LESSON 3: MASSIVE RESISTANCE

OVERVIEW
Objectives

K The students will know that Massive Resistance was Harry F. Byrds plan for
Virginia against desegregation.
o The students will know the definition of segregation, integration, and
desegregation.
U The students will understand that Virginias government reacted to integration
by establishing a policy of Massive Resistance.
o The students will understand that some public schools were closed to
avoid integration.
D The students will be able to interpret the impact of segregation on both the
political and social lives of African Americans.

SOLS
Virginia Studies
VS.1 The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and
responsible citizenship, including the ability to
a) identify and interpret artifacts and primary and secondary source documents to
understand events in history;
b) determine cause-and-effect relationships;
c) compare and contrast historical events;
d) draw conclusions and make generalizations;
e) make connections between past and present;
f) sequence events in Virginia history;
g) interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives;
h) evaluate and discuss issues orally and in writing;
i) analyze and interpret maps to explain relationships among landforms, water
features, climatic characteristics, and historical events.
VS.9 The student will demonstrate knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first-century
Virginia by
a) describing the economic and social transition from a rural, agricultural society
to a more urban, industrialized society, including the reasons people came to
Virginia from other states and countries;
b) identifying the impact of Virginians, such as Woodrow Wilson and George C.
Marshall, on international events;
c) identifying the social and political events in Virginia linked to desegregation
and Massive Resistance and their relationship to national history;

d) identifying the political, social, and/or economic contributions made by Maggie

L. Walker; Harry F. Byrd, Sr.; Oliver W. Hill; Arthur R. Ashe, Jr.; A. Linwood
Holton, Jr.; and L. Douglas Wilder.
Communication
4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings.
a) Present accurate directions to individuals and small groups.
b) Contribute to group discussions across content areas.
c) Seek ideas and opinions of others.
d) Use evidence to support opinions.
e) Use grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary to communicate
ideas.
f) Communicate new ideas to others.
g) Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams.
h) Demonstrate the ability to work independently.
Fine Arts
Grade K-4 Visual Arts Standard 4
a) Students know that the visual arts have both a history and specific
relationships to various cultures
b) Students identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures,
times, and places
c) Students demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence
each other in making and studying works of art
d) Grade K-4 Visual Arts Standard 5
e) Students understand there are various purposes for creating works of visual art
f) Students describe how people's experiences influence the development of
specific artworks
g) Students understand there are different responses to specific artworks

Materials

Copies of two political cartoons of Massive Resistance

o By Fred O. Seibel from the Richmond Times Dispatch 1954 and 1958
Worksheet D

Technology

Smart Board with access to the internet

PLANNED INSTRUCTIONAL STATEGIES

Hook

On the smart board, display these two pictures that show segregated classrooms
o http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-48890/37/3789/672IF00Z/posters/african-american-teacher-and-children-insegregated-school-classroom.jpg
o https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2014/11/7222732964_d86
ec5c4bc_o/lead_large.jpg
Have students work in pairs to study the details of the images, and compare and
contrast the two schools with their own school with the venn diagram.

Tasks/Methods/Strategies

Bring students together to discuss their findings

Tell students that schools were segregated and ask how they or their relatives
would react if they went to a school like those in the pictures.
Revisit the case of Brown v. Board of Education and have a discussion about
segregation and desegregation
o Ask
What was Brown v. Board of Education?
What does that mean had to happen in Virginia?
Explain that Virginia was completely against it and led the movement called
Massive Resistance by Harry F. Byrd
o Schools had to close down to avoid integration
Show quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZxXQaLvPOg
Have a small discussion on what they noticed in the video
Pass out the first political cartoon
Show the students Worksheet C (The teacher will be demonstrating how to fill it
out with the class for the first cartoon)
Think- Pair- Share: Have the students look at the cartoon with a shoulder buddy
and tell each other what they see
o How does the cartoon show that Virginia was against desegregation?
Regroup the class and ask for volunteers to share
As they share, demonstrate how you would fill out the worksheet
Continue this discussion until the worksheet is filled out for the first political
cartoon
o Always ask why they think the illustrator drew it that way and connect it
back to the Supreme court decision
Pass out the second political cartoon and have students work with a buddy to fill
out the rest of the worksheet
o As students are working, walk around and visit different groups to see
what theyre thinking
As the students finish up, call them back to the carpet to discuss their findings

Closure

Even though Virginia led this movement, there were many individuals who fought
against it for civil rights which they will explore the following day.
Exit Ticket: In one sentence, describe Massive Resistance in Virginia.

ASSESSMENTS
Pre-Assessment

The discussion on segregation and desegregation Teachers can see and hear
what students remember and dont remember

Formal and/or Informal Assessments

The worksheets and their conclusions from the political cartoons

Exit Ticket

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Visual
o The pictures used in the hook
o The political cartoons provide concrete materials for these learners to look
at and examine.
o The video
Interpersonal
o During the think-pair-share, theyre able to formulate their own thinking
before talking with a shoulder buddy.
Intrapersonal
o Working in pairs will help these learners
Logical
o By examining the political cartoons, they can think conceptually and
explore patterns and relationships that they notice. Itll appeal to these
learners because its somewhat like an investigation to crack the meaning
of the picture.

DIFFRENTIATION
o Process Readiness: The Think-Pair-Share is a great way to allow for deeper
discussions since they can talk out their thinking with their peers.

o Process Readiness: Modeling how to fill out the worksheet will help those who
dont understand while those who do understand can further examine the cartoon.
o Process Learning Profile: Having the students work in pairs will allow
different types of learners to use their skills.