.

Student
presents
information in
logical
sequence
which audience
can follow.

Student
presents
information in
logical,
interesting
sequence which
audience can

Total

information.
Student does
not have grasp
of information;
Subject
student cannot
Knowledge
answer
questions
about subject.

Graphics

follow.
Student is
uncomfortable
with information
and is able to
answer only
rudimentary
questions.

Student
Student uses occasionally
superfluous
uses graphics
graphics or no that rarely
graphics
support text and
presentation.

Student's
presentation
has four or
Mechanics more spelling
errors and/or
grammatical
errors.

Presentation has
three
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.

Student
Student reads occasionally
all of report
uses eye
Eye Contact
with no eye
contact, but still
contact.
reads most of
report.

Elocution

Student
mumbles,
incorrectly
pronounces
terms, and
speaks too
quietly for
students in the
back of class
to hear.

Student's voice
is low. Student
incorrectly
pronounces
terms. Audience
members have
difficulty hearing
presentation.

Student is at
ease with
expected
answers to all
questions, but
fails to
elaborate.

Student
demonstrates
full knowledge
(more than
required) by
answering all
class questions
with
explanations
and elaboration.

Student's
Student's
graphics explain
graphics relate
and reinforce
to text and
screen text and
presentation.
presentation.
Presentation
has no more
than two
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.

Presentation
has no
misspellings or
grammatical
errors.

Student
maintains eye
contact most of
the time but
frequently
returns to
notes.

Student
maintains eye
contact with
audience,
seldom
returning to
notes.

Student's voice
is clear.
Student
pronounces
most words
correctly. Most
audience
members can
hear
presentation.

Student uses a
clear voice and
correct, precise
pronunciation of
terms so that all
audience
members can
hear
presentation.
Total Points:

8 Newspapers in the 1960's

Resources:
www.icivics.org
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/rub.pres.html
Standards:
16.A.4a Analyze and report historical events to determine cause-and-effect
relationships.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and
distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies,
or categories).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1a Come to discussions prepared having read or researched
material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the
topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1b Follow rules for collegial discussions and decisionmaking, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles
as needed.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1d Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and,
when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2 Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse
media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g.,
social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in
a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and wellchosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment
in a text.

Objectives:
Students will participate in a whole group discussion. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1a
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1b

Students will analyze archived newspaper articles during the civil rights movement.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.2
The student will evaluate the impact of history on people. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3
Students will recognize the reasons for the civil rights movement. 16.A.4a
Students will label a timeline in correct order of events.
Students will present their findings to the class. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4
The students will be able to respond to question to display comprehension. CCSS.ELALiteracy.SL.8.1d
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1a
Grade Level:
8th grade
Time Duration:
In-class activity: 30 minutes
Out-of-class activity: 1Hour
Follow-up activity: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours
Materials:
Slips of paper with different dates on them, 5 each from 1955, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965,
and 1968.
1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks Arrested
1957: Montgomery Bus Boycott
1960: Greensboro, North Carolina Sit In
1961: Freedom Riders
1963: March on Washington D.C.
1965: Selma, Alabama March from Selma to Montgomery
1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is killed
Computer with internet access
Links to archives:
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/newspaper-front-pages/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/greensboro_1960.htm

http://greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=1039
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-05-20-Freedom-Riders_n.htm
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/03/rep_john_lewis_remembers_blood.h
tml
Behavior Expectations:
The students will work with partners for think-pair-share and will be respectful of one
another. The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
They will walk calmly and orderly to their groups for think-pair-share. Before the
students select people for particular jobs in the group, I will review each job title and
description with them.
Gate Keeper: The person who makes sure everyone has a turn
Task Master: This person keeps everyone on task.
Quiet Captain: Keeps group at a reasonable noise level.
Encourager: Everyone has this job to respectfully encourage, facilitate, and listen to
ideas.
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
While participating in the whole group discussion they will listen attentively, respond to
questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers.
I will remind them of this group process before they go to their particular groups.
Anticipatory Set:
As they enter the classroom, I will have pieces of paper with the years 1955 to 1968 on
them. I will have the students sit down at their home base (their own desks) and take
out the slip of paper. When they see the date, I will ask them questions about that date.
I will assess their knowledge from previous lessons with Bloom's taxonomy questions.
Bloom's taxonomy questions:
Can you recall what if anything happened during your year? (1955 to 1968)
Can you describe what life was like for adults/children during your year?
Can you explain how it felt to of a different race during your year? (1955 to 1968)
Can you justify the actions taken by whites/ African Americans during your year? (i.e.
1955 to 1968)
Can you contrast how it felt to be white during your year? (1955 to 1968)

As students answer questions, I will write their responses on the board under their
specific year.
Purpose/Overview:
Students will gain an understanding of the differences in ways African Americans and
Whites were treated during the civil rights movement.
Student will be able to compose an oral summary of their article.
Student will be able to evaluate the behavior of whites towards blacks.
Student will be able to locate an achieved article during their given year.
The student will be able to order events in chronological order.
.
I will use Blooms Taxonomy action verbs to ask question for their higher-level thinking.
Examples of each category:
List the important people in your event. (Remembering)
Explain how they would feel if they were one of the black people during this time period.
(Understanding)
Choose which part of the article you found to be the most interesting and explain why
you chose it. (Applying)
Compare and contrast how whites and blacks were treated. (Analyzing)
Determine why this article is important to us. (Evaluating)
The Final will be their presentation and time line placement. (Creating)
Teaching: (Input, Modeling and Check for Understanding)
After we have tried to answer the Blooms Taxonomy questions, they will divide into
groups. They will divide according to the date on their slip of paper. I will then ask them
to think-pair-share what they know about their year. While they think-pair-share they will
record what they know.
I will then explain that we will be looking at websites that have archived newspapers
from the year they have been given. They will need to choose three separate things that
happened in their year. They will then answer the following Bloom's taxonomy questions
about their year. These questions will be given to them on a separate paper. Students
will then have time to brainstorm.
When in computer lab I will review what we know from previous computer lessons about
searching for archived newspaper articles. If necessary, I will give the links to find
articles.
After they have answered these questions, they will prepare to present what they have
learned about their year to the class.
As we listen to their presentations we will make a clothesline timeline with their printed
off articles.

Guided Practice:
As the students think-pair-share I will use proximity to help those in need. I will also be
available when we are in the computer lab by guiding the students to help them find an
archived article.
Closure:
I will talk to the students about why it was necessary to have the civil rights movement
and how these events precipitated change. I will then give a preview of the next lesson.
This next lesson will deal with the necessity of change.
Independent Practice:
Each student will present to the class their topic and put them into the correct place on
the clothesline timeline. They should share with the class the most meaningful things
they learned.
Assessment:
I will informally assess students while we have a group discussion about their year.
I will informally assess students as they think-pair-share their knowledge about their
year.
I will monitor eye contact and facial expression to assess the students listening skills.
I will assess their feelings on fairness with what if questions.
I will assess their understanding of using the internet while they search for archived
articles.
I will assess their feelings by listening to their group presentations.
I will formally assess the students understanding of their year through the presentation
and timeline activity following the rubric provided.
Integrated Lessons:
Computer science
Communications
Language Arts
Accommodations for each category: (*gifted students, * RtI students, *ESL
learners)
My RTI students will receive a printed out copy of several options of newspaper articles
from their particular year.
My gifted students will design their own front-page story about an event that occurred
during their particular year.

My ESL students will define vocabulary pertaining to civil rights and explain them in their
own words to assist with giving the presentation.
For a third grade classroom, I would already have the articles printed and previews for
readability. I would then allow them to these articles to compile their time line. I would
make the Bloom's Taxonomy questions more age appropriate. I would also simplify the
rubric.

Presentation Rubric
Evaluating Student Presentations
1
Audience
cannot
understand
presentation
Organization
because there
is no
sequence of
information.
Student does
not have grasp
of information;
Subject
student cannot
Knowledge
answer
questions
about subject.
Graphics

Student uses
superfluous
graphics or no
graphics

Student
Audience has
presents
difficulty
information in
following
logical
presentation
sequence
because student
which audience
jumps around.
can follow.

Student
presents
information in
logical,
interesting
sequence which
audience can
follow.

Student is
uncomfortable
with information
and is able to
answer only
rudimentary
questions.

Student is at
ease with
expected
answers to all
questions, but
fails to
elaborate.

Student
demonstrates
full knowledge
(more than
required) by
answering all
class questions
with
explanations
and elaboration.

Student
occasionally
uses graphics
that rarely
support text and

Student's
graphics relate
to text and
presentation.

Student's
graphics explain
and reinforce
screen text and
presentation.

Total

presentation.
Student's
presentation
has four or
Mechanics more spelling
errors and/or
grammatical
errors.

Presentation has
three
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.

Student
Student reads occasionally
all of report
uses eye
Eye Contact
with no eye
contact, but still
contact.
reads most of
report.

Elocution

Student
mumbles,
incorrectly
pronounces
terms, and
speaks too
quietly for
students in the
back of class
to hear.

Presentation
has no more
than two
misspellings
and/or
grammatical
errors.

Presentation
has no
misspellings or
grammatical
errors.

Student
maintains eye
contact most of
the time but
frequently
returns to
notes.

Student
maintains eye
contact with
audience,
seldom
returning to
notes.

Student's voice
Student's voice is clear.
is low. Student Student
incorrectly
pronounces
pronounces
most words
terms. Audience correctly. Most
members have audience
difficulty hearing members can
presentation.
hear
presentation.

Student uses a
clear voice and
correct, precise
pronunciation of
terms so that all
audience
members can
hear
presentation.
Total Points:

9 Test Review
Resources:
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 The student will evaluate the impact of history on people.
16.A.4a Students will recognize the reasons for the civil rights movement.

Objectives: To review for our test.

Grade Level:
3rd Grade

Time Duration: 30 minutes

Materials: Access to a computer
Behavior Expectations:
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the story. After
completion of reading, the students will collaborate and fill in the graphic organizer.
While participating in the whole group discussion they will listen attentively, respond to
questions by raising their hands, and not shout out answers. The students will be
respectful of one another. The students will work in small groups following our small
group roles. I will remind them of these before we begin working in small groups.
(Detailed in previous lessons)
The students will remain seated and make eye contact while listening to the directions.
The students will not talk to one another while listening to instructions.
Procedures:
Time Machine
Students will brainstorm times and places we have learned about and write them on a
piece of paper.

Then I will divide them up into groups.

Each team will take a turn at describing a detailed event or historical place.
I will give the teams 5-10 minutes to come up with their descriptions.
I will encourage them to be exact but subtle.
Have them describe what are the people wearing? What are they doing? Driving?
Eating?
The opposing team must guess the date and place of the event described.