TNL 322 Thematic Unit

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T&L 322
Rachel Doran, Simon Jongekryg, Jamierin Walters & Kierstin Merritt
Thematic Unit
Dr. Ward
25 April 2018
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Table of Contents:
Rationale and Purpose | 4

Content Standards | 5
Learning Objectives | 8
Scope and Sequence Chart | 12
Accommodations | 15
Student Voice | 16
Reading and Writing Materials | 17
Book Citations | 22
Pre-Assessment | 24
After the Pre-Assessment | 28
Week 1 (Slavery, when did it start? Why did it end?)

Week One, Day One | 30
Week One, Day Two | 34
Week One, Day Three | 38
Week One, Day Four | 43
Week One, Day Five | 47
Week 2 (Civil Rights, what would you fight for?)

Week Two, Day One | 52
Week Two, Day Two | 58
Week Two, Day Three | 61
Week Two, Day Four | 66
Week Two, Day Five | 70
Week 3 (Civil Rights, what is your dream?)

Week Three, Day One | 74
Week Three, Day Two | 77
Week Three, Day Three | 82
Week Three, Day Four | 85
Week Three, Day Five | 91
Lesson Plan #1 (Week One, Day One) | 96

Lesson Plan #2 (Week Two, Day Five) | 106
Lesson Plan #3 (Week Three, Day One) | 118
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Unit Plan: America: How Far We’ve Come Grade: 6th
Purpose and Rationale:
As Americans, the majority of us know that every person on this planet should be treated
equally regardless of their sex, religion, or color of skin. However, this is not how things always
were in our country. Looking back on our history it is easy to only focus on the good things, the
accomplishments, the happy times, but that is not an accurate representation of the entire history
of our nation. From the idea of slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, these are events in our
country, while hard to imagine, are things to be learned from, had a hand in shaping our country
and should not be ignored. Maya Angelou said it best, “History, despite its wrenching pain,
cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” This is exactly how we
need to approach the history of African Americans in our nation. We need to face the events they
lived with courage, even though they may be grueling and unfathomable but also look at them in
a way as something to be learned from rather than something to forget.
We know how impactful slavery and The Civil Rights Movement was to our nation
which is exactly why they should be taught in our schools. However, we do not want to teach it
in “traditional” way where dates of events are given with significances following. We want our
students to truly understand how life was like for these civil rights activists who stood up for
what they believed was right regardless of what the norms were. Students will not be persuaded
how to feel about these times. Our plan is to present them with the evidence and allow them to
make judgements by themselves. Students will discuss what freedom means to them and what
rights they have in today’s age. We will also look at how those freedoms and rights have
changed for different types of people throughout the years of our country relating it to slavery.
When talking about the Civil Rights Movement we want students to identify things that they
would stand up for. What do they feel passionately about enough to push the limits of society?
As well as give examples of people who did just that for equality.
What we want students to walk away with from this thematic unit is a general
understanding of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and the important people that had a part in
those times. But mostly, we want students to walk away knowing what they hold near and dear
to their heart, what they’d fight for, and how important freedom is for every human being.
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Content Standards:
Math Standards:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.2
Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.B.5
Understand solving an equation or inequality as a process of answering a question: which
values from a specified set, if any, make the equation or inequality true? Use substitution to
determine whether a given number in a specified set makes an equation or inequality true.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems by writing and solving equations of the form x
+ p = q and px = q for cases in which p, q and x are all nonnegative rational numbers.
Social Studies Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an
accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.
Art Standards:
Performance Standard (VA:Cr1.2.6)
a. Formulate an artistic investigation of personally relevant content for creating art.
Performance Standard (VA:Re7.1.6)
a. Identify and interpret works of art or design that reveal how people live around the world and
what they value.
Performance Standard (VA:Cn11.1.6)
a. Analyze how art reflects changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses
Technology Standards:
2b. Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology,
including social interactions, online, or when using networked devices.
3a. Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other
resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
6a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools, for meeting the desired objectives of
their creation or communication.
Reading Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
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Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and
elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
Compare and contrast one author's presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir
written by and a biography on the same person).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Writing Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and
information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.A
Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as
definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.B
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique,
relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or
characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences,
events, and/or characters.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.D
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey
experiences and events.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.E
Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and
refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of
each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding
plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.
Speaking and Listening Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others'
ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions,
facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate
volume, and clear pronunciation.
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in
presentations to clarify information.
Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively,
orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
Music Standards:
MU: Pr4.2.6c
Identify how cultural and historical context inform performances.
MU:Pr6.1.6a
Perform the music with technical accuracy to convey the creator’s intent
MU:Re7.1.6a
Select or choose music to listen to and explain the connections to specific interests or
experiences for a specific purpose.
MU:Re7.2.6b
Identify the context of music from a variety of genres, cultures, and historical periods
Physical Education Standards:

Standard 1: The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor
skills and movement patterns.
Standard 5: The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health,
enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.
Health Standards:
H1.W2.6
Differentiate between communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
H1.N4.6b
Compare and contrast caloric expenditure for a variety of physical activities.
Science Standards:
LS1.B:
● Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and
specialized features for reproduction.
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Learning Objectives:
Pre-Assessment:
● SWBAT: summarize their previous knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement and
Slavery in the United States.
● SWBAT: connect with current events.
● SWBAT: explain how they connect to the unit theme.
Week 1, Day 1:
● SWBAT: identify a leader in slavery or civil rights time period.
● SWBAT: channel the voice of a specific leader in their writing.
● SWBAT: create thoughtful and engaging journal entries based on a leader of choice.
● SWBAT: identify what the underground railroad was.
● SWBAT: Calculate how far the underground railroad was, and how many laps around the
track it would take to equal that distance.
● SWBAT: identify who Harriet Tubman is.
● SWBAT: Explain why Harriet Tubman’s nickname was Moses.
● SWBAT: identify who Abraham Lincoln is.
● SWBAT: Explain what Abraham Lincoln did for slaves.
● SWBAT: identify what slaves believed to be ‘freedom’ and why.
● SWBAT: engage in the song “swing low, sweet chariot”.
● SWBAT: explain the meaning of “sing low, sweet chariot”.
Week 1, Day 2:
● SWBAT: explain what slavery was in America.
● SWBAT: identify when slavery started and when it ended.
● SWBAT: analyze the meaning behind a quote.
● SWBAT: create a KWL chart and use it effectively.
● SWBAT: explain what freedom means to America, and what it means to them personally.
● SWBAT: identify the worth of slaves depending on characteristics.
● SWBAT: explain why a slaves worth might change over time.
● SWBAT: identify how far a mile is.
● SWBAT: explain how long it takes to walk a mile.
● SWBAT: identify who Harriet Tubman is.
● SWBAT: identify who Abraham Lincoln is.
Week 1, Day 3:
● SWBAT: analyze the meaning behind a quote.
● SWBAT: understand how many calories a person needs to be healthy.
● SWBAT: identify how many calories a slave received each day.
● SWBAT: explain how a slaves diet differs from our diet.
● SWBAT: create a diagram of what we eat each day compared to what slaves ate each
day.
● SWBAT: use research materials appropriately.
● SWBAT: identify key details about a specific leader.
● SWBAT: explain the different types of crops that were planted during the 1800s.
● SWBAT: explain the different quilts made during slavery and why.
● SWBAT: identify how many laps around the track it would take to equal the underground
railroad.
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Week 1, Day 4:
● SWBAT: identify why Harriet Tubman was a well known leader during slavery.
● SWBAT: identify some accomplishments of Harriet Tubman.
● SWBAT: work cooperatively in groups.
● SWBAT: identify key details about a specific leader.
● SWBAT: explain to a peer about what they know about a specific leader.
● SWBAT: reflect on their learning about leaders during slavery.
● SWBAT: walk laps around the track and determine how far we’ve walked.
● SWBAT: identify how to sing “song of the free”.
● SWBAT: explain the meaning behind “song of the free”.
● SWBAT: describe their observations of their plant in their science notebooks.
Week 1, Day 5:
● SWBAT: respond to a passage using knowledge and understanding from previous
learning.
● SWBAT: apply what they have learned about slavery.
● SWBAT: understand what the Civil War was and how it related to slavery.
● SWBAT: understand what the Battle of Gettysburg was.
● SWBAT: use their knowledge to reflect on what they’ve learned.
● SWBAT: present their work to the class to show learning.
● SWBAT: record observations on plant growth.
● SWBAT: reflect on their plants and what they believe to be working or not.
Week 2, Day 1:
● SWBAT: Reflect on prior knowledge to think deeper about their learning.
● SWBAT: identify what the amendments are and how they were decided upon.
● SWBAT: understand why we take our freedom for granted.
● SWBAT: ask questions while reading to better understand the content.
● SWBAT: understand how African American people are the minority in American and
why.
● SWBAT: compare the population of African Americans to the total population of the
United States in 1940 and 1960.
● SWBAT: analyze whether the percentage of African Americans rose or fell in twenty
years.
● SWBAT: understand how far people traveled to attend marches and protests.
● SWBAT: understand how Brown vs. Board of Education changed the country.
● SWBAT: identify court cases from the civil rights movement.
Week 2, Day 2:
● SWBAT: reflect on prior knowledge to think deeper about their learning.
● SWBAT: identify who the major leaders were during the civil rights movement.
● SWBAT: research a specific individual and find key details.
● SWBAT: identify key traits about a specific leader.
● SWBAT: create a pamphlet about a leader during the Civil Rights Movement that
highlights character traits, major events, and important quotations.
● SWBAT: work cooperatively with table group to complete an activity.
● SWBAT: present a leader to the class and point out key details.
● SWBAT: analyze the yearly earned income of full time workers in America.
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● SWBAT: relate yearly wages to US population.
● SWBAT: identify important events in the Civil Rights Movement.
● SWBAT: outline the sequence in which events occurred in the civil rights movement.
Week 2, Day 3:
● SWBAT: understand why children participated in the Birmingham March.
● SWBAT: view a film and answer questions regarding the content presented.
● SWBAT: recall information from the film during a discussion.
● SWBAT: determine the percentage of citizens living below poverty threshold in 1959.
● SWBAT: understand why music was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement.
● SWBAT: sing songs that were sung during the Civil Rights Movement.
● SWBAT: understand the meaning behind the songs sung during the Civil Rights
Movement.
Week 2, Day 4:
● SWBAT: understand how important it is to treat others with respect.
● SWBAT: understand how actions affect others.
● SWBAT: identify an issue or topic that means the most to them, and that they will be
willing to stand up for.
● SWBAT: understand what it means to stand up for something you believe in.
● SWBAT: identify the percentage of home ownership in 1940 and 1960.
● SWBAT: estimate the amount of people who owned homes during the 1940s and 1960s.
● SWBAT: record observations based on plant growth.
● SWBAT: reflect on plant growth and how it might be different in the 1800s.
Week 2, Day 5:
● SWBAT: recall the bus number that became famous after the bus boycott.
● SWBAT: create a bus and timeline diagram that outlines the important events that
happened during the Civil Rights Movement.
● SWBAT: explain the different life expectancy for different races in 1940 and 1960.
● SWBAT: understand why music was important to the people of the Civil Rights
Movement.
● SWBAT: identify what sit-ins were and how they were important to the movement.
● SWBAT: understand what types of protests were the most effective.
Week 3, Day 1:
● SWBAT: understand who the Freedom Riders were and what they stood for.
● SWBAT: identify important details as shown in a film.
● SWBAT: create an argument and use evidence to support their argument .
● SWBAT: work together to decide on an argument.
● SWBAT: record their observations based on plant growth.
● SWBAT: make predictions about the future of plant growth.
● SWBAT: analyze the data to find the average number of protests that took place every
month
Week 3, Day 2:
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● SWBAT: identify who Martin Luther King, Jr. is and what he is known for.
● SWBAT: understand the key details in Martin Luther King, Jr's “I Have a Dream”
speech.
● SWBAT: create a detailed timeline of Martin Luther King, Jr’s life from birth to
assassination.
● SWBAT: understand the hardships people went through to stand up for what they
believed in.
● SWBAT: create a speech based on something they are passionate about.
● SWBAT: present the speech to the class using expression and a distinct voice.
● SWBAT: analyze speech length and word count to support the length of their speeches.
Week 3, Day 3:
● SWBAT: present speech to the class using expression and distinct voice.
● SWBAT: identify what a social justice action is and how to use them.
● SWBAT: brainstorm a list of social justice actions they can do every day.
● SWBAT: practice using social justice actions within in our school community.
● SWBAT: reflect on how they felt doing the social justice acts.
● SWBAT: work through word problems to find a correct answer.
● SWBAT: reflect on predictions and record observations.
● SWBAT: use basic math skills to solve several word problems
Week 3, Day 4:
● SWBAT: explain the game “leaders” and how it relates to our learning.
● SWBAT: understand where the concept of civil rights started and how far we’ve come.
● SWBAT: analyze what America needs to do to further our progress with equal rights.
● SWBAT: use their knowledge to answer questions that look deeper into the Civil Rights
Movement.
● SWBAT: use basic math skills to solve several word problems
Week 3, Day 5:
● SWBAT: present to the class using expression and distinct voice.
● SWBAT: use knowledge and understanding to show learning the last two weeks.
● SWBAT: use technology responsibly in the classroom
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Scope and Sequence Chart
Day Main Ideas Goals

Week 1, Identify a leader from the Civil Rights Movement that would be interesting Student Goals: Students should be able to identify
Day 1 to learn the next three weeks important people who influenced the Civil Rights
Understand how long the Underground Railroad was, and how that Movement, and in the freedom of slaves. Students
compares to our track outside should be getting an idea about what will be covered
Identify key details about their specific Civil Rights Leader. for the rest of the week.
Who influenced the freedom of slaves? Teacher Goals: to help students understand important
people of this time, and to prepare the students for what
is to come in the following week by intriguing them
with new information and events
Week 1, Understand the importance of Abraham Lincoln and what he was known Student Goals: To understand the important people
Day 2 for during slavery who helped to abolish it. To understand
KWL chart about slavery what we already know about slavery and what we want
Compare and contrast what freedom means to us and to slaves to know. Compare how freedom is different for us and
Understand how the worth of people changed based on characteristics of slaves. Understand how much were different people
the person worth, and why.
Create a worksheet with people who helped to abolish slavery and why Teacher Goals: To help students understand the
important people during slavery. To further their
thinking when it comes to freedom and worth of slaves.
Week 1, Understand how malnourished slaves were, and what that meant. Student Goals: students should be able to understand
Day 3 Research our civil rights leader what it means to be malnourished and make
Understand the crops that were grown during this time & plant our own connections back to slavery. Students should be
How long will it take us to walk the underground railroad around our gaining more information about their civil rights
track? leader. Students should understand how long it will
Catch up take us to walk the underground railroad around our
track.
Teacher Goals: teacher should help students to further
their thinking on their civil rights leader. Teacher
should help students to understand the difference
between malnourished and picky eating. Teacher
should help students figure out the distance around our
track compared to the underground railroad
Week 1, Understand who Harriet Tubman was. Student Goals: Students should understand who Harriet
Day 4 Name songs that were from the Underground Railroad Tubman is. Further their understanding about the
JigSaw assignment on slavery leaders Underground Railroad, learn deeper about the leaders
Walk around the track during math during slavery, and name songs from this time.
Observations about our plants Teacher Goals: help students understand deeper about
the leaders during slavery. Observe as students tally
and walk around the track.
Week 1, What is Slavery, and how/ why did it end? Student Goals: to show what has been learned over the
Day 5 Civil War video past week. Understand what slavery was and how it
Slavery test ended
Presentations about underground railroad and our track Teacher Goals: Teacher is to help students demonstrate
Music assembly their understanding over the past week.
Plant observations
Week 2, What does Civil Rights mean? Student Goals: begin understanding what civil rights
Day 1 What are our amendment rights, have they always been there? are and where they came from. Understand different
Questioning during informational texts on civil rights statistics from the civil rights movement and compare
Begin “statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” them to each other. Identify different court cases from
Court cases during the Civil Rights Movement this time.
Journal entries
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Teacher Goals: help students to recognize what civil
rights are, and how we got there.
Week 2, Leaders during the Civil Rights Movement Student Goals: Who were the important people during
Day 2 “Researching Civil Rights Heroes” activity the Civil Rights Movement? What were the main
“Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” cont. events?
Civil Rights Timeline
Teacher Goals: To help students to understand the

relationship between leader and event during the Civil
Rights Movement
Week 2, “The Children’s March” movie with worksheet Student Goals: See the reasons why the march in
Day 3 “Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” Birmingham started and why the children got involved.
Add to timeline & practice songs of the Movement See relationships in the statistics of the civil rights
movement. Continue sequencing the major events
during this time.
Teacher Goals: to help students relate to the children in

the movie, and help them understand why these things
were happening.
Week 2, “What are you passionate about?” Student Goals: Understand what they are passionate
Day 4 Birmingham pledge about, and what they would be willing to stand up for.
“Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” Acknowledge a pledge to always treat people with
Observations of our plant growth respect. Further their understanding on civil rights
Journal entries statistics.
Teacher Goals: Help students to understand the

importance about being passionate of something. And
the importance of treating everyone with respect.
Week 2, Rosa, and her bus activity Student Goals: understand who Rosa Parks is, and how
Day 5 Civil rights timeline she influenced the Civil Rights Movement. Be able to
Last day of “statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” add events to our timeline, and understand the different
What protests occurred during this time. What is a sit in? types of protests.
Teacher Goals: To help students understand protests.

What they did during the movement, and how the
different ones helped the movement.
Week 3, Who are the Freedom Riders and what did they do? Student Goals: understand protests, and who were a
Day 1 Freedom riders video part of these protests. Be able to voice an opinion while
Socratic Seminar- “What protests do you think worked best?” giving evidence to back it up.
How often did protests occur during the movement? Teacher Goals: to get students thinking deeper about
Science observations what protests worked best and why.
Week 3, Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.? and what did he do for the world? Student Goals: understand who Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Day 2 “I Have a Dream” speech video and handout was and how he helped the world. Create our own
Martin Luther King, Jr. timeline (birth to assassination) speeches. And understand the important events in
Analyzing speeches MLK’s life.
Our own dream speech Teacher Goals: To help students understand about
MLK’s life. And how to create a “good” speech.
Week 3, Check in with leader journals- Student Goals: to understand what a social justice
Day 3 Practice presentations action is, and put it into action with our community.
Brain break Practice math with real events from MLK’s life.
Social Justice Actions w/ Field Trip Teacher Goals: to help students understand what a
Martin Luther King, Jr. Word Problems worksheet social justice action is, and how it can be used.
Science observations
Week 3, Play the game, “Leaders” Student Goals: to practice their understanding with the
Day 4 How are we with civil rights today? leaders game. Understand how far we have come with
Journal responses to the article civil rights and determine if we still have further to go.
Finish MLK word problem worksheet Catch up on anything not completed
Catch up Teacher Goals: To help students see how civil rights
are in today’s age. How it is different from before, and
if we still have further to go.
Week 3, Presentation of our speeches and journal entries Student goals: to show what they have learned over the
Day 5 Test on civil rights past two weeks. And present their leader and speeches
Introduction to expression and equations- kahoot using expression and voice
Civil rights bingo Teacher Goals: to help students show what they have
Pretest from beginning of unit learned and give feedback on their presentations.
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Accommodation Strategies
In this unit, we are covering many different aspects of Slavery and Civil Rights. Students
are learning about what slavery was, and when it started as well as the important people who
went against the majority and stuck their head out to abolish slavery and set slaves free.
Students will also spend two weeks working with the Civil Rights movement, and
understanding what it was. They will be learning about all the different leaders from this
time, as well as the different protests and determining if they were more helpful or harmful.
Because there are so many topics being covered and at such a fast pace we have decided to
present the information in a variety of ways so that all students are able to understand the
main message of our unit. We have created lessons and activities that are small group
conversations, whole class conversations, reading groups, individual and group work,
watching videos, filling out worksheets, reader’s workshop, art projects, read-aloud, teacher-
led modeling of activities and expectations, and journal entries for assignments, entry tasks,
and notes to accommodate all different types of learners in our class. Our topic applies to all
students, and allows students to think about how far our country has come, and the reasons
why we celebrate Black History Month, and MLK day. We want the students to take this
information and relate it to their everyday lives. For students who need extra support or
accommodations in the class, the teacher will have time to work with them one on one, or in
small group settings. For students with learning disabilities the teacher can have the students
answer questions orally, or in a different way that still allows that student to show what they
have learned. The teacher can also give the students more time to work on assignments, if
need be.
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Student Voice
There are many areas throughout our lesson that incorporated student voice. We
ask our students to self-reflect on many different aspects of the unit. Student voice is
important to student’s understanding of their own learning, and it provides evidence to
the teacher of their learning. Student voice is evident in the form of reflective journal entries,
discussions, and self-assessments. Students are asked to reflect on their learning by being asked
to discuss why learning objectives are important or why what we are learning affects our
everyday lives. Students writing is a way for the teacher to see the reflective process the students
have gone through for many of our assignments, and you are able to check their understanding
on a deeper level, rather than just through a discussion. Allowing students to reflect the students
can take responsibility for their understanding and learning, and find resources for help if they do
not understanding something or if they need more help.
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Reading and Writing Materials Used:
March On!: The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World written by: Christine King Farris
Illustrated by London Ladd
One day in 1963 thousands of people gathered in Washington DC to march in search of
equal rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those thousands of people believing in a world
where everyone was equal. Martin was scheduled to speak but before he could speak to the
world, he had to figure out what he wanted to say and how to say it. He spent all night working
on his “I Have a Dream speech”. This speech would change the world and become a landmark
moment in civil rights history. This book will be used to discussed major leaders in the Civil
Rights movement. Students will be able to compare this story with one or two others about
Martin Luther King Jr. and learn about who he was as a person and as a leader.
What’s the Big Deal About Freedom written by Ruby Shamir Illustrated by Matt Falkner.
America wasn’t always the “land of the free” it took many years and many leaders to get
us to where we are today. From Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence to
Martin Luther King Jr. standing up for the equal rights of African Americans, America has gone
through many reforms and it has made us who we are today. We are using this book because it
talks about the important people who were apart of Slavery and Civil Rights, as well as discusses
where our country was at that time. This allows students to be immersed with the facts about our
country and connecting the major events to the people we have been talking about in class.
Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told written by Walter Dean Myers illustrated by Bonnie
Christensen
Ida B. Wells was an amazing woman. Ida B. was standing up for equal rights for African
Americans before the boycotts and sit ins that came with the Civil Rights movement. Ida B.
practically raised her family after her parents died. She became a teacher and later decided that
she wanted to be a journalist to speak the truth about how African Americans were being treated.
Students will be able to read this book when we are working on our independent projects on
Civil Rights leaders. Ida B. isn’t someone who is talked about as extensively as other leaders so
students will be able to learn about other leaders who were as important as the others.
Freedom in Congo Square written by Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by R. Gregory

Christie
The slaves in New Orleans, Louisiana counted down the day until Sunday, when they
would have half a day to be together free in Congo Square. This book shows the hope that the
slaves had to be free, even if it was just for one day. The students will use this book to
understand some of the chores that the slaves were required to do during that time, and they will
be able to discuss the hopes and dreams that the slaves had, that kept them going every day. This
book will be one of many that will be read aloud to the class for them to understand the
importance of slavery reform as we lead into our civil rights movement.
Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights written by Jo S. Kittinger illustrated by Steven Walker
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Bus #2857 was just a bus that carried people to and from work in Maryland. That same
bus made its way down to Montgomery, Alabama and would soon become one of the most
famous buses around. In the 1950’s all bus’ were segregated, meaning white people could sit in
the front, and the black people had to sit on the back or stand if there were no other seats for
whites. This bus was an ordinary bus until Rosa Parks boarded the bus one day and decided not
to move when a white person wanted to sit down. Because of Rosa Parks’ actions, it lead to the
beginning of boycotts for segregated buses. This would soon be one of the major events during
the Civil Rights movement. Students will be read aloud this book toward the middle of our Civil
Rights unit to help us understand the timeline better. Students will have a chance to read more
about Rosa Parks and pick her to do a final project on if they decide to do so.
Freedom RIders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement
written by Ann Bausum
John Lewis and Jim Zwerg were two unlikely friends who came together because they
believed in the equality of all people. These two boys boarded a bus in 1961 headed south and
ended up in Montgomery, Alabama. When they arrived they were welcomed by a mob which
caused them to both be badly beaten, Jim worst of all simply because of the fact he rode the bus
with a group of black people. These boys were a part of a group called Freedom Riders whose
main goal was to change the way African American people were treated. They would sit in
“white” areas of restaurants until kicked out, they would boycott and protest. The Freedom
Riders were a big part of the Civil Rights movement and it is important that students get a well
rounded idea about what took place. They will be reading and comparing the two stories in this
book and adding the information they find to their timeline they are working on throughout the
lessons.
The 1963 Civil Rights March: Landmark Events in American History written by Scott Ingram
A closer look at what was the Civil Rights movement, students are able to see real
pictures from this time and understand the important//major events that occurred during 1963.
This being a more factual, real life book, students are able to relate what they have previously
read about all these events and connect them to real life pictures. This book will be introduced in
the beginning of the Civil Rights lesson and then used as a resources throughout the rest of the
lessons to help us with our timeline and to understand the major events better.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney illustrated by
Brian Pinkney
The Greensboro sit-ins took place on February 1st, 1960 and was one of the turning
points for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. The plan was simple, 4 college
students would go to a WHITES ONLY restaurant and asked to be served. They would not
demand, they would not raise their voices, they would be respectful, courteous and polite. Even
when the white customers got angry and violent with the sit-in participants they didn’t budge.
They really took Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to heart, “fight violence with non-violence”. We
would use this book in the classroom to give students an idea about the sit-ins and have a better
understanding of the timeline of the civil rights movement.
Nobody Gonna turn Me ‘Round: Stories and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement
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This story uses real life accounts and events from numerous people in the civil rights
movement so that the reader understands what each and every person had to go through in order
to make a lasting impact on the civil rights movement. The story also does a great job of showing
different songs that were prevalent in that day and age and were used to depict the life of an
African American during that time. We will use this book in the classroom to show students a
variety of different songs and stories pertaining to the civil rights movement. By giving students
a variety of stories they will be better prepared to represent what the average life was like for an
African American during the Civil Rights Movement.
Harriet Tubman by Maryann N. Weidt

Harriet Tubman is well-known for her bravery in the Underground Railroad. She, herself
escaped slavery and then helped over three hundred other slaves escape slavery as well. In this
story, readers are able to learn more about who Harriet was from a child to after the Civil War.
Readers are also learning about what it was like to be a slave, and some of the ways slaves were
treated in that time. Students will be asked to read this book, another, and an article about Harriet
Tubman and will determine the most key details from her life. Every author has their own point
of view on a person so students will be able to find the similarities and differences between each
of the readings.
Free At Last!: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. written by Angela Bull
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a major influence in the Civil Rights Movement. He is one of
the most well known among the others who were influential in Civil Rights. This book is
different among the other two we are using in this unit because it is fact based, and provides real
pictures from that time for readers to connect to. It goes into detail about the war, and the overlap
between Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. from the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
Students will use this book to compare and contrast information about this major leader to learn
the most important key details about him. These facts will be used in a project to learn more
about important figures in the Civil Rights Movement.
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend written by Justine and Ron Fontes
Abraham Lincoln was the one who abolished slavery. He was the start for Civil Rights and while
he is known for his Gettysburg Address and slavery work, there are many things that are
unknown about him. This book goes into detail about who Abraham was before presidency, like
during his time as a lawyer, how he got there, the Civil War, and his thoughts and feelings on
slavery. This book is interesting because of the topics it covers, because a lot of books on
Abraham just discuss his part in the Civil War. Students will use this book among others to learn
more about this important leader during our unit on slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.
People We Should Know: Rosa Parks written by Jonatha A. Brown

Rosa Parks is well known for being the one to kick off the bus Boycott in Montgomery,
Alabama. Who was Rosa Parks before she boarded that bus? What caused her to stand up for
herself and start the boycott that would change history? This book goes into detail about Rosa’s
life and who she was. Students will use this book in conjunction with two others to learn about
who Rosa Parks was, and how she became a well known leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Rosa written by Nikki Giovanni illustrated by Bryan Collier
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks got on a city bus in Alabama after work and refused to give up
her seat when a white man demanded her to do so. This caused the revolution and boycott
against the buses and the way black people were treated. This book lays out the story of that day
and the way Rosa’s determination to have things changed ended up being the start to a bigger
revolution. Students are going to use this book along with two other books about Rosa Parks to
learn as much as they can about the key details of Rosa Parks. They will also discuss the overlap
of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. and why they are some of the most important people
of the Civil Rights Movement.
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom written by Carole Boston
Weatherford illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, one day she heard the words of God to leave her family
and escape from slavery to the North. We learn about her journey to escape the horrors of slavery
and how her faith kept her going. Once Harriet made it North, she would then complete at least
nineteen more trips down to the South and back in order to save other slaves. This book is so
much different from the others on Harriet Tubman because of the lyrical words, and how Harriet
uses her faith to keep her going. Students will read both of the books on Harriet Tubman to see
the differences between the two writing styles and the two stories. Students are gaining the most
important details about these leaders by reading more than one book selection on them.
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life written by Ashley
Bryan
Eleven different stories about slavery. We see who these people were, what their jobs were, what
they were worth, and their hopes and dreams. This book shines light on the hope that slaves had
to keep them going. It is very powerful to see faces, among with prices on how much these
people were worth. This book should put slavery into perspective for our students. We want
them to understand the hardship of slavery and that these people had rough lives, but because of
their faith and dreams they had the motivation to push through for something better. This book
will be read aloud to the class at the beginning of our slavery lesson. Students will be asked to
share their thoughts on the story and asked to write down key details from the story.
Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Guiding Beliefs (as told by his niece)
written by Angela Farris Wern, PhD illustrated by Sally Wern Comport
These six guiding beliefs of Martin Luther King, Jr. help us to understand him on a whole new
level. We know how important Martin Luther King, Jr. was and how his “I have a Dream”
speech is one of the most well known speeches across our nation. He was a staple for the Civil
Rights Movement, but learning about who he was and what he believed in, we begin to
understand his fight for equality on a whole new level. This book will be read aloud before a
writing activity where students will be asked to create their own six guiding beliefs. Students will
begin to think of themselves and what they believe in personally, while also learning about
Martin Luther King, Jr. in a different way.
Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln written by Doreen Rappaport illustrated by
Kadir Nelson
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Abraham was always pained by the act of slavery. We learn about his love for reading, the
obstacles he faced on his road to a political career and his honestly that led him to become the
president of the United States. We learn about his passion to end slavery and how great of a man
Abraham really was. This book will be read aloud during the slavery unit to model fluency and
to demonstrate the beginning of our leader research. Students will take note about important
details they learned from the book about Lincoln and use it to research further on this American
Leader.
March Book One, Book Two, & Book Three by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin illustrated by Nate
Powell
The March series is the first hand accounts of congressman John Lewis and his lifelong
battle of equality through the Civil Rights Movement. Book One takes us on a journey of John
Lewis as he begins to grow up and stand for change. It also expresses how he planned on making
those changes through peaceful protest and his group, the Nashville Student Movement. Book
Two picks up where the first left off with the Nashville sit-in campaign. By now people are
working hard to oppose John Lewis’s movement. This book shows just how committed young
activists were to make this change and fight for equality. In Book Three, Lewis and his group
battle back and continue to protest nonviolently. Everyone knows of their movement and the
country is watching eagerly as activists continue to push for change in any way they can. This
series does a good job of showing anyone who reads it just how willing the activists and John
Lewis were to put their life on the line so that people of color could live a fair and balanced one.
The books are formatted as graphic novels which give the books a sense of uniqueness but also
help to express to anyone reading it just what was going on in that time. For our classroom we
would use these books as options that the student can pick in read if they are finished with their
work or want a different perspective on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole and the people
who made it possible.
The Children’s March: A Film by Hudson & Huston

The Children’s March is a short 40 minute document about a 1963 protest against
segregation that took place shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. was released from jail. In a
matter of 3 days there were over 7,000 arrests made to black people of all ages. The point was
simple, putting them in jail is not going to stop them from achieving equal rights and their civil
liberties. They were not afraid to be thrown in jail because there was a much bigger picture that
they were fighting for. This film gives 1st hand footage of the protests and the strategies the
police used to stop them. The film also has people share their experiences and talk about why
they did what they did and how they felt when they were being suppressed by the police. This
film would be a good addition to our classroom because it is a way to give our students first-hand
accounts of things that happened during the Civil Rights Movement while also giving them an
interesting way to obtain information about this time in America’s history.
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Book Citations:
Bausum, A. (2006). Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil
Rights Movement. National Geographic Society.
Brown, A, J. (2006). People we Should Know: Rosa Parks. Milwaukee, WI: Weekly Reader
Early Learning Library.
Bryan, A. (2016). Freedom Over Me. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Bull, A. (2000). Free at Last! New York, NY: DK Publishing Special Markets.
Farris, K, C. (2008). March On! The Day my Brother Martin Changed the World. New York,
NY: Scholastic Press.
Fontes, R & J. (2001). Abraham Lincoln. New York, NY: DK Publishing Special Markets.
Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Kittinger, S. J. (2010). Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek.
Myers, D. W. (2008). Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told. New York, NY: HarperCollins
Publishers.
Ingram, S. (2005). The 1963 Civil Rights March. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac Library.
Pinkney, D. A. (2010). Sit In: How Four Friends Stood Up, by Sitting Down. New York, NY:
Little, Brown and Company.
Rappaport, D. (2006). Nobody Gonna Turn Me ‘Round. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Rappaport, D. (2008). Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. New York, NY:
Hyperion Books for Children.
Shamir, R. (2017). What’s the Big Deal About Freedom. New York, NY: Penguin Random
House, LLC.
Watkins, F. A. (2015). Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Guiding Beliefs
(As Told By His Niece). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Weatherford, B. C. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. New
York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Weatherford, B. C. (2016). Freedom in Congo Square. New York, NY: Little Bee Books.
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Weidt, N. M. (2003). Harriet Tubman. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Company.
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Pre-Assessment
Purpose: This pre-assessment activity is to establish what students already know about slavery
and Civil Rights. There are two main purposes for this activity. The first is to understand what
the students already know about slavery and Civil Rights. Throughout elementary school
students are introduced to different aspects of slavery and of Civil Rights, so before we begin our
lesson we want to be sure that the students will be engaged and excited rather than bored by
going over the same information over, and over. Next, is to allow students to anticipate what is to
come in the following three weeks. We want the students to have time to think about things that
might come up in the following weeks. Students will be able to get an idea about what they know
and what they will learn, and then after our three week unit, students will have a chance to look
back on this pre-assessment and see how much they have learned from that assessment to now. It
is important for students to reflect on their learning and thinking, and then to see how those
thoughts have changed through new learning.
Overview: This lesson will be given the Friday before we begin our three week Civil Rights
Movement unit. The teacher will hand out the worksheet and allow plenty of time for students to
think about their thoughts on Slavery and Civil Rights. After the students have filled out all that
they can, we will have a brief discussion about what they thought, and what they think we will be
covering in the following weeks.
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will handout a anticipation guide to every student in the class.
The teacher will be at the front of the class, and talking to the students as a whole. The teacher
will first start by addressing the fact that we are going to be covering a new topic in the
following weeks. The teacher will ask “Who can tell me what holiday is in the month of
February?” Students can reply with holidays like “Valentine’s Day” or “Groundhog’s Day” and
we will lead them to saying “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day”. The teacher will then ask “What is
the other key thing that happens during the month of February because of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day?” Students will respond “Black History Month.” The teacher will discuss how February
starts next week and we will be researching some interesting details about slavery and civil rights
in the following weeks. Next, the teacher will give instructions about the anticipation guide, such
as asking students to take a minute to read through the anticipation guide, before writing
anything down. We will also state that this is an individual assignment so the expectations are to
be working silently and to pull out an appropriate book when finished. After a few minutes the
students should begin writing down things that they already know, and taking “guesses” on
things that they don’t know. When every student is finished, the teacher will ask for silent thumb
on how they felt about the anticipation guide. Students will give the thumb of how they feel
(thumb up: good/everything went well, thumb sideways: so-so/it went okay, thumb down: didn’t
like the activity/didn’t go well). The teacher will be able to gauge who knows more about the
topic over others before looking at the papers. After the silent thumb the teacher will ask, “Can
someone share something they already knew on the handout?” Student might answer, “Abraham
Lincoln abolished slavery”. Then the teacher will ask, “Who can tell me something on the sheet
that they didn’t know?” Student might say “When the civil war started”. This way, students can
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hear that they were not the only ones who might not have known that topic, and they can see how
much the class already knows about Civil Rights.
Materials:
● 25 copies of Civil Rights Anticipation Guide
● Pencils
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Name:
Civil Rights Anticipation Guide
1. Who was Abraham Lincoln?
2. How long was slavery legal in the United States?
3. Who comes to mind when you hear Civil Rights?
4. When did the Civil War start? When did it end?
5. What was the Civil War about?
6. Who gave the “I have a dream” speech?
7. Name an important leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
8. Name a leader during times of slavery.
9. What is meant by the term, “freedom”?
10. Is racism still evident in the world today? Why do you think this is?
11. What does equality mean to you?
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12. Do you see equality in the world around you? Why or why not?
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After the Pre-Assessment…
The pre-assessment will be given the Friday before the beginning of the three week
unit on Civil Rights. After school, and before Monday the teacher will prepare by
getting a variety of books on both slavery and Civil Rights, as well as hanging
pictures of known leaders during this time around the classroom, provided below.
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Week One: Day One
Daily Activities
8:30-9:00 AM: Students come into class, and complete the daily routine. Students will be asked
to look at the board and choose a person that they think would be interesting and write their
name next to that leader. Then they will have an entry task: “Now that you have picked a leader,
write down anything you know about this person, and what you are hoping to learn about them.
Be specific, we will be working with this person for the next three weeks.”
9:00-10:15 AM: Journal Entry Activity: Teacher will ask if anyone wants to share the person
they picked, and what they are hoping to learn to promote voice, and classroom community. This
will take a few minutes, then the teacher will introduce the journal entries activity.
10:15-10:30 AM: This is recess time. The teacher will check to make sure every student has
signed up, and choose leaders for those students who are absent. The teacher will then read what
the students wrote for their entry task on their leader making sure the students were using their
time wisely. Students are being assessed on completion. The purpose of this is to be sure students
are on task, and for the teacher to know how they can help these students during the three week
lesson.
10:30-11:30 AM: Math time: Students will be introduced to a statistic about how far the
Underground Railroad was. We know that it takes four laps around our school track to make a
mile, but how many laps around the track would it be to equal the distance of the Underground
Railroad? During this time, the teacher will be preparing the class for the rest of the slavery
lessons of this week, and individually conferencing with students to be sure they are on the right
track for their leader journal entries.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:00-12:15 PM: Lunch Recess.
12:15-1:15 PM: Reading workshop: To begin our lesson, the teacher will read aloud the story
Freedom in Congo Square. This is to model reading fluency and to introduce our topic of the
week, slavery. After the teacher reads the story aloud, the teacher will ask, “what are some
thoughts you have after listening to that book?” The students will share what they thought, and
begin to think about how the faith these people had, kept them strong enough to push through the
hard times. The students will be asked to browse the books on the cart, preferably one of the
leader that they chose to do, and write down some key ideas that they find during their
independent reading. During this time, the teacher will conference with students and monitor to
be sure all students are on task.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Music): In music, the students will be practicing the song “swing low,
sweet chariot” and learning about its origin and what the song means. This will give the students
more background into the topic of slavery, and to understand where this well known song came
from and why. Students will also be learning how to sing a melody, and they are understanding
rhythm.
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: During this time, we will begin to talk about the major people
who influenced the freedom of slaves (Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman). We will take a look
at their pictures and discuss some of the important things they did for slaves. This is an
introduction to what will be talked about further as the week goes on.
2:30-2:50 PM: The teacher will wrap up the class by reading aloud yet another book Moses:
When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom in order to get the students thinking about
what is to come tomorrow. The purpose of this activity is to model reading fluency, accuracy,
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expression, and to provide more information on a person who will be covered throughout the rest
of the week.
2:50-3:00 PM: Pack up, and head home.
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Activity Title: Diary of a Civil Rights Leader
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to get the student’s thinking about the important people
who shaped the Civil Rights Movement. This leader could be during slavery (such as Abraham
Lincoln or Harriet Tubman) or it can be someone from the Civil Rights Movement (such as
Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks). We want our students to learn about this leader and write
as if they were them. This is to get students to make connections from the lessons to their
leaders, as well as reflect on how this person changed the world, for the better.
Overview: The teacher will begin my having all the students sign up for a person, there might be
a few overlapping but that is to be expected. The teacher will pass out notebooks to each student
to use while they are pretending to be their leader. The teacher will ask “raise your hand if you
signed up for an important leader during the Civil Rights Movement?” When everyone raises
their hand the teacher will continue by giving the directions for this activity: “The journal that
you have before you is meant to be used only for writing in as if you were the leader you picked.
Every day we will have time to create one or two journal entries that will discuss the topics we
have covered so far in class. *calls on student* Who did you pick to be your leader? (student will
say Rosa Parks) Okay, so if I chose Rosa Parks, I will write in my journal as if I were her. Silent
thumbs if that makes sense. *Pause for thumbs* Every day should be dated, but who can tell me
when these journals should be dated? Should they say 2018 in the corner? (student will respond
no anywhere from 1800-1965).” After the directions have been given, the students will be let
loose to write their first entry. This one should be an introduction and should portray what the
students already know about their leader, rather than connections to events since those have not
been covered yet. After a few minutes the teacher will gather the students attention again at the
front. The teacher will point out the books that are available to them, as well as websites they can
use to learn more about their leader when there is an appropriate time to do so. The teacher will
ask for thumbs on how the first entry went, and transition to the next activity.
Materials:
● 25 journals
● List of leaders with space for students to write their name
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will be using whole class instruction. First, the teacher will
have students write their name next to a leader of their picking on the board. This way there is a
document that shows who each person picked, in case there is any confusion later on down the
road. Next, the teacher will have every student seated in their desk to start the day. The teacher
will ask, “Who can share the leader that they picked and why?” Students will raise their hands to
share and give reasons as to why they picked that person. After students have shared the teacher
will begin to explain the purpose for this activity. The teacher will use silent signals to be sure
teacher and student are on the same page. The teacher will call on a student to share their leader
again, but this time the teacher will model what the entry should look like. The teacher will say
“Be sure to include the date. Would we use 2018 or would we use a different date?” Students
will raise their hands to share that the date should be from 1800-1965 because we have discussed
when slavery was and when the Civil Rights Movement ended. Once the teacher has finished
modeling, the students will be set free to write their first entry. This one should be an
introduction and should point out things that the student already knows about this leader. After
work time, the teacher will pull the students back to the front again for further instruction. The
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teacher will point out where books will be located that will help them learn more about their
leader, as well as websites that the students can use if they have already read all the books
provided. Students will keep their journals and they will have time to write in them every day at
least once, and they will be making connections to the major events that we will be looking at
throughout the course of the three weeks.
Assessment: Students will be assessed on the completion of the journal after the 15 days of
instruction. The student should have at least 15 entries and they should connect back to the
instruction that we have been learning, in the voice of that leader. The teacher will grade on
completion and provide feedback for their writing and organization at the end of the unit.
Accommodations: For students who need extra support in the classroom, the teacher will help
them one on one or in a small group after modeling what is expected and after the students are
turned loose to write. The teacher will work with these students to determine the leader that they
picked, as well as any information they already know about him/her. For students with learning
disabilities, the teacher might have the students tell aloud what they know, or what they want to
write before physically writing it down in their journal. This way the student knows exactly what
he/she wants to say before being asked to write. The teacher may also have the students conduct
their journal entries in a different way, such as: word processor, native language, or other forms
of communication. The teacher can also give extended time to complete the assignment if that is
necessary for the student.
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Week One: Day Two
Daily Activities
8:30-9:00 AM: Students come into class, and complete the daily routine. Students will have an
entry task. Journal entry: Look at the following quotes, what do you think they mean? “Is slavery
is not wrong, nothing is wrong -Abraham Lincoln”, ”Where slavery is there Liberty cannot be
and where Liberty is there slavery cannot be - Charles Sumner”. Write in your entry task
notebooks about your thoughts on these quotes.
9:00-10:15 AM: We will take a few minutes to discuss what students came up with for these two
quotes in the entry task. After the discussion we will lead into what we think slavery was, and
how long we think it lasted in our country. Students will make a KWL chart about slavery taking
note about what they know, what they want to learn, and after we spend time learning about
slavery today, they will have a chance at the end of the day to write what they learned today.
Before students are excused for recess they must have the first two parts filled out about slavery.
10:15-10:30 AM: This is recess time. The teacher will use this time to prepare for the rest of the
day on our slavery topic. Pulling the books Freedom Over me and What’s the Big Deal About
Freedom. These books will be referenced during reading and writing time.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading time: During reading today, we will be focusing on the two books
“Freedom Over Me, and What’s the Big Deal About Freedom” we will begin our lesson by
talking about what freedom means to us, and taking a minute to write that down on our activity
sheet. Then we will discuss what slavery meant, and some of the ways that slaves were treated.
In the same sheet students will write down these things and see how freedom was not offered to
these people. Students will then have the time to read a “good-fit” book on a person from
slavery. From Abraham Lincoln to Harriet Tubman. Students will need to have their activity
sheet completed before lunch.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students will be exploring the worth of these people. Relating back
to Freedom Over Me, students see that the worth of people change depending on any number of
factors and we are going to explore/ make predictions about how much people with different
skills/features would cost, as well as how much these owners would make depending on the
number of slaves they had working for them.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (PE): Students will engage in the normal PE games and activities, but
at the end of the period the PE teacher will discuss with them how far a mile is, and how long it
takes us to walk a mile (setting us up for our math lesson the following day)
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: During this time, we will continue to talk about the major people
who influenced the freedom of slaves (Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman). We will take a look
at their pictures and discuss some of the important things they did for slaves. This is a
continuation to what we did the following day. Students should have a worksheet with each
person and a list of things they did to abolish slavery/ fight for freedom of slaves. They can
reference this as we continue our unit.
2:30-2:50 PM: The teacher will wrap up the class by allowing students to write an entry in their
leaders journal. This will be the second entry for the students and they should have more
information that will help them write good entries. They will also be asked to finish their KWL
chart from this morning. Not every question will be answered, so they should keep it in case they
find the answers to their questions.
2:50-3:00 PM: Pack up, and head home.
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Activity Title: What Does Freedom Mean to Me?
Purpose: For this activity, we want students to start thinking about freedom because we often
take for granted all that we have. Students will explore this idea and be able to relate it to how
slaves were treated back in the day, and even be able to explain if freedom is given to all people
fairly or not (beginning to touch on if racism still exists in our country). We are still in the
beginning of our lesson but we want the students to get a solid understanding about how unfairly
and mistreated these people were, and for them to understand they were still human beings but
not being treated as so.
Overview: To begin the lesson we will have a discussion about what freedom means in terms of
America. Then we will break that down into what it means to us personally. Students will have a
chance to think silently about it, share with a partner, and then we will have a group discussion
about how different freedom means to each member of our class. After we have our discussion
students will be handed a worksheet that has them outline freedom for them, and what they
thought freedom meant to a slave. Students will be able to see the difference between the
freedom given to people with a different skin color, as well as explore how mistreated slaves
were. After we have time to work on the worksheet, we will come together as a class and reread
Freedom in Congo Square. We will view this book in the lenses of freedom and discuss if their
version of freedom was the same of us, and why. After the students hear the story and listen in
the lenses of freedom they will have an opportunity to go back to their worksheet and change
their thinking on what slaves thought was freedom.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “What freedom means to me” worksheet
● Freedom in Congo Square book
● Pencils
Instructional Strategy: The teacher starts off the lesson with whole class instruction by
introducing the topic of freedom and what it means for our country. After that the teacher uses
“Think-Pair-Share” to get the students thinking more about what freedom means to them
personally. After the students have time doing that, they will have the opportunity to work
quietly by themselves to fill out the worksheet. They will have time to share later on, but for the
first moments, they should be working individually because this is a personal statement. After
work time, the teacher will bring the whole class back together to read the book Freedom in
Congo Square again. This time the teacher will make it a point to think about what the slaves
think about freedom and how going to Congo Square is their freedom. They will discuss why
they find that to be freedom even if it is just for one day. Students will have work time again if
they want to revise their thinking on the worksheet and they will turn in the worksheet for
assessment.
Assessment: The students worksheet will not be given a letter grade, rather the students will get
credit for completing the assignment and putting effort into their responses. This is a very
personal assignment and the students are asked to reflect on what they believe other people
might think. Students will receive feedback on their worksheet about things to think about. This
written response is to build further relationships with students and to model communication
35
between both student and teacher. Students who did not complete the worksheet will be met with
the following day so they can understand the instructions and practice this skill too.
Accommodations: For students who need extra support or help in the classroom, the teacher will
work with them either individually (depending on how many are in need of assistance) or as a
small group. The teacher will be able to walk through the worksheet with the student(s). If the
student has a language or other learning disability the teacher can orally discuss with them what
is on the worksheet before asking them to write anything down. This way the teacher knows
what the student wants to say, and the student is able to flesh out what they want before being
asked to put it on paper. If the worksheet is not working for the students, the teacher can have the
students do this assignment through some sort of word processor, in another language, or just
orally if the student is not comfortable writing. The teacher can also offer extended time for the
student to finish the assignment, whether it be as a take home assignment, or they can work on it
on a later time during the day.
36
Name:_______________________
What Does Freedom

Mean to Me?
To Me:
To Slaves:
37
Week One, Day Three:
Daily Activities:
entry task. Journal entry: “When we oppress others, we oppress ourselves. All our humanity is
dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others -Desmond Tutu” Look at this quote and
write down in your own words, what you think it means. Keep in mind all we have learned so
far.
9:00-10:15 AM: Teacher will call on students to share their thoughts for the entry task. After the
discussion the students will move into the health topic for the day: Understanding calories
needed to be healthy. Students will learn about the diet of people in slavery and whether the
amount they are taking in is enough. They will also discuss how that differs from how we eat
today.
day on our slavery topic.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading time: During reading today, we will be focusing on researching our
leader a little bit further. We will do a journal entry during this time, but the students will be
required to be reading a specific book on their leader. We want students at this time to be gaining
even more information about their leader so they can continue to create their journals to the best
of their ability.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Science: This will be the first day in our science unit. We will be discussing
plants and the different crops that were planted during the 1800s in which slaves worked for the
most part on these plants. We will be planting our own crops to see how they thrive.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Art): During this time, the art teacher will first start off the lesson by
explaining to the students about the different quilts made during the time the Underground
Railroad was being used. The art teacher will explain that each quilt style had a different
meaning, that each style had a different code for the slaves to follow. Students will be making
their own square of the quilt that will be then taped together to be made to an even bigger one.
1:45-2:30 PM: When students return from specialists, students will be working on a math
assignment that covers how long it would take us to walk the underground railroad, if we are
walking around our track. Students will be asked to work out the equation for this as well as
provide a visual aspect to their work. The PE teacher introduced this to them the day before and
they are now practicing what they learned.
2:30-2:50 PM: To wrap up the day, the students will have SSR time, finish any assignments that
have not been completed yet (from the previous two days) or writing another entry in their leader
journal.
2:50-3:00 PM: Students will pack up and go home.
38
Activity Title: Juba This, Juba That
Purpose: For this activity, we want students to be able to further understand the treatment of
slaves during this period of time. Through this activity, students will be able to explore the
different types of food that the slaves were fed and the amount of calories are in each dish.
Students will be comparing the caloric intake to the amount of calories being burned off by the
slaves as they work. This will continue to add to the concept of slaves being human beings but
are not treated as such.
Overview: To begin this lesson, we will first start off by asking students how many calories an
average male and female are supposed to eat everyday. We will also ask them what their favorite
foods are and how often they eat them so then they can start thinking about what they like and
how often they are fed that. We will then introduce the different kinds of foods that slaves were
fed during this time period and ask them about the different kinds of jobs slaves had to do. We
would then ask students to raise their hands if they believe that the slaves are being fed enough to
have enough energy for these jobs or not. After having gathered their initial thoughts, they will
be given a worksheet that has the different dishes written down and the amount of calories it
gives. The worksheet will also have different the different jobs and the amount of calories
needed to properly perform these tasks. Students will have to determine whether the amount of
calories being taken in is enough to balance out the calories being burned during the 18 hour
work days. After the completion of the worksheet, we will have a discussion as an entire class on
how they feel and what they think of this.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “Juba This, Juba That” worksheet
● Pencils
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will first start off this lesson as a whole class discussion about
the caloric intake requirements for both males and females and the types of foods they like to eat.
The students will then discuss as table groups whether they believe that the food that was being
fed to the slaves were enough or not. After, students will work individually on the worksheet that
will be provided to them. After having time to work on it, they will come back together as a class
to correct the sheet. Once the corrections are made, the class will once more engage in a
discussion on any thoughts or feelings they may have after completing this.
Assessment: The worksheet that students will be correcting will be out of two points for each
question. The overall points would be out of ten because there will be five questions total. The
first point will be based around whether they calculated it or not and whether they write down
their reasoning for the intake being enough or not. This should a be straightforward assignment
that gets students thinking about people and their circumstances.
Accommodations: For students who need more support, they will be able to sit at the small group
table with the teacher and will be taken through the worksheet step by step. If they seem to be
able to understand the concept by the end of the second question, then they will be encouraged to
try and solve the last three on their own. If there is a language barrier or other learning disability,
the teacher will be able to read the questions out loud and use a translating application to allow
39
the ELL students to have more context. Students will also be given extra time to finish the
worksheet if needed.
Websites Used:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/slave-diet-and-nutrition.5626/
https://www.nps.gov/bowa/learn/historyculture/upload/the-final-slave-diet-site-bulletin.pdf
https://www.fitnessblender.com/articles/calories-burned-by-occupation-how-many-calories-
does-my-job-burn
https://www.historyonthenet.com/slaves-work-and-work-done-by-slaves/
40
Name: ______________________
Juba This, Juba That

In an 18 hour day working in the fields, slaves were burning around 3,000 calories every day.
Slaves were expected to pick cotton, harvest sugar cane, and plant and harvest rice. During this
time period, their diet consisted of (the number of calories noted is for one portion):
-Salted pork: 212 calories -Pickled pork: 58 calories

-Rice: 206 calories -Cornbread: 94 calories
-Corn grits: 152 calories -Mashed sweet potato: 251 calories
-Baked sweet potato: 163 calories -Boiled black eyed peas: 160 calories
1. A young man ate one portion of corn grits with two portions of pickled pork early in the
morning. Another portion of corn grits and a portion of boiled black eyed peas mid-
morning. A potion of salted pork and two portions of baked sweet potato for lunch. For
dinner, he had two portions of pickled pork and two portions of cornbread. Did he eat
enough calories to balance out the amount of calories burned?
2. A young woman ate one portion of rice with a portion of salted pork early in the morning.
She had two portions of boiled sweet potatoes for mid-morning. For lunch, she had a
portion of salted pork with a portion of corn grits and a portion of boiled black eyed peas.
She had another portion of salted pork with a portion of baked sweet potato and two
portions of cornbread. Did she eat enough calories?
3. A man ate two portions of corn grits with a portion of salted pork early in the morning.
Had a portion of mashed sweet potato with two portions of salted pork mid-morning. He
had a portion of rice with two portions of pickled pork and a portion of cornbread for
lunch. For dinner, he had a portion of salted pork with a portion of baked sweet potato, a
portion of boiled black eyed peas, and a portion of cornbread. Did he eat enough
calories?
41
Name: Answer Key
Juba This, Juba That

In an 18 hour day working in the fields, slaves were burning around 3,000 calories every day.
Slaves were expected to pick cotton, harvest sugar cane, and plant and harvest rice. During this
time period, their diet consisted of (the number of calories noted is for one portion):
-Salted pork: 212 calories -Pickled pork: 58 calories

-Rice: 206 calories -Cornbread: 94 calories
-Corn grits: 152 calories -Mashed sweet potato: 251 calories
-Baked sweet potato: 163 calories -Boiled black eyed peas: 160 calories
1. A young man ate one portion of corn grits with two portions of pickled pork early in the
morning. Another portion of corn grits and a portion of boiled black eyed peas mid-morning. A
potion of salted pork and two portions of baked sweet potato for lunch. For dinner, he had two
portions of pickled pork and two portions of cornbread. Did he eat enough calories to balance out
the amount of calories burned?
He did not eat enough calories because he ate 1,422 calories.
2. A young woman ate one portion of rice with a portion of salted pork early in the morning. She
had two portions of mashed sweet potatoes for mid-morning. For lunch, she had a portion of
salted pork with a portion of corn grits and a portion of boiled black eyed peas. She had another
portion of salted pork with a portion of baked sweet potato and two portions of cornbread. Did
she eat enough calories?
She did not eat enough calories because she had 2,007 calories.
3. A man ate two portions of corn grits with a portion of salted pork early in the morning. Had a
portion of mashed sweet potato with two portions of salted pork mid-morning. He had a portion
of rice with two portions of pickled pork and a portion of cornbread for lunch. For dinner, he had
a portion of salted pork with a portion of baked sweet potato, a portion of boiled black eyed peas,
and a portion of cornbread. Did he eat enough calories?
He did not eat enough calories because he had 2,236 calories.
42
Week One, Day Four:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry: “Who was Harriet Tubman? Why was she a well known leader in the
slavery time period?”
9:00-10:15 AM: We will discuss the entry task, and the teacher will call on students to shed light
on what they believe. This is going to lead us into our reading lesson for the day. We want to get
an understanding about who she was and her accomplishments. We will spend quite a bit of time
on this, we will watch a video on Harriet Tubman (https://youtu.be/VYWRoB6Ucrc ), and talk
about some of the songs that came out of walking the underground railroad, which will later be
explored further in specialist.
day on our slavery topic. The teacher will set out jigsaw worksheets for the activity that will be
after recess as well as the books for each person for each groups.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading workshop: The students will work in their reading groups to learn all
there is to know about their specific person (Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth,
Tom Paine, Frederick Douglass) After the students have time to work in their group, they will be
asked to pick one person from their table to go to each other group. So group one will have one
person from their group to stay at their table but they will have a member of each other group at
their table as well. They will then take turns talking about their person and all they learned. Each
square should be filled up at the end of this activity. Students will then be asked to write a
reflection about what they learned from this activity and any details that they found to be
interesting. This is their ticket out of the door for lunch time, and will be graded.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: We are going to continue our lesson on how long it would take us to
walk the underground railroad, and we will actually have time today to walk a few laps around
the track outside (weather permitting) to have the students feel how long that walk is.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Music): Students will be practicing the same song they learned earlier
this week, as well as being introduced to one final song “Song of the Free” they will perform
these on the last day of our slavery unit (Friday).
1:45-2:30 PM: Science: We will continue our investigation on our plants. We will take
observations about how much our plant has grown since planting them, writing our predictions in
our notebooks about how tall they will end up, and what they need to strive the most besides sun,
water, and soil.
2:30-2:50 PM: To wrap up: Students will be asked to write a entry in their leader journals. They
should have at least four entries at this point about their specific leader.
2:50-3:00 PM: Students will pack up and go home.
43
Activity Title: Leader Jigsaw Puzzle
Purpose: There are a lot of important people who helped to abolish slavery. We want students to
be exposed to as many as possible. It would take weeks to cover every single person, so through
this activity students are learning about a few important people during this time, and they are
practicing their research skills, communication skills, and summary skills.
Overview: Students will be sitting in their reading groups. There should be five table groups,
meaning there will be five different people for the students to look at. Each group is responsible
for one person. Some tables have books, others have articles on their person. The group will have
around 15-20 minutes to fill up their space on the jigsaw worksheet. After those 20 minutes one
person will stay at their reading group, but the others will be asked to go to any other group.
There should be one person from each group at each table. Students will take turns teaching the
group about the person they had. After another 20 minutes, the students will have filled up their
jigsaw worksheet. The students are then asked to write a reflection about what they learned, what
they thought was easy or hard, and explain some cool details that they didn’t know previously to
doing this activity. This is the ticket out of the door for recess and this will be graded.
Materials:
● 25 Copies of the jigsaw worksheet
● Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
● Harriet Tubman book
● Abe’s Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
● Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend
● Article on Frederick Douglass
(http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_rights/frederick_douglass.php)
● Article on Frederick Douglass ( http://civilwar.mrdonn.org/frederick-douglass.html)
● Article on Tom Paine (https://www.biography.com/people/thomas-paine-9431951)
● Article on Tom Paine (http://thomaspaine.org/paines-anti-slavery-legacy.html
● Article on Sojourner Truth (https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sojourner-
truth)
● Article on Sojourner Truth
(http://www.softschools.com/timelines/sojourner_truth_timeline/57/ )
Instructional Strategy: Students will be sitting in their reading groups. The teacher will use whole
class instruction in the beginning of the lesson in order to give the directions and expectations for
this lesson. Then the students are set free on their own to finish up the activity. The teacher will
be working individually with each group to be sure they are on the right track. The teacher will
help with the transition to new groups if need be but the students should be able to follow the
directions to move to a new group. The teacher will work with each group to be sure each one is
on task and following the directions. This activity is a student centered lesson, meaning the
students are doing most of the work and talking. The teacher is there for help, and assistance if
needed.
Assessment: The students will be graded on completion for the jigsaw part of the assignment,
students will get a check plus if they completed it and filled their boxes, students will get a check
minus if they completed it, but only wrote down one or two things about each person. This
assignment is to help them better understand these people, and if they only wrote down one fact,
44
they won’t have much to help them review for the test later on. The students reflection will be
given a three if they answered all of the questions, organized it in proper paragraph format, and
gave more than one new fact that they learned. Students will receive a two if they answered one
or two of the questions, have proper paragraph form, and gives only one new fact they learned.
Lastly students will get a one if they answered one only question, barely has a paragraph, and
gives no new facts.
Accommodations: For ELL students, we can pair them with a strong reader/writer for this
activity. This way the student is learning what everyone else is, with help from another student.
The student can still practice their communication and group work skills by doing this. Students
with other learning disabilities can still participate in this assignment because they will have help
from their peers to be able to finish, however, the teacher can spend extra time at these groups to
be sure the students are not struggling with it and checking out because this activity is important
for the end test. The teacher can give these students extra time to complete the work, or assist
them with things that their peers might not be helping with.
Websites Used:
https://www.timvandevall.com/templates/make-your-own-jigsaw-puzzle-templates/
45
Jigsaw Puzzle
of Slavery
Leaders
Name:
Date:
Reflection Rubric
Name:
3 2 1
Student answered all the Student answered most of Student answered one
questions on the board, the questions, filled out question, gave one or two
filled out the jigsaw the jigsaw worksheet for facts for each leader, and
worksheet completely, the most part but missing did not write down
and gave more than one a few facts from each anything new that they
new fact that they learned leader, and gave one new learned from the day.
today. fact they learned today.
46
Week One: Day Five
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “Why do you think it took so long for slavery to become abolished?
What did the Civil War do to help this happen? What came after slavery?”
on what they believe. This is our last day discussing slavery before we move onto our Civil
Rights Movement lesson, so we want to wrap up everything that we have learned, and relate it
back to the main goal which is, what was slavery, and how did it end? After we discuss our
thoughts on the posted questions, the students will be learning briefly about the civil war. We
will watch a short video (https://youtu.be/8ZIE3T1MvQ0 ) that outlines the Civil War and
touches on the Battle of Gettysburg and relate it back to Abraham Lincoln for whom we have
gotten to know quite well this week.
day.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading: During reading today, we are going to be taking a test on what we
have learned so far about slavery. This test will contain significant people discussed, important
events, and a short piece where they read a quote and explain what it means.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: During math today we are going to be presenting our work on the
underground railroad, and our visual representation of what that looks like to them. If time
allows we will walk around the track a few more times today and take note how much further we
have to walk to reach the end.
1:15-1:45 PM: This would normally be our specialist time, but the students have been working
so hard on learning songs from slavery that we are going to be putting on a small assembly for
the younger grades and we are going to share the art we have done and the songs we have
learned.
1:45-2:30 PM: Science: We are going back to the greenhouse to check on our plants and record
our observations. Today we will be adding nutrients to the soil and watering them. Students will
record how much water they gave their plant, as well as how much of the nutrients they gave
their plant. Students will reflect on what they think is working best, and why, this far in the
process.
should have at least five entries now, and if they had a slavery leader, they should be relating
back to what we have learned about today.
2:50-3:00 PM: Students will pack up, and go home.
47
Activity Title: Slavery- When Did it Start, Why Did it End?
Purpose: We have been discussing slavery and the important people who helped to abolish it. We
want to see what the students have learned in this last week, and check to make sure they
understood the important details we wanted them to understand. Before we move on to Civil
Rights, we need to make sure the students understood what happened before that and why.
Overview: This test will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and a few short answers.
This it to help the students reflect on what they have learned this far in our unit. Students will
have the full reading time to do this, and if students are not finished by recess, they will have
time later in the day to finish. This test is to help the teacher see what points really stuck with the
students, and what points might need to be covered again, before they are ready to move onto the
Civil Rights.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “Slavery- When did it start, why did it end?” test.
● Pencils
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will use whole class instruction to give directions about the
expectations during the test. This is a closed note test, just to recall what they have learned this
week. The students will have the full reading chunk of time to complete the test. If students
finish early the teacher will ask students to write a journal entry on their leader, pick up an
appropriate book on the Civil Rights Movement, and point out that we have gotten some new
books and it might be beneficial to consider them while they have a quiet time to get into it. The
teacher will make it a point that it is important to be quiet and courteous for our fellow
classmates while they take the test, and that everyone finishes at their own pace. Once the
directions, expectations, and activities to do after the test are laid out, the teacher will pass out
the test and allow the students to begin. While the students are working, the teacher will continue
to plan for the following weeks, and get the room ready to move from slavery, to the Civil Rights
Movement.
Assessment: This test will be graded on a rubric, and an answer key. There are multiple choice,
and fill in the blank that will be graded on right or wrong basis. The short answer questions
however, will be graded based off a rubric. The students are all going to be sharing their own
opinions on this question so there will be any number of right answers.
Accommodations: For students who are ELL, it might be beneficial to give this test to them
orally, so you can use gestures and or pictures to help the student understand the questions being
asked. For students with other learning disabilities, we might do the same thing. Give the test to
them orally so you can monitor the speed at which they need to go. If students need more time,
you can allow them to stay in from recess for no more than five minutes and if they still need
more time, there will be a chunk of time at the end of the day where they can finish but it must
be done by the end of the day.
48
Slavery: When did it start, why did it end?
This test is to check your knowledge on the key details we learned in the
previous week. We spent a lot of time learning about significant people who
were a part of abolishing slavery, and we learned about major events that
took place during and after slavery. Be sure to read each question
carefully, and answer the question to the best of your ability. This is a
closed note test, so do your best.
1. When did the battle of Gettysburg happen?

a. Spring of 1863
B. Winter of 1800
C. Summer of 1863
D. Fall of 1850
2. Who was the leader who freed over three-hundred people through the underground
railroad?
a. Abraham Lincoln
B. Harriet Tubman
C. Tom Paine
D. Sojourner Truth
3. Abraham Lincoln had slaves but did not believe in slavery.
a. True
B. False
4. Harriet Tubman’s nickname was .
5. The civil war was fought because
6. In your own words, describe what freedom meant to slaves. Were they ever given freedom or
was freedom something much simpler than that?
7. Explain in your own words how Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery. Be sure to include
specific details.
8. How was Sojourner truth a part of the abolishment of slavery?
9. What was Tom Paine’s role in slavery?
49
10. Use the equation we found as a class to tell me how many more laps we must walk around
the track to equal the distance of the underground railroad.
11. What is the meaning of the song “swing low, sweet chariot”?
12. What type of crops were grown in the fields that slaves worked?
13. Look at the quote below, in your own words, describe what it means, and how it relates to
slavery.
“Now I’ve been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of
escaped slaves, but i never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave”
-Harriet Tubman
Extra Credit:
14. How do you think Civil Rights bloomed from slavery?
50
Answer key and rubric
1.C
2. B
3. B
4. Moses
5. The south wanted state control the north wanted freedom
1 2 3
Organization Student uses a Student uses Student uses

bulleted list or paragraph form but paragraph form to
random words on the does not include answer the question,
page to answer the introduction, or has an introduction
question conclusion and conclusion
Evidence Student has part of Student has some Student has plenty of
something that could evidence in the evidence and explains
be seen as evidence response, but it is why it answers the
but does not support either hard to find, or question.
it with anything to is not explained as to
explain why that why that answers the
answers the question. question in full.
Details Student has one detail Student has three or Student has five or
in the response but more details about the more key details in
does not use it question in the the response and
correctly response and backs backs them up with
them up with evidence.
evidence.
51
Week Two: Day One
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “In your own words, what do you think Civil Rights means?”
on what they believe. We are going to jump into learning about what civil rights are and how we
tend to glance over it and not think about the freedom we truly have. We will look at the
amendments and discuss what those rights look like or mean.
day. We will be reading about the Freedom Riders today, and some of the significant people that
were apart of that. The teacher will pull the book Freedom Riders to read aloud to the class prior
to starting the reading workshop for the day.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading: we are going to be learning about asking questions while reading
informational texts. The teacher will read Freedom Riders aloud to the class to model what they
are looking for. The students will be turned loose to their reading groups, each group will have a
book at their reading level to practice this skill. Students will work for 40 minutes and the last bit
of time, we will discuss what questions we came up with and if those questions were answered,
or if we need to do more research to find those answers.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students will start their week long math lesson called “Statistics of
the Civil Rights Movement”. This is an opportunity for students to look at the numbers of
different various stats from US Census data to get an understanding of just how much of a
minority African Americans were during this time. For day one we will start by looking at the
population of African American citizens compared to the total population of the United States in
both 1940 and 1960 and analyze whether the percentage of African Americans rose or fell in
those 20 years and reflect on why this was the case.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (PE): In PE the students will do the tasks outlined by the PE teacher. At
the end of the period however, they will be talking about how far some of these people traveled
to stand up for what was right, and what that would look like on foot, bus, or plane.
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: During this time, we are going to be looking at a few of the court
cases from the civil rights movement. We are going to be discussing what they were about, and
how it changed the country.
should have at least six entries now.
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Activity Title: Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement
Purpose: Students understand that at this time African Americans were the minority in the
country and therefore received a lot of backlash for trying to gain equality. But just how much of
a minority was this group of individuals? This is what we hope to answer during our math lesson.
Sure, it’s easy to say they were a minority, but when you sit down, crunch the numbers and
compare them to entirety of the population it really puts things into perspective and gives
students an understanding of just how much of a minority African Americans were.
Overview: Students will be filling out a worksheet called “Statistics of the Civil Rights
Movement” where they will be looking at different population numbers, poverty thresholds,
earned incomes, home ownerships percentages, and other statistics during the year 1940 and
1960. These points of data will be analyzed by the students and will be worked with throughout
the week. What we really want the students to see is the relationship between these different
points of data while also being able to analyze/hypothesis why these statistics are the way that
they are.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement”
● Pencils
● Calculators (if needed)
Instructional Strategy: Before the students come in from recess the 1940 and 1960 U.S.
population (131.7 million & 179.3 million) will be written on the board. When the students come
in we will explain that throughout the week we will be looking at different statistical data about
population and other various things during the civil rights movement as well as 20 years before
the movement. We will use both sets of data to compare each other and make judgements about
the numbers. Point to the numbers on the board. These are the population numbers for 1940 and
1960. First we will have students look at the population numbers and think about why they have
grown so much in that 20 year span. Next, the teacher will write the population of African
American citizens in the years 1940 and 1960 (12.9 million & 18.9 million). Now that we know
the entire U.S. population and the population of African Americans we are going to compare
both numbers for both years to see which percentage of the population were African Americans
at that time. First we will have students think individually about how they would solve for this
and what strategies they would use to find the percentage. Then we will send them off into their
groups to solve for these percentages. After students have found the percentages we will have
them answer the question which year had the larger percentage of African Americans. After this
question is answered, students will have 10 minutes to self reflect and think about what this
meant for African Americans during that time. For every 100 white people, about how many
black people would you expect to see during this time in America?
Assessment: At the end of the week we will be collecting the worksheet “Statistics of the Civil
Rights Movement” with all of the different statistical data value, reflections, and math that
accompanies it. Students will be graded mostly on completion and reflection with a small
53
amount of importance going into the accuracy in the math. Again, what we want students to take
away from this unit is far beyond be able to do simple computations.
Accommodations: For students who are ELL, we might want to write out the numbers for them.
That is, instead of saying 131.7 million we would right it like 131,700,000. We would also be
there to help them when computing the numbers to answer any questions they might have about
taking two populations to solve for the percentage of one in the other.
Website Used: https://www.shmoop.com/civil-rights-desegregation/statistics.html
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Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement
1. Census of 1940
U.S. Population: 131.7 million
African American Population: 12.9 million
Census of 1960
U.S. Population: 179.3 million
African American Population: 18.9 million
Find the percentage of African Americans compared to the entire U.S. Population for
both years. Which year had the higher percentage of African Americans? Why do you think that
is? Imagine how much of a minority African Americans were, that is if there if you saw 10
African Americans in a crowd how many white people would you expect to see?
2. Median Yearly Earned Income of Full-Time Workers: 1949 and 1959
White Men
1949: $3,150
1959: $5,550
Black Men
1949: $1,950
1959: $3,450
White Women
1949: $2,150
1959: $3,350
Black Women
1949: $1,150
1959: $2,050
Analyze the different median wages for each group. How do they differ from one
another? Now let’s work with numbers! For each year and each class, what was the percentage
of money earned compared to that of a white male. Why do you think this was the case? Is there
any cultural norms during that time that could have swayed the numbers?
3. Living Below the Poverty Threshold in 1959
55
Total Population: 22.4%
White Population: 18.1%
Black Population: 55.1%
Look at the poverty threshold numbers in the United States. What do these numbers
mean? What does this tell you about the wages African Americans were making at the time. Was
it enough?
4. Percentage of Home Ownership: 1940 and 1960

Among whites in 1940: 42.1%
Region with the highest concentration of white homeowners: Midwest
Among Blacks in 1940: 20.5%
Region with the highest concentration of Black homeowners: South
Among whites in 1960: 64%
Region with the highest concentration of white homeowners: Midwest
Among Blacks in 1960: 35.8%
Region with the highest concentration of Black homeowners: West
Look at the home ownership for each race as well as the regions where these ownerships
were most prevalent. Why do you believe the home ownership stats are displayed the way they
are? Why are the regions as prevalent as they are? Do these home ownerships stats have anything
to do with the wages earned and poverty threshold we’ve looked at the past two days? What kind
of living situations can you expect African Americans to have during these times?
5. Life Expectancy 1940 and 1963
White Men
1940: 62.1 years
1963: 67.4 years
Non-White Men
1940: 51.5 years
1963: 61 years
White Women
1940: 66.6 years
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1963: 74.4 years
Non-White Women
1940: 54.9 years
1963: 66.6 years
Analyze the life expectancy for both 1940 and 1963. Is this the data that you expected for
these groups of people? How can we relate this data to the different things we’ve learned this
entire week? Are there any things that we’ve looked at that may have contributed to these life
expectancies?
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Week Two, Day Two:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry: “Who do you believe was the biggest influence in the Civil Rights
Movement?”
on what they believe. Today we are going to be looking into leaders during this time. Many
know of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but we are going to be discussing a man who
we talked about last class and more, who might not be thought of. This will lead into a movie
that will be watched at the end of the week.
day. Students will be doing a pamphlet for each significant leader that we will talk about today.
The teacher will make copies, and set out the books that will help them complete this
assignment.
10:30-11:30 AM: Reading/writing: “Researching Civil Rights Heroes” Each reading group will
have a specific person from the Civil Rights Movement. The students will read the books
provided, and create a pamphlet which explains: an unforgettable event, a quote, their character
traits, and a picture of the person. After each person is done with that person, they will move
groups until they have completed each hero. Students will present the ones they are most proud
of, and turn them in before heading to lunch.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: During this time we will be working more with our “Statistics of
the Civil Rights Movement worksheet. However, this time we will be looking at the yearly
earned income of full-time workers statistics and tying it into our population numbers as well as
having a reflection about earned wages for different races.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Art): During this time, students will be creating clothespin dolls which
will be placed inside of a diorama that the we will have created beforehand. These clothespin
dolls will represent the protesters during the time period. We will go through a step by step
process on how to make these dolls so that the students do not get lost during it. Students will be
able to choose however their protester is going to look like, from the color and length of the hair
to what the doll will be wearing.
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: We are going to begin working on our civil rights timeline. We
will begin by talking about the sit ins, and the marches down in the south. Students will put these
dates on their own timeline, and the teacher will add them to the class copy. We will continue to
go back to this as we come across more important dates.
should have at least seven entries now.
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Activity Title: Researching Civil Rights Heroes
Purpose: There are many people who influenced the Civil Rights Movement. Many of the
students picked these people to write their journal entries on, however, the students might not
know all that much about them. This activity is meant for students to get a better understanding
about who these people were, that helped create a movement that would change the world, and
end segregation. Through this assignment, students should be able to explain who the important
person is, the major event they were a part of, a quote, and they should draw a picture of the
person. The teacher will provide the students with books, and help the students learn the most out
of them.
Overview: For this assignment, the teacher will introduce the lesson by explaining how much we
still have to learn about the important influences of the Civil Rights Movement. The teacher will
then pass out the worksheets to the five table groups. Students will be researching Martin Luther
King, Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Ida B. Wells, and Jim Zwerg. Each of these people had a big
role in the Movement, and we want the students to get a well rounded learning experience about
them, before we begin to talk about the major events in the movement. As the students read
through the books provided to them on these people, they will fill out their pamphlet, and when
they finish they will move to the next reading group which will have another leader. This activity
is a variation of the jigsaw activity that we did in the previous week. Once the students have
finished every leader we have today, the students will have a chance to read their pamphlet aloud
to the class about a leader that they were most impressed with, or that they learned the most
about.
Materials:
● 100 copies of the Pamphlet
● Martin Luther King, Jr.
○ What’s The Big Deal About Freedom pp. 23-24
○ Free At Last! The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.
○ March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed The World
● Rosa Parks
○ Rosa
○ People We Should Know: Rosa Parks
○ Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights
● Ida B. Wells
○ Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told
● Jim Zwerg
○ Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights
Movement
● John Lewis
○ Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights
Movement
● Colored Pencils
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will be using whole class instruction for the beginning part of
this lesson. The teacher will address the whole class to give the directions, and expectations for
this assignment. After the students are set free, they are the ones moving at their own pace, and
59
learning what they need to learn. The teacher will conference with each reading group during this
time, just to be sure that the groups are on task, and completing the assignment. The teacher can
also use this time to finish setting up the classroom for the next few weeks. The timeline should
be posted where every student can see, and the pictures of the leaders should he hung, with their
names and a quote around the classroom. Once students are finished with the assignment, the
teacher will prompt the class to share a leader that they found super interesting, or their pamphlet
to be the best. Once all the students have shared if they wish, students will turn in their packet for
grading and head to lunch.
Assessment: This assignment will be graded on a completed basis. The students are practicing
their researching skills and learning new information about new people. The teacher will provide
a check plus on their paper if it was completed and well done, and a check minus if the papers
are completed but, the student could have put forth more effort into them. The teacher will also
provide feedback on their work, good and something that they can work on in further
assignments. This is to enhance the teacher and student relationship and give students something
to look at and make changes to in the future.
Accommodations: Students who are ELL should be able to complete this assignment, instead of
writing out the speech, or event, the students can draw pictures instead and incorporate words
into it later, like when the teacher is coming around and helping students who need it. Students
with other learning disabilities, could be their own group, and the teacher can help them along
the way. Starting with heavy scaffolding for the first few and then letting the students on their
own once they got the hang of things. The teacher can also allow more time for students to finish
this assignment at the end of the day before they pack up and go home.
Website Used:
http://thecorecoaches.com/2016/01/researching-civil-rights-heroes/
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Week Two, Day Three:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “Who were the people that participated in the marches for freedom and
to end segregation?”
on what they believe. The teacher will introduce the book The Youngest Marcher to the class and
read it aloud. We will begin talking about how even children were getting involved and in the
case of Birmingham the children had the most powerful voices.
day. We will be watching a documentary during our reading time today about the children who
marched in Birmingham, and who ultimately ended segregation in 1963 before the March on
Washington for jobs. The movie will be set up and a worksheet will be on their desks for when
they get back from recess.
10:30-11:30 AM: Documentary: We will be watching the documentary The Children’s March
which is about the children in Birmingham who created a revolution and ultimately ended
segregation because it caught the eye of so many people nationwide. While the students are
watching the film, they will be asked to fill out the question worksheet. We will have time to
discuss the answers before lunch and we will continue on this topic tomorrow.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Continuing with our “Statistics of the Civil Rights Movement” we
will be looking at the percentage of citizens living below the Poverty Threshold in 1959. As well
as the percentage of the White Population and Black Population that are below this threshold.
We will be tying this into our earned wages and population.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Music): Students will continue with normal music lessons. At the end
of music, the teacher will begin talking about how music helped the Civil Rights Movement. We
will be talking about this when students get back to class.
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: The teacher will read from the book Nobody Gonna Turn Me
‘Round and we will begin to learn some of the songs that were sung during the Civil Rights
Movement. At the end of this period we will add to our timeline, making sure to include the
March on Birmingham.
should have at least eight entries now.
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Activity Title: Viewing the Film
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to get students to see a new side of the Civil Rights
Movement that is not often talked about. We want students to see what really happened in 1963
and point out that the people who marched in Birmingham, are still alive today. This was nearly
55 years ago, and we want students to realize that it wasn’t that long ago. The point of the
worksheet is to be sure that students are paying attention during this short documentary. The
questions also probe the students to think deeper about what is going on during this time. The
film should be eye opening, and it will kick off the rest of the unit as we learn about the different
marches that took place to end segregation and spread equal rights.
Overview: The teacher will show this short 40 minute film, on the children’s march in
Birmingham. The questions that go along with it make sure the students are paying attention
throughout, and so they can think deeper about the events happening in the film. After the film is
over, we will spend the rest of the time before lunch discussing the questions and why they
believe their answer is to be true. This film is very powerful, and it makes you think about the
Civil Rights Movement in a whole new way. This lesson will lead into the rest of the week
talking about what our values are, and what we would stand up for. This is very important for the
rest of the Civil Rights unit, and just for us to understand the hardships that these people went
through.
Materials:
● The Children’s March film
● 25 copies of the “viewing the film” worksheet
Assessment: This won’t be given a letter grade, however, students will get credit for completing
this assignment. The teacher will also give feedback to the questions that have the students think
deeper into why things happened. This will continue the teacher and student communication, and
validate students thoughts and feelings.
Accommodations: Students who are ELL and students with other learning disabilities, might
benefit from sitting in a group together with the teacher to help them when they reach the
questions as they come up. If this does not work, the students can watch the video through with
the rest of the class, and jot down some notes as we come to questions that they did not
understand. The whole point of the worksheet is to make sure the students are engaged, if the
students who are ELL or have another learning disability are engaged without the worksheet,
then they should at least have notes during the discussion so that they have something to look
back on at the end of the unit for the test.
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Viewing the Film: The Children’s March
1. What was Birmingham’s nickname and why?
2. Have you ever seen a white tank anywhere before? What might a white tank symbolize to
white people? What might it symbolize to black people?
3. The film states, “Under Bull Connor, Birmingham was the closest thing in America to a
police state.” What is a police state?
4. Why couldn’t the parents or adults protest? What would happen to them if they did
protest?
5. What does it mean to “meet violence with nonviolence”? What would it look like?
6. Dr. King said in a strategy session that “the only way we’re going to break Birmingham
is to fill the jails.” What do you think a strategy session is? Why is it important?
7. Why do you think that Dr. King said “no” at first, to kids going to jail?
8. Shelley “the Playboy” told the kids that “there’s going to be a party in the park today”
What did he mean?
9. What did the children’s teacher, Mrs. Goree, do to help them go to the March?
10. Kelly Ingram Park was the big green buffer between black Birmingham and the white
downtown. Do buffers exist between groups in your community?
11. Gwen Webb says, “A lot of people thought the kids were going to get hurt, but the reality
was that we were born black in Alabama and we were going to get hurt if we didn’t do
something.” What did she mean by this?
12. In the middle of the protest, when police took a break to eat sandwiches off the lunch
truck, why do you think Bull Connor was mad at the Rev. Bevel was eating a sandwich
off of the truck?
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13. The children left the church in “waves of 50” how is that a strategy? What do you think
this accomplished?
14. The police thought the kids would be frightened to be arrested. Instead, they were happy
and singing. Why do you think the kids were full of joy to be arrested?
15. Why were the kids told to say that they were 15 years old when they were arrested? Did it
work?
16. How many men did it take to hold the fire hose steady?
17. There were 10 kids still standing after everyone else had been knocked down or dispersed
by the fire hose. What were they singing?
18. What did President Kennedy think of the photographs he saw of children being hosed on
the second day of the march?
19. What were the conditions in the jails? Were they clean? What did the children get to eat?
How long were they kept in jail?
20. What did the kids do in jail?
21. How old was the youngest child who got arrested and put in jail?
22. Dr. King told the parents, “Don’t worry about your children. They are going to be alright.
Don’t hold them back if they want to go to jail for they are doing a job for all of America
and for all of mankind.” What job were they doing?
23. The white detective said that in the end there “was no way to hold a lid on this because
the fear was gone.” What is significant about people losing fear?
24. On May 10th Dr. King said that “We have come today to the climax of the long struggle
for justice and human dignity.” Had they?
64
25. On June 11th President Kennedy said “This is the end of segregation.” Was it?
65
Week Two, Day Four:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “what is something you are very passionate about. Why?”
on what they believe. This will lead into the activity we will do after recess. We will begin by
reviewing what our film was about from the previous day. To make sure that students have an
understanding about what these children were marching for.
day.
10:30-11:30 AM: To start this part, we are going to be signing a “Birmingham Pledge” which is
just for students to vow that they will treat every person as though they are an individual and as
if they have worth. We will place these pledges up on a bulletin board so students can always be
reminded about how they should treat people. The rest of the period will be focusing on what we
are passionate about, and what we would stand up for. We will begin by reading aloud the book
Love Will See You Through: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Six Guiding Beliefs (as told by his niece)
which talk about the six things he lives by. Then we will introduce the assignment where there
will be a chart of six thing they are passionate about, and how likely they are to stand up for it.
This should take up most, or all of the period.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Next on the worksheet we will be looking at the Percentage of
Home Ownership data collected in 1940 and 1960 for the different races in the U.S. These will
be tied into earned wages and population to find a rough estimate of amount of people who
owned homes during these times. After, we will reflect and think about what the living situations
for African Americans looked like at that time.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (art): Students will be starting a two part art project where the will be
doing a watercolor word art. What students will be doing is first finding quotes and lines from
the books that they have read and from the influential people we have talked about so far. They
will then sketch out an image that they would want to paint. Whether it be something simple like
a bouquet of flowers to something more elaborate like a landscape. After sketching it out, the
will use the quotes they found as the lines of the image they are painting. They will be writing
out the quotes in black pen or marker. After they completed this, they will put it in their box to
save for next time.
1:45-2:30 PM: Science: We are going to be looking at our plants again today. Students will be
asked to record their observations, and write them in their science notebooks. At this time
students should be seeing a small plant show up, and they will be asked to draw a sketch of their
plant. Students should start thinking about how they will harvest their cotton.
should have at least eight entries now.
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Activity Title: Birmingham Pledge/ What Are You Passionate About
Purpose: This assignment is to get the students to think more about what they believe in, and if
they would be willing to go through the same things these children from the march did. The
pledge is to get students to think actively about their actions and the way they treat people. A lot
of times, we don’t notice how our words or actions affect others, so this is a way to shed light on
that area, and get students to think about the way they treat people.
Overview: To start this lesson, we will begin by discussing what the Birmingham Pledge means,
and how it relates to us. Every student will read and sign the pledge, and the teacher will post
these to a bulletin board so for the rest of the unit we can be reminded of our pledge to treat
others with respect. The second part of this lesson is about understanding what we are passionate
about. We are going to be discussing what it means to stand up for what we believe in, and what
that would look like for the different things we are passionate about. This is just to get students
thinking deeper about what the marches represented, and what they meant to people.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “Birmingham Pledge”
● 25 copies of “What are you Passionate About?”
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will use whole class instruction to give directions and help the
students understand the goals for this assignment. The teacher will introduce the pledge first, and
make sure that the teacher reads it aloud, and helps students to understand what it means. Once
the teacher passes out the sheet, the students will be on their own to sign it and pledge to treat
people with respect (individual work). Once every student has completed this, the teacher will
bring the class back, and explain why that is important and how everyone in our class should feel
safe, and respected and while it was already one of our class expectations, we have taken a
pledge to do this forever. We should always think about how our actions or words will affect
others. The teacher will move onto the next activity and discuss what he/she is passionate about:
“I believe that everyone should have the freedom of speech. This is one of our amendment rights,
isn’t that correct? But if we were to ever be told that it was no longer the case, I would do
anything to stand up for freedom of speech and if that meant going to jail, i would do it. What are
some of the things you guys are passionate about?” This question will lead into the activity.
Students will work individually to fill out the worksheet and rate how likely they would be to
stand up for it. Once students are finishing up, we will come back together as a class and discuss
some of those issues. We will also be able to see who believes in what, and why.
Assessment: Students will get points for participation for this activity. This is more to get
students thinking deeper about what people are willing to do when they are passionate about
something. We want the students to reflect on their understanding, and put it into context for
themselves, which is why there will be no grade associated with it.
Accommodations: For ELL and students with learning disabilities they should be able to
complete this assignment with little help. The teacher can read aloud the directions, if they are
having a hard time understanding the directions, and talk them through their answers as well,
prior to having them write anything down.
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Pick ten topics that you are most passionate about, this can be a global issue, or a
controversial subject. After you find ten topics, rate how likely you would be to
stand up for that topic like the children did in the march from 0 being you would
not stand up for it, to 5 being you would one-hundred percent stand up for that
issue.
What I am Passionate About 0-5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
When you finish this assignment, write a reflection about what you saw to be the
most important to you, and why. You may do this on another sheet of paper, or on
the back of the worksheet. Hold onto this, as we will be using it at a later time.
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Week Two, Day Five:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “Who was Rosa Parks, and what did she do?”
on what they believe. We will refer back to our pamphlets that the students had done earlier in
the week. This day is going to be an art day, where students will have a chance to learn more
about Rosa Parks, and the most famous bus #2857. The teacher will read aloud the book Rosa’s
Bus before recess and get the students talking more about what they would stand up for (from the
previous day).
day.
10:30-11:30 AM: The students will come back from recess and be instructed about the art project
they are going to create. We have been building a timeline of important events that have
happened during the Civil Rights Movement, as well as talked about important people. This
activity will lead us into next week where we are going to talk about protests, and what happened
during them, and how far we have come since then. Each student will get a two blank pieces of
paper, the students will draw their own bus, with the caption “Students name, bus” and Civil
Rights Movement, then they will color it, and paste it to the other blank paper. We will create a
flap on the bus, and on the inside, the students are going to be writing down the important
protests that we have covered this far, as well as another timeline on the bottom of the paper.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Finally, we will be looking at Life Expectancy for the different
races in 1940 and 1963. We will be using all of the data we collected to assess why we think the
life expectancies differ among races as well as compile the data to really gain an understanding
of what life was like for African Americans in this day and age. If we have time we will look at
current statistics among all of these factors to see how far as a nation we have come in various
areas.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Music): Students will be learning more songs from the Civil Rights
Movement, and understanding why they were important to these people.
1:45-2:30 PM: Social Studies: We are going to continue our discussion on the protests that these
people did. Today will focus on sit-ins. The teacher will read aloud Sit-In: How four friends
stood up by sitting down we will discuss different types of protests, and what ones were the most
effective- violent or nonviolent
should have at least ten entries now.
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Activity Title: Bus Stop ‘54
Purpose: Rosa Parks, and the bus protests are well known events of the Civil Rights Movement.
We want students to look at when this took place and put it into perspective of the other protests
we have been learning about. The bus is very significant, and we want students to understand
that too. The purpose of including the different events inside the bus, is to almost create a time
capsule and show how everything is connected. The timeline at the bottom of the page should
help this as well. The Civil Rights Movement is full of events that lead into one another, and it is
like a ripple effect. This is the pattern that we want students to understand at the end of the day.
We want them to understand just how one event can change the world, forever.
Overview: Students will be given two blank pieces of paper. One will be used as a backdrop and
the other will be used to create a bus. Students will fold it in half, draw the bus on the top half,
and cut it out. It should look like a bus on both sides of the folded paper. The top will be colored
and given “student, bus” and “The Civil Rights Movement”. The students will glue on the bus,
and create a timeline on the bottom of the page. The students will be asked to write out the major
events that we have been learning inside the bus, as well as on the timeline. Inside the bus
students should be including important people during this time as well. Once students are
finished, the teacher will collect them and they will go to lunch.
Materials:
● Crayons or Colored pencils
● Pens or Black markers
● Scissors
● Glue
● Classroom Timeline
● Construction paper for the background
● Top and bottom piece of the bus
● Pictures of Civil Rights leaders
Instructional Strategy: This activity is very student based. The teacher will use whole class
instruction in the beginning to give directions, but the students will be set free to work
individually. The classroom should be filled with conversation about the Civil Rights, and the
teacher can play songs from this time as well, to get students inspired. Once the students are
finished, the teacher can bring the students back, and we can discuss what we liked about the
assignment, what we didn’t, and why we put the important events inside the bus. We want
students to understand that there was a ripple effect and the bus protests were one of the first of
the ripple. The bus acts like a time capsule showing where the Civil Rights Movement started
and how far we’ve come since.
Assessment: The students will be graded on completion. We want students to understand the
patterns, and see the ripple effect. If the students completed the bus, and learned from it, then we
have accomplished our goal. The teacher will ask for silent thumbs on if they understood it, and
they can retell the pattern to a friend in their own words.
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Accommodations: For ELL and other students with learning disabilities, the teacher can pull
them into their own group so they can work together. The teacher might need to help with
spelling words, or understanding the timeline, but for the actual art piece they should be able to
complete it themselves. If the student is having a hard time writing, the teacher can allow them to
draw pictures inside the bus instead. The teacher can also allow more working time to these
students toward the end of the day, incase they did not finish.
Website Used:
https://www.pinterest.com/offsite/?token=345-550&url=https%3A%2F%2Flayers-of-
learning.com%2Fcivil-rights-bus-
craft%2F&pin=255579347591614314&client_tracking_params=CwABAAAADDI4NjU5ODM
4MjgyNwA
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Week Three, Day One:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “What were some of the protests we went over on Friday? Did they
work?”
on what they believe. Teacher will discuss our next topic, which is the Freedom Riders. We are
leading up to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his speech. We will talk about who the Freedom Riders
were, and what they believed in. Students will be asked to write down what they know about the
two unlikely friends (Jim Zwerg, and John Lewis) Then we'll talk more about what the Freedom
Riders did, and watch a short clip about it (https://youtu.be/1zBY6gkpbTg) Students will be
asked to write down important facts during the short clip to refer to during the discussion.
day. Students will be looking deeper into the Freedom Riders and we are going to be doing a
Socratic seminar after recess. The teacher will set up the desks into two circles. Also during this
time the teacher will look at the students entry ask journals to give feedback on their responses
and be sure they are getting completed.
10:30-11:30 AM: Socratic Seminar: Students sitting in the middle circle will discuss the events
we have covered so far, (Protests, Rosa Parks, Freedom Riders, Children’s March) They will talk
about which ones they thought to be most successful and why, using textual evidence, or
evidence from other projects we have done. The students on the outer circle will need to take
detailed notes (to show their listening). After about 20-30 minutes we will switch. When both
groups have gone, we will come to a class agreement, about which types of protests worked the
best, and why. Students will write this down in their journals, and reflect on how their thinking
has changed over the past few weeks about the Civil Rights Movement. This journal needs to be
turned in before they head out to lunch.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students will be working more with the protests to gain an
understanding of just how frequent these protests took place. We will be looking at how many
protests took place during the Civil Rights Movement and will compare those numbers to how
long the movement as a whole. Students will be asked to use these numbers to determine how
often protests happened during the movement. Essentially, in a month how many protests would
you expect to hear about during this period in our history.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Art): At this time, students will be finishing up their watercolor word
art that they started the week prior. If needed, students will be able to finish writing out the
quotes, otherwise they should be using the watercolor pallets to paint their pictures. Once they
are done, they will be placed on the drying rack and then they will be hung up inside of the
classroom.
1:45-2:30 PM: Science: Students will look at their plants again, they will jot down observations
about how their plants look, and draw a quick sketch. This time, students will be asked to stop
giving their plant, either water, sun, or nutrients. They will make their predictions in their science
journals, and reflect on how their plant has been growing up to this point.
2:30-2:50 PM: To wrap up: Students will be asked to write an entry in their leader journals. They
should have at least eleven entries now.
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Activity Title: Socratic Seminar
Purpose: We want to give our students a voice. They have been learning about all different types
of protests, violent ones, and nonviolent ones, and they are going to be digging deep into which
ones they believed to work the best, and have the most impact. We want our students to use
evidence from either the books and articles we have read, or the projects we have created. They
can make any claim but, they need to back it up with evidence. This activity is to get students to
think deeper about the topics we have been covering, and to provide their argument for what they
believe.
Overview: The room will be set up into two circles, the middle circle will have all the books, and
articles we have used this far in the class and students should have their projects with them in
case they want to reference those. The teacher will begin by giving the directions, and making
sure that every student understand that we will respect others thoughts and opinions and we are a
judgement free room. The teacher will point to the pledge that the students signed last week and
emphasize that everyone pledged to respect others, and treat them as individuals. The teacher
will set the timer, and lead the conversation to start by asking the question “What protests
worked the best for America?” Then the students will take the conversation and they will decide
when it stops. The students in the outer circle will be responsible for taking notes throughout the
whole time. This will show to the teacher that they were paying attention, and they can use these
notes when they get to talk. After 20-30 minutes, the groups will switch. Students in the outer
circle will be in the middle, and vice versa. The same rules apply to both groups, and the same
question will be posed to the second group. After both groups have gone, the teacher will bring
everyone together so we can come up with a class agreement about what we believed was the
best for America. Students will write this down in their journals, as well as a reflection about
how their thinking has changed since starting this unit on Civil Rights. Students will turn in their
journals before heading to lunch so the teacher can look and give feedback.
Materials:
● Students writing journals
● Books and Articles used during the last two weeks
● Student projects
Instructional Strategy: This activity is students led. The teacher uses whole class instruction to
begin the activity to give directions, and explain expectations. However, once the timer is started
and the question is thrown to the circle, the students are the ones leading it till the end. Once the
conversation is over for both groups, the teacher will bring the class together again to come up
with a class agreement, and give directions for the reflection. Then the students will be turned
loose to work individually on the reflection until lunch time.
Assessment: The students will turn in their journals before they go to lunch. The teacher will
look at them and provide feedback on their reflection and argument. The teacher will also give
notes about how that student did during the Socratic seminar. Students will be graded on a rubric
for their performance during the Socratic seminar 0-3 based on their use of evidence and their
argument.
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Accommodations: For ELL and students with learning disabilities, we can have them be in the
note taking group first so they are able to observe how it should be done. During the note taking
if the students need help, the teacher can monitor and help them with whatever they need. Then
during the argument group, they can rely on their peers for help, and the teacher can help if the
student is struggling.
Rubric for Seminar
0 1 2 3
Student did not Student helped to Student participated Student participated

participate in the look for evidence for in the conversation. the full time in the
seminar, did not another student's Rarely was the first to conversation. Student
provide evidence for argument but did not speak. Gave some provided plenty of
anyone talking, and participate evidence to their evidence to back up
did not engage in the themselves. The argument, and helped their argument, and
conversation. student made no others. helped others when
argument and only they needed it. The
participated once or student started
twice. conversations and
helped to keep others
engaged.
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Week Three, Day Two:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? What was he most known for?”
on what they believe. Today we are going to be talking a lot about Martin Luther King, Jr. We
are going to be reading a few books about him, and watch the video of him giving his “I have a
Dream” speech. We are going to do a timeline of his life, and we are going to create our own “I
have a Dream” speeches. Right now, we are going to take out our journals, and I want you to pay
attention while I read the story about his life (Free At Last! The Story of Martin Luther King,
Jr.”) The students will write down the main events of his life so we can create a timeline of his
life after recess.
day. The teacher will get the materials ready for the MLK timeline. The students will all have
their own, and then the teacher will create a class one at the same time.
10:30-11:30 AM: MLK Timeline: The students will use their notes from this morning to create a
timeline of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life. From birth to assassination, the major events should be
there. Students should equally spread out the years, and leave enough room to discuss the event.
Students can draw pictures for the events if they wish, and add color. After the students have
finished, the teacher will play the “I Have a Dream” speech, and students should be engaged, as
they will have a written assignment when it is over. (https://youtu.be/vP4iY1TtS3s)
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students will be looking at different famous speeches in the history
of our nation and analyzing how many words/how long a typical speech is expected to be. We
will use this new found knowledge when creating our own speeches to know how long ours
should be.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (PE): Students will be getting their silly’s out in normal PE. At the end
of the period, the teacher will talk to them about the protests that happened in the south, and
some of the physical things people had to do to stand their ground (Brace themselves against
water hoses, hang on to tables or chairs when being thrown out, protecting themselves from
beatings).
1:45-2:30 PM: Writing: We are going to be writing our own “I have a dream” speech about one
of those topics we pointed out last week that we were passionate about. Students will be handed
a copy of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech so they have something to base their speeches off of.
At the end of the period, students will share what they came up with, and if they are not finished,
they will have time tomorrow to work on it.
should have at least twelve entries now.
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Activity Title: “I Have a Dream”
Purpose: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most iconic speeches
of all time. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the face of Civil Rights, and the leader of the movement.
We want students to take what they have learned from the previous activities about Civil Rights,
and about the important leaders of the movement, and create their own speech for something that
they are passionate about.
Overview: Students will watch the “I Have a Dream” speech and take notes while they watch so
they can create their own. Students will be handed a copy of the speech so they have something
to reference while they are creating their own. The teacher will ask the students to pull out their
worksheet that has the things they are passionate about, and have the students pick the one they
scored the highest that they would stand up for. They will write their speech on this topic. The
students will have plenty of time to work on their writing, and if they are finished at the end of
the period, they will present their speech to the class.
Materials:
● 25 copies of MLK “I have a dream” speech
● Students writing journal
● Computer access to YouTube
● Projector
Instructional Strategy: The beginning of this lesson will be whole class instruction while the
teacher is showing the video and giving the directions and expectations. The rest of this activity
is student lead. For the most part this will be individual work, unless the students are working
together to make their speech better. But, for the first half of the time, it should be individual
work. During this time, the teacher will be conferencing with each student to take note about
what they are writing their speech on. The teacher will write this down with a comment about
what it is. The teacher will also use this time to talk to students who need more help, and pulling
a small group, if necessary.
Assessment: This speech will be turned in, when completed and posted on the board. The
students will be graded on presentation, and writing quality. Students will get a score 0-3 on their
writing. 0 meaning they didn’t do it, and 3 meaning they followed all the directions and had a
good performance. Students will also receive feedback on their performance and writing so they
know how to improve before presenting their journal entries on their leader at the end of the
week.
Accommodations: Students who need more help (ELL and students with other learning
disabilities) might be pulled to a small group so they can work together with the teacher.
Students who finish early can practice reading their speech to a friend and tweaking it to make it
sound better. If students do not finish, they will have time the following day to finish.
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“I Have a Dream” Speech-
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for
freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions
of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous
daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro
is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; one hundred
years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material
prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society
and finds himself in exile in his own land.
So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s
capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which
every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as
white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note in so far as her citizens of
color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people
a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that
the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great
vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us
upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no
time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the
time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate
valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the
quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a
reality for all of God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the
moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an
invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a
rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility
in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to
shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the worn threshold which leads
into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of
wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of
bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and
discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and
again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous
new militancy, which has engulfed the Negro community, must not lead us to a distrust of all white
people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to
realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom
is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the
pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of Civil Rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can
never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we
can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in
the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s
basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our
children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”;
we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and the Negro in New York
believes he has nothing for which to vote. No! no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied
until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you
have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for
freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.
You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned
suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go back to South Carolina. Go
back to Georgia. Go back to Louisiana. Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities,
79
knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of
despair.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still
have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of
former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the
heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom
and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not
be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama — with its vicious racists, with its Governor having his
lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama, little
black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters
and brothers.
I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made
low. The rough places will be plain and the crooked places will be made straight, “and the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to
hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the
jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brother-hood. With this faith we will be
able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for
freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day. This will be the day
when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land
of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every
mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire; let freedom ring from the
mighty mountains of New York; let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania;
let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado; let freedom ring from the curvaceous
slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia; let freedom
ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee; let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of
Mississippi. “From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village
and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of
God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able
to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God
Almighty, we are free at last.”
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World,
ed. James Melvin Washington (San Francisco: Harper, 1986), 102-106.
(http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/i-have-a-dream-speech/ )
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Rubric for speech and presentation:
0 1 2 3
Student did not Student created half Student created a Student created their
complete the of a speech, did not speech, and put much speech, with much
assignment and did put much effort into effort into making it effort and it is revised
not present it, and did not present their own, but did not and edited. The
a speech to the class present it or did not student presented
present their speech their speech to the
using expression. class using
expression.
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Week Three, Day Three:
Daily Activity
entry task. Journal entry “How are your leader journals going? What is easy about them? What is
hard?”
on what they believe. Students will have a chance to practice presenting what they have this far
for their leader journal entries. Students should channel the voice of their leader, the best they
can. We will do this for the first part of our period. The last 15 minutes students will be asked to
stand in the back of the class for a quick civil rights inspired “brain break”. Students will march
around the classroom in rythme, (1,1,1,2,3) then the students will shout “freedom” for two laps,
and “equal rights” for two laps. Then the students will march back to their seats and get ready for
recess.
day.
10:30-11:30 AM: We are going to be focusing on how we can do simple social justice actions
everyday. When the students come back from recess they will be asked to brainstorm with their
table group, what they can do this week that show social justice (like smiling at someone you
don’t normally interact with). The teacher will give them about 10-15 minutes to do this, after
that time the class will come back together and discuss what they came up with. Then the teacher
will take them on a “field trip” to the main office where they can practice these social justice
actions, and they can see the benefit of doing it. When they get back to the class, the teacher will
ask them to write a reflection about how they felt doing some of those actions and if they were
likely to do those on a normal basis.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students will come in from recess and will be introduced to the
“Martin Luther King Jr. Word Problems” worksheet. This worksheet will utilize different aspects
of Martin Luther King Jr speech and create word problems for the students to solve from them.
The teacher will briefly introduce the activity for the first five minutes and then the students will
be given the worksheet to complete. Some collaborative work is encouraged as some of the
problems may be difficult for the students. For the groups that finish, they can choose to find a
good fit book, write in their journals, or continue to do research on their civil rights activist.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Music): Students will be practicing the songs they have learned the
past few weeks.
1:45-2:30 PM: Science: Students are going to be getting ready to take their plants home. They
have had a few days of either no sunlight, no water, or no nutrients, and students will write down
their observations in their science notebook. Students will reflect on their predictions and if they
were right or wrong, and draw one last sketch.
should have at least thirteen entries now.
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Activity Title: Martin Luther King Word Problems
Purpose: Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was one of the most pivotal moments
in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King was also one of the most influential people in the
movement. Some would say he was the face behind the entire movement. By incorporating math
word problems to Dr. King’s speech and his life we are giving the students a different
perspective of the speech, still allowing them to learn facts about Mr. King, all while hitting on
math standards.
Overview: Students will be given the “Martin Luther King Word Problems” worksheet. We will
discuss the worksheet for 5 minutes touching on different aspects about the speech such as how
long the speech was, how many people heard the speech, when the speech took place, and how
long Martin Luther King Jr. lived. Students will be able to learn various aspects about the speech
and Martin Luther King Jr.’s life without even knowing it.
Materials:
● 25 copies of “Martin Luther King Word Problems”
● Pencils
● Calculators (if needed)
Instructional Strategy: Students will come in from recess and sit in their seats. We will start to
discuss Martin Luther King Jr. and discuss his speech (which we went over yesterday). Students
will be introduced to the “Martin Luther King Word Problems” worksheet and will be told that
this is a math worksheet where we will use various aspects of the “I have a dream” speech and
MLK’s life to complete some fun and unorthodox problems. The teacher will then pass out the
worksheets to each student and ask that each student work for 10 minutes alone on the worksheet
to come up with ideas about how to solve them and to actually solve them if they feel
comfortable doing so. The teacher will let the students know when time is up and when they can
move into groups to complete the assignment. The teacher will walk around and answer any
questions that pertain to the worksheet. When the students finish the worksheet they may read a
good fit book, write in their journal, or continue to do research on their chosen person of
importance.
Assessment: This worksheet will be turned in the next day at the end of the day, allowing
students who have not finished time to do so at home for homework or can continue to work on
it during tomorrow's math time. Students will be assessed on accuracy and completion. Each
problem will receive two points, one point for effort of the problem and one point for accuracy.
Accommodations: Students who need more help (ELL and students with other learning
disabilities) might be pulled to a small group so they can work together with the teacher.
Students who get done early may work on other things like reading, writing in their journal, or
researching more about their person of importance.
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84
Week Three, Day Four:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “ Out of every person we have learned about the past three weeks, who
do you think is the most influential and why?”
on what they believe. We are going to be learning a new game today, which is a variation of the
game “authors”. The teacher will have the game prepared and ready to hand out after the
discussion about the entry task. Each group will play with their table group. The point of the
game is to collect a full set of events that a leader influenced or was a part of. We will play this
game until recess.
day.
10:30-11:30 AM: Depending on where the students are in the game, we might have to spend the
beginning part of this period finishing up the game. If a table group is already finished they will
be doing SSR with an appropriate book. After every group is done, we are going to be talking
about where we are today with civil rights. The teacher will read aloud an article
(http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794). The students will listen and write in
their writing journals what they thought about the article. They will also respond to the question
in the article “If you could come up with a plan, what would it be?” “How equal is education for
blacks and whites where you live? If it works well, why? If it doesn't, how might it be fixed?”
“So what comes next? Should we be satisfied with the progress we’ve made already? Or should
Americans- black and white- work harder to to achieve the 1963 march goals on jobs, justice,
and peace?” The journals will be turned in before lunch for feedback.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Students who have not finished the “Martin Luther King Word
Problems” may do so during this time. This is a little bit tougher of an assignment so we want to
make sure every kid gets the opportunity to complete it, turn it in, and fully understand how to do
each problem. Students who have finished this assignment may read a good fit book, write in
their journals, or start putting their presentation together.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (Art): During this period of time, students will be be creating a simple
art project where they will be tracing their hand and will be writing a quote from Martin Luther
King Jr. on it. The quote that that they will be writing down is “The function of education is to
teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal
of true education.” Students will be able to decorate their hands in any way that they want.
Whether it be solid colors, smaller drawings, or completely geometric, it is all up to them. We
chose to use this quote because their motivation to learn is all in their hands and it up to them to
do what they want with the knowledge that they are getting.
1:45-2:30 PM: For this period, students will have the opportunity to finish their “I have a dream”
speeches, work on their leader journal entries, or quietly read. This is a make-up time before we
end our unit tomorrow.
2:30-2:50 PM: To wrap up: Students will be asked to write an entry in their leader journals. They
should have at least fourteen entries now.
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Activity Title: “Leaders” (a variation of the game “Authors”)
Purpose: The point of this game is to get students to think further about the things we
have learned in the past three weeks. We want our students to have a solid
understanding about who the important people were in the Civil Rights Movement, and
we want them to practice with their knowledge. What a better way, than a game!
Overview: For this game, there will be five leaders (Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks,
John Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, and Harriet Tubman.) Each leader will have four events
linked to them. The object of the game is to form complete sets of each leader. The
winner of the game is the one who has the most complete sets. Students will play this
game until someone has the most complete set of leaders. You will ask your group
members if they have a particular event. (Student A do you have the “i have a dream”
speech from the March on Washington in 1963). If the student has it then the student
must give away the card, if they do not have the card then they may say try again. Then
the student will pull from the deck in the middle. Each student will start off with two
cards. The game will go in clockwise order, and the first to go will be group member
number 1 (labeled on the back of their chairs).
Materials:
● “Leaders” deck of cards
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will use whole class instruction when giving
instructions to the whole class about the game. After the students understand the game,
the teacher will pass out the materials and set them free. The teacher will walk around
the class to be sure everyone is playing fair, and following the rules, or the teacher will
be holding their own group with students who need extra attention.
Assessment: The teacher will walk around and check off students names who are
playing the game fairly, and correctly. This is just a fun way to wrap up the unit, so the
students will be getting participation for this activity.
Accommodations: The students who need extra help (ELL and students with other
learning disabilities) can attempt to be part of their normal group, but if they need more
help than the teacher can pull them into their own group with the teacher, so that the
teacher can help them understand the cards better, and work with them through the
game.
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“Leaders”
Gave the “I Have a Was a pastor then

Dream” Speech at the dedicated his life to
March on Washington Civil Rights and being
in 1963 a public speaker
Believed in non-
Was assassinated in
violent protests and
1968
Civil disobedience
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In 1863 he have the
Emancipation Was the 16th President
Proclamation to free of the United States
all slaves
Gave the Gettysburg Was Assassinated in

address 1865
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Started the Bus Lived in Montgomery
Boycott in 1955 Alabama
Referenced as “the
Activist in the Civil
mother of the freedom
Rights Movement
movement”
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Escaped from Slavery
Freed slaves via the herself and found
Underground Railroad herself to be alone so
decided to free others
Was a leader during

Nickname was Moses slavery times to
abolish slavery.
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Week Three, Day Five:
Daily Activities
entry task. Journal entry “We are on our last day of the Civil Rights Movement, in your own
words, how has your thoughts on Civil Rights changed? Look back on your first entry, how has
your thoughts and feelings changed?”
on what they believe. During this time, we will be presenting our “I Have a Dream” Speeches,
for anyone who has not gone yet. And we will be presenting our leader journal entries. Some of
us have leaders from slavery, some of us have leaders from the Civil Rights movement. The
students should be channeling their leader, and presenting in the voice and demeanor of their
leader.
day. The teacher will set out the test that will be completed during the time before lunch.
10:30-11:30 AM: Test time. This test will cover the things we have learned the last two weeks on
Civil Rights. There will be multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer. Just like the test
they took after our slavery lessons.
11:30-12:00 PM: Lunch.
12:15-1:15 PM: Math Time: Because we are wrapping up our lesson on the Civil Rights
Movement, students will be slowly introduced into our new math unit that we will be covering.
This unit will cover various expressions and equations. During this math time students will be
doing a Kahoot so that the teacher can get a better understanding of how much they already
know about expressions and equations.
1:15-1:45 PM: Specialist (PE): Students will engage in regular PE activities.
1:45-2:30 PM: Civil Rights Bingo!
2:30-2:50 PM: To wrap up: students will be given the “pretest” again, to see how much they
have learned from the first week to the last.
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Activity Title: Civil Rights Test
Purpose: This test is to assess how much the students have learned since the beginning of the
Civil Rights Unit. This test will cover everything we have talked about since day one of Civil
Rights. This test also holds the students accountable for their learning, and to express their
learning from throughout the weeks.
Overview: There will be multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer questions. The test
will be 14 questions and will cover everything we have talked about the last two weeks. Students
will have the full period to finish the test, and they must turn it in, even if not finished, when they
leave for lunch.
Materials:
● 25 copies of the Civil Rights Test
● Pencils
Instructional Strategy: The teacher will use whole class instruction when giving the directions
and expectations during the test. The teacher will pass out the test, and let students know where
to turn in their test, and what to do after they finish. Students should be silent reading when they
finish their test, or they can work on their leader journal entries.
Assessment: This test will be graded on a right or wrong basis, and the short answer questions
will be graded based on a 0-3 rubric. 0 meaning they totally missed the mark, or did not answer
the question, and 3 being they answered every part of the question and provided evidence for
their answer.
Accommodations: Students who are ELL or other learning disabilities can take the test in a small
group in the back so the teacher can read aloud the questions, and help those students through
understanding what the question is asking. If students need more time, the teacher can allow the
students to finish the test after lunch but before the end of the day.
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Civil Rights Test-
1. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? What was his involvement in the Civil Rights
movement?
2. The children who marched in Birmingham did not want to go to jail, and avoided jail
time.
a. True
b. False
3. What year was the children’s march in Birmingham?
a. 1950
b. 1963
c. 1965
d. 1955
4. What did the radio influencer mean when he said there would be a “party in the park” on
the radio?
5. Who were the freedom riders?
6. Who was the leader that we talked about most in the freedom riders?
a. Martin Luther King, Jr.
b. John Lewis
c. Rosa Parks
d. John f. Kennedy
7. Out of the choices below, what were some of the protests we talked about in class?
a. Sit-ins
b. Marches
c. Boycotts
d. All of the above
8. In your own words, describe what civil rights means.
9. When did martin Luther King, Jr. speak his “I have a dream” speech?
a. March on Washington 1963
b. March on Washington 1965
c. March in Birmingham 1963
d. March in Birmingham 1965
10. What was the court case that ended segregation in schools?
a. King vs. board of education
b. Brown vs. board of education
c. Brown vs. united states
d. Brown vs. Alabama
11. Who was Rosa parks?
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12. What did Rosa parks do to influence the civil rights movement?
13. We talked a lot about violent and nonviolent protests. In your own words describe what
you believe to be the best form of protest, and why. Where did you see that to be
effective?
14. What were some of the social justice acts that we can do every day? Which one do you
use the most often?
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Answer Key/ Rubric
2. B
3. B
6. B
7. D
9. A
10. B
0 1 2 3
Student did not Student answered the Student answered the Student answered the
answer the question, question partially. question, but did not question, explained
or the student was Student either got part explain their thinking, their thinking, and
way off track with the of the question or did not elaborate elaborated on what
answer. correct but did not on the topic/issue. the topic or issue was.
elaborate, or did not
finish answering the
question.
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Lesson Plans:
T&L Instructional Plan Template
(Updated 4/17/15)
(edTPA Aligned)
Overview
The information included in this document is to support faculty in teaching about and supporting
students with the T&L (and edTPA) Instructional Plan. While there are many variations of lesson
plans, this format meets departmental requirements and is aligned with the 2014 edTPA as well.
Background Information (When doing the actual edTPA, leave out identifiers)
Teacher Candidate: Rachel Doran, Simon Jongekryg, Jamierin Walters, Kierstin Merritt
Date: April 16, 2018
Cooperating Teacher: Bringhurst Grade: 6th
School District:Pullman School District School: Jefferson Elementary School
University Supervisor: Lori White
Unit/Subject: Civil Rights Movement
Instructional Plan Title/Focus: Diary of a Civil Rights Leader.
Section 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment
a. Instructional Plan Purpose:

We will start our Civil Rights movement by picking an important leader during these
times to “portray” over the next 3 weeks. Students will be asked to create journal entries as the
person they choose, as we explore the major events that happened during this time. Students are
able to directly relate to the person that they chose and connect them to the major events that we
are covering as we unfold slavery and Civil Rights. This allows the students to understand the
main leaders during this time at a deeper level, and they are able to practice using different voice
and expression. This is the first activity of our three week long unit. Students will sign up for a
leader, and they will create a diary of at least fifteen entries during this unit. Tomorrow we will
begin talking about slavery, but students will be researching their leader during this time.
1. State/National Learning Standards:
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Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1-3 above.)
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
2. Content Objectives and alignment to State Learning Standards:
1. SWBAT… Create a diary about a specific civil rights leader using specific details about their
life
Aligned Standard:
2. SWBAT… Identify major events that their leader was a part of

Aligned Standard:
3. SWBAT… use different types of narrative techniques to develop the civil rights leader
Aligned Standard:
4. SWBAT… organize journal entries in a clear and appropriate way
Aligned Standard:
5. SWBAT… develop journal entries over the course of three weeks
Aligned standard:
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Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Language Objectives:
1. SWBAT… use precise words and phrases that the civil rights leader were to use
Aligned standard:
1. Previous Learning Experiences: Teacher candidates should explain what students know
and have learned that is relevant to the current lesson topic and process.
e. Planning for Student Learning Needs(accommodations, student experiences, prior learning

and experiences):
For this lesson, there are plenty of opportunities for students to seek help if needed. For my
students who are ELL or have other learning disabilities the teacher will help them one on one or
in a small group after modeling what is expected and after the students are turned loose to write.
The teacher will work with these students to determine the leader that they picked, as well as any
information they already know about him/her. For students with learning disabilities, the teacher
might have the students tell aloud what they know, or what they want to write before physically
writing it down in their journal. This way the student knows exactly what he/she wants to say
before being asked to write. The teacher may also have the students conduct their journal entries
in a different way, such as: word processor, native language, or other forms of communication.
The teacher can also give extended time to complete the assignment if that is necessary for the
student. Students should have had exposure to many of the main civil rights leaders (Martin
Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks) but there are plenty that they have not heard of. Because of this, it
will be encouraged for students to pick someone they have not heard of before so that they are
gaining the most information from the assignment.
f. Assessment Strategies(Informal and formal)
Content/Language Objectives Assessment Strategies
1. SWBAT… Create a diary about a Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

specific civil rights leader using collected during week two, to be sure that
specific details about their life the student has the minimum amount of
journal entries and has been following all
directions. Teacher will give feedback on
what they have so far.
Formal/Summative: journals will be
collected at the end of the three weeks, and
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checked off (based on the rubric attached
below) if they have used specific details and
identified a civil rights leader
2. SWBAT… Identify major events that Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

their leader was a part of collected during week two, to be sure that
the student has the minimum amount of
what they have so far. Formal/Summative:
journals will be collected at the end of the
three weeks, and checked off (based on the
rubric attached below) if they have
identified major events that their leader was
a part of.
3. SWBAT… use different types of Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

narrative techniques to develop the collected during week two, to be sure that
civil rights leader the student has the minimum amount of
Journals will be collected at the end of the
three weeks and will be checked off (based
on the rubric attached below) on if they
have used different narrative techniques to
further develop their leader.
4. SWBAT… organize journal entries Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

in a clear and appropriate way collected during week two, to be sure that
have organized their diary in a way that is
clear and appropriate for their civil rights
leader.
5. SWBAT… develop journal entries Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

over the course of three weeks collected during week two, to be sure that
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have completed at least fifteen entries for
their civil rights leader.
1. SWBAT… use precise words and Informal/ Formative: Journals will be

phrases that the civil rights leader collected during week two, to be sure that
were to use the student has the minimum amount of
three weeks, and checked off (based on the
rubric attached below) on if they have used
words or phrases that their leader were to
use
g. Student Voice:
Student-based evidence to be Description of how
K-12 students will be able collected (things produced by students will reflect on
to: students: journals, exit slips, their learning.
self-assessments, work
samples, projects, papers,
etc.)
1. Explain student learning Journal- students will show Students are reflecting
targets and what is required they have understood the on their learning by
to meet them (including why learning targets and why they completing the three
they are important to learn). are important in their journal week’s worth of journal
entries over the course of entries and presenting
three weeks. on what they have come
up with.
2. Monitor their own Checklist- students will be At the halfway mark, and
learning progress toward the handed a checklist (attached the end, students will be
learning targets using the below) that they can asked to reflect on how
tools provided (checklists, reference throughout the they are doing before the
rubrics, etc.). three weeks to be sure they journals are graded.
are including everything they Students will discuss
need to, in their journal what they think is going
entries. well, and what they need
100
to improve on. They will
do this twice, before
turning them in.
3. Explain how to access Research- When the students students should be able
resources and additional turn in their journals, to explain where they
support when needed (and students will also turn in can find information
how/why those resources their research materials (any about civil rights leaders
will help them). notes they took, any (print and online) and
printouts, articles ect) so that how they supported
the teacher can see how the them during their
student accessed resources journal entries
and help.
h. Grouping of Students for Instruction:

For this assignment, it is mostly individual. Students are grouped in their everyday table
groups with a mixture of strong and weak readers (ELL and other learning disabilities)
this is so those students have support within their group so they can participate rather than
continually being pulled away during work time. Strong readers and writers are able to
model to the weaker readers and writers and support them if need be. For this particular
assignment, while it is individual, there are opportunities for students to conference with
other students (especially those who have leaders in the same time as their own) to figure
out how to better their journal entries. This allows students to collaborate with their
classmates, and better their entries at the same time.
Section 2: Instruction and Engaging Students in Learning
1. Introduction:
We are going to be starting our new unit over slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.
This is currently black history month, and we all know we celebrate MLK day. Who can tell me
who that is? (student will respond Martin Luther King, Jr.) Good. When you all came in today,
we signed up for a leader during the Civil Rights Movement. We are going to be creating a
journal or diary for this leader over the next three weeks and we are going to include all the
details and events that your leader attended.
b. Questions:
1. When we create a diary or journal, would we put today’s date? (Analysis)
2. What are the different types of narrative techniques that we should be using in our
journals? (Analysis)
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3. How can we find more information about our leader? (Analysis)
4. If we have three weeks for our unit, what is the minimum number of entries we should
have in our journal if we write once every day? (Analysis)
5. How should you organize your journal to best reflect your leader? (Analysis)
1. Learning Activities:
Learning Steps and Activities Supporting Theories/Principles
(Why are you doing what you are
doing?)
Transition from introduction to Constructivism (Vygotsky, Piaget,

directions for the assignment: Wertsch, John-Steiner, Mahn):
“Now that we know who our leader is, This theory works the best because the
please raise your hand if you have ever teacher is allowing students to pick
heard of your leader?” (some students leaders for whom they may not know,
might raise their hand) “if you do not therefore they are interacting with new
know your leader, then you will be concepts and people and will have the
learning even more than others!” I am opportunity to channel the new learning
going to pass out a journal to each of in journal entries every day.
you, and I want you to begin by writing
your name, and your leaders name on
the inside cover”
“We are going to take the next fifteen to Constructivism (Vygotsky, Piaget,
twenty minutes working on our first entry Wertsch, John-Steiner, Mahn):
in our journals. Who can remind me what The students can work together during
date we would put in the corner of the this part to bounce ideas off each other,
page, do we put today’s date?” (Student to create their first entry. Students who
will respond with no, a date from that do not know their leader can benefit
leaders life) greatly from this time.
Students will begin researching and
working in their journals.
Teacher will notify the students when Importance of Language (Vygotsky):

they have five more minutes to work, and Students might have problems that
will bring the class back together before arise while working. During this
they go to recess. “What do you guys reflection time we can talk as a class
think about this assignment so far? Do about ways to overcome those issues
you think you can keep up with it for and how we can keep up with this
fifteen days?” (students will respond with assignment for 15 days.
yes, and some might say it is easy, and
others might say it is hard) “I want you
guys to put this in your desks, or on the
back table. We are going to be writing an
entry every day.”
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1. Closure:
Teacher will notify the students when they have five more minutes to work, and will
bring the class back together before they go to recess. “What do you guys think about this
assignment so far? Do you think you can keep up with it for fifteen days?” (students will respond
with yes, and some might say it is easy, and others might say it is hard)
1. Independent Practice:
Students are able to extend their thinking and experiences outside of the classroom, and
in different areas because they are learning how to research and find key details. Students can
use research in all content areas, and they will be able to decide what is important over that is
not. Students can involve family members because they can show their work from this
assignment, and teach their family about what they have learned after fifteen days of channeling
a new person/leader. Students can practice their presentations with their families to prepare
before presenting to the class. This is going to be a good learning experience for students and
they can take the skills they are learning through this activity with them to other content areas,
and later on in their schooling career.
1. Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:

● 25 journals
● 25 copies of “diary of a civil rights leader” checklist
● Chromebooks
● Classroom library full of books on civil rights leaders
e. Acknowledgements:
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/
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Rubric for journals :
0 1 2 3
Student did not Student identified a Student identified a Student identified a

have any journal leader leader leader
entries Student has a few Student has fifteen Student has more
journal entries journal entries than fifteen journal
Student did not Student organized entries
organize their their journal in a Student organized
journal in a clear clear way, but their journal in a
way maybe not clear and
Student did not use appropriate to their appropriate way for
narrative techniques leader their leader
to help develop Student used one or Student used many
their leader two narrative narrative techniques
Student has one techniques to develop their
event for their Student has one or leader
leader two events for their Student has plenty
Student has one or leader of details about
two details on their Student has many their leader.
leader details about their Student has used
Used one phrase or leader many words and
word that the leader Used a few words phrases that their
would use or phrases that their leader would use.
leader would use
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Checklist for “Diary of a Civil Rights Leader”
★ I have identified a Civil Rights Leader
★ I have at least fifteen journal entries
★ I have identified major events that my leader was a part of
★ I have used many different narrative techniques to develop my leader
★ I have organized my journal in a clear and appropriate way
★ I have used words and phrases that my leader would use
105
(Updated 4/17/15)
(edTPA Aligned)
Overview
Teacher Candidate: Rachel Doran, Simon Jongekryg, Jamierin Walters, Kierstin Merritt Date:
16 April 2018
Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Bringhurst Grade:6th
School District: Pullman School District School: Jefferson Elementary School
Unit/Subject: Civil Rights Movement/ Art
Instructional Plan Title/Focus:Bus Stop ‘54/Civil Rights Timeline
Over the course of the two week section based around the Civil Rights Movement, students have
been writing down important moments during this movement. The purpose of this lesson is to
condense all of the significant events into one timeline that they would be able to see how and
when these events occurred over the course of the movement. Through this activity, they will be
placing these events underneath a bus that they will be coloring in. We chose to use a bus
because Rosa Parks and the bus protests are well known events of the Civil Rights Movement.
We want students to understand how everything is connected because inside of the bus they will
be putting significant figures inside of it. The Civil Rights Movement is full of events that lead
into one another, like a ripple effect. This sis the pattern that we want students to understand by
the end of the day. We want them to understand just how one event can change the world,
forever.
The lesson topic that was taught before this was based around a Birmingham Pledge and what
the students are passionate about. The students sign the pledge and then identify six things they
are passionate about and how likely they are t stand up for it. The lesson topic that will be
coming after this is based around the Freedom Writers and will be having a Socratic Seminar
based around the events we had covered so far.
1. State/National Learning Standards:
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comprehension.
1. Content Objectives:
1. SWBAT… create a bus and timeline diagram that outlines the important events
That happened during the civil rights movement.
2. SWBAT… organize the significant events by the dates that it occurred.
3. SWBAT… select three important figures of the Civil Rights Movement to be placed
inside of the bus craft.
4. SWBAT… write three facts about the Civil Rights.
Aligned standard:
comprehension.
1. SWBAT… use exact words (vocabulary) when writing about specific events from the Civil
Rights Movement.
Aligned standard:
Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to
convey experiences and events.
1. Previous Learning Experiences:
Prior to this lesson, students have been learning about important events during the Civil
Rights Movement and important figures. Students should have already had prior knowledge
about Martin Luther King Jr. and hopefully Rosa Parks before entering the sixth grade. Students
should at least know who they are and what they are known for before we dive into this unit as a
whole.
107
e. Planning for Student Learning Needs:
For ELL and other students with learning disabilities, the teacher can put them at the
small group table so the teacher can go through the assignment step by step with them when
needed. The teacher would help them with spelling words and writing out the actual timeline. If a
student is having a difficult time with writing, then they can draw images instead of writing three
facts about the Civil RIghts Movement. The teacher can also allow more time to finish the bus
craft at the end of the day if they were unable to finish. If students are done before the rest, then
they can write down more than three facts about the Civil RIghts Movement.
f. Assessment Strategies:
SWBAT… create a bus and timeline Formative: The assignment is graded for
diagram that outlines the important completion, so we will be collecting it at the
events that happened during the civil end and just look through them to make sure
rights movement. it is completed. We will be checking to
make sure the timeline and facts are present.
SWBAT… organize the significant Formative: When the bus crafts are
events by the dates that it occurred. collected, we will just look to see to make
sure that the dates are in order.
SWBAT… select three important Formative: Since students will be choosing

figures of the Civil RIghts Movement from premade pictures of influential Civil
to be placed inside of the bus craft. Rights Movement leaders, we will be
checking to see if there are three different
leaders pasted.
SWBAT… write three facts about the Formative: We will just check to see that
Civil Rights. there are three facts present, again we are
just grading on completion.
SWBAT… use exact words Formative: When we collect the bus crafts,
(vocabulary) when writing about we will check for the use of vocabulary
specific events from the Civil Rights words when they write both the facts and
Movement. events.
g. Student Voice: Student voice is a term used to describe students expressing their
understanding of their own learning process. For your lesson, respond to the three
required components of student voice and identify how students will reflect and/or
108
communicate on their learning or progress toward meeting the goals. (Use the
following table.)
Student-based evidence to be Description of how
K-12 students will be able collected (things produced by students will reflect on
to: students: journals, exit slips, their learning.
self-assessments, work
samples, projects, papers,
etc.)
1. Explain student learning Bullseye- students will be creating

targets and what is required a bullseye and will
to meet them (including why writing one thing that
they are important to learn). they think they did well,
something they need to
work on, and something
that could be changed
about the craft.
2. Monitor their own Show of Thumbs-. Students will be

learning progress toward the asked to put up their
learning targets using the thumb to represent
tools provided (checklists, what they have
rubrics, etc.). learned. Thumbs up
would be if they
completely
understood the craft,
sideways would be if
they were a little
confused but still got
it, and thumbs down
would be that they did
not understand it at
all.
3. Explain how to access Extra websites- through this Through this craft. We
resources and additional craft. We will be including will be including leaders
support when needed (and leaders and events that they and events that they
how/why those resources might have not learned about might have not learned
will help them). yet about yet. We will be
providing them with
links to the websites or
we may have them find
more information on
their own.
109
At the beginning of this lesson, the teacher will use whole-class instruction in the
beginning to give step by step directions. After the instructions have been communicated to the
class, students will work individually to create their bus crafts. However, the classroom should
be filled with conversation about the Civil Rights Movement. We also understand that even
though we may say that they should work individually, students may end up working as their
table groups to complete the assignment.
1. Introduction:
“Welcome back sixth graders! I hope you a had an amazing recess! Today we
are going to make a bus timeline of all the events that we had covered so far
on this journey through the Civil Rights Movement. Can someone tell me an
exact date for an event that happened during this movement? Awesome! Can
someone tell me a fact about the movement? What about an important leader
from this time? These are some amazing answers and we will be doing just
that with this craft!”
b. Questions:
● Which important leaders are you including inside of your bus? (Knowledge)
● Can you explain what happened during _____ (one of the events they put on the
timeline)? (Comprehension)
● What facts would you write down to show your understanding of the Civil Rights
Movement so far? (Application)
● How are these events connected to the leaders that you glued onto the craft? (Analysis)
● Do you agree with the outcome of _____ (one of the events they put on the timeline)?
(Evaluation)
1. Learning Activities:
)
(Why are you doing what you are
doing?)
Example: Transition from introduction Supports multiple means of

by asking students to look at “inputs” engagement, and allowing students to
and in pairs, create a list of additional generate their own inputs from
community assets/contributions (inputs) experience; is more culturally
for social change diagram. Circulate responsive than teacher generated ideas
only.
110
around groups to observe students’
progress.
Transitioning from the introduction “Each

of you will be getting three different sheets This part of the activity is supported by
of paper. One piece will have the bottom Piaget’s concept of Schema because
of the bus and the timeline and another this craft will allow students to piece
sheet will be the top of the bus. The last together what they have been learning
piece of paper will have pictures of about the Civil Rights Movement so far.
important leaders.” This allows them to see the movement
condensed into dates on a timeline
which is building upon their existing
knowledge.
“When you get your sheets, you will want This is supported by Bandura’s
to first color the bus before you cut it out.” concept of observational learning
*colors the bus and then starts to cut around because the students are watching the
the bus. Then brings out a pre-cut bus. * teacher as s/he cuts out the bus as an
“Once you cut out your bus, you are going to example. By watching the teacher,
want to choose four of the leaders to out in students are able to see what is
your bus. You will first want to cut along the expected of them and what they need
windows like this to make flaps.” *Cuts the to do. They know what they need to do
windows to make flaps. * “Once the flaps step by step.
are cut, you can either tape or glue your
leaders to the back of the bus like this.”
*glues a picture on the back. *
“Next, you will write down three facts on This is supported by Vygotsky’s
the other piece of paper. Can someone give Importance of Language because
me a fact about the Civil Rights students are having the opportunity to
Movement?” *Calls on two to three students talk through what is being asked of
to give facts and writes them down. * them at this time. Students are able to
present facts about the movement that
they might have learned through the
books read, websites visited, etc. This
is primarily done as an entire class.
“On the timeline, you will be writing down This is supported by Vygotsky’s
important dates that happened during this Importance of Language also because
movement. Can someone give me an they have the opportunity to once more
important event that happened during the have that discussion about important
111
Civil Rights Movement?” *Calls on two to events that happened during this time
three students to give events to write down period. Also by having students
onto the timeline. As they give dates, we elaborate on what happened during the
would ask them what happened during that events they say, they are working on
event and if they do not remember, we their language skills.
would call on another student. *
“Now that you know what is required of These students are actively
you, you can get started on the craft! Each constructing their own knowledge
one of you will need to create your own bus because they are the ones creating
and make sure the conversation is on the the craft on their own. They are able to
Civil Rights Movement. Feel free to ask choose which pictures to choose, what
your peers for help or if they have facts or facts to write, and what events to write
events that you don’t have.” *As students down onto their timeline. They are
work on the craft, we will walk around to pulling from what they know and what
listen to their conversations and ask the their peers know also.
questions outlined. *
They are also building their knowledge
via the social interactions when they
are set free to do the craft because
they are asking peers for events that
they might have missed. Or they may
be the ones giving the events to their
peers. The conversations happening
should be focused on the Civil Rights
Movement.
(Add rows as needed)
1. Closure:
“Is everyone done with their bus crafts? What were some things that you liked about this
activity? What were some things that you want to have changed? What were some fun facts that
you put inside of the bus? What were some things that you learned by putting the events we
talked about on a timeline?”
1. Independent Practice:
After the day ends, the students will be getting the bus crafts back to take home to share
with their family. They will be required to add one more fact about the Civil Rights Movement
but this this fact will be what they parents/guardians know. It also cannot be what is already
written down inside of the bus.
112
1. Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:
● Crayons or Colored pencils

● Pens or Black markers
● Scissors
● Glue
● Classroom Timeline
● Construction paper for the background
● Top and bottom piece of the bus (will be provided below)
● Pictures of Civil Rights leaders (will be provided below)
113
114
115
Pictures of Civil Rights leaders
116
e. Acknowledgements:
https://layers-of-learning.com/civil-rights-bus-craft/
https://layers-of-learning.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Civil-Rights-Bus.pdf
https://www.biography.com/.image/t_share/MTE1ODA0OTcxNzQ5Mzc3NTQ5/rosa-
parks-9433715-1-402.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Thurgood-marshall-2.jpg
https://encrypted-
tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_xrFuIz9mgMqEnxKQff3xeqv25BP7rY4oIIvntJ
hipJSRkapl
https://readthespirit-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/interfaith-peacemakers/wp-
content/uploads/sites/25/2014/02/John_Lewis_1964-04-16.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/A._Philip_Randolph_1963_
NYWTS.jpg/220px-A._Philip_Randolph_1963_NYWTS.jpg
117
(Updated 4/17/15)
(edTPA Aligned)
Overview
Teacher Candidate: Kierstin Merritt, Jamierin Walters, Rachel Doran, Simon Jongekryg Date:
20 April 2018
Cooperating Teacher: Barbara Ward Grade: 6th
School District: Pullman School District School:
Unit/Subject: Civil Rights Movement/Reading
Instructional Plan Title/Focus: Socratic Seminar/ Civil Rights Discussion
This lesson will help students understand the Civil Rights Movement through their peer’s
opinion and help cement their own. Students will be holding a Socratic Seminar, in which half of
the class sits in the middle and discusses what they feel is appropriate for the theme of the
meeting. The outer circle will be silent during this time but taking notes on whatever the inner
circle says. After around 20-30 minutes of discussion, the circles will switch and a new meeting
will begin. This is important in the educational world because it creates a student-led
environment and holds the students accountable for their education. It is also applicable in the
real world because students will discuss controversial as well as ordinary topics with others and
have to be able to let other people discuss their opinion. In lessons leading up to this seminar,
students have been learning about different leaders in the Civil Rights Movement as well as their
actions (protests).We have also talked about the Birmingham Pledge which states that we will
respect each other as individuals and give people time to state their opinions. After this lesson,
students will be discussing speeches that Movement leaders have given and the impact those
speeches had on the Movement and the Country.
b. State/National Learning Standards: Teacher candidates identify relevant grade level

concepts/content and align them to Content Standards—Common Core Standards or
Washington State EALRs, or National.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.A
118
Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; 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.6.1.B
Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and define individual
roles as needed.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.C
Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that
contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.B
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other
information and examples
c. Content Objectives (to be copied in Assessment Chart below) and alignment to State
Learning Standards:
● SWBAT elaborate on their knowledge of Civil Rights Leaders and actions

○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.A
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.2.B
● SWBAT produce effective questions and responses.
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.C
● SWBAT communicate effectively within a group
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.B
● SWBAT talk with their peers about different Civil Rights Leaders and their
actions during a discussion
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.A
● SWBAT ask questions based off of their peer’s response.
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.C
● SWBAT talk and listen to their peers respectfully.
○ CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.B
d. Previous Learning Experiences

This lesson is set in the middle-end of our Civil Rights Movement unit. Before this
students should have learned the main leaders of the Civil Rights Movement as well
as what made them a leader. Students should also have learned what a Socratic
Seminar is and how to act when you are in either circle (outer circle takes notes, inner
circle talks and listens respectfully to peers while also asking questions to further the
conversation).
119
e. Planning for Student Learning Needs (accommodations, student experiences, prior
learning and experiences):
For ELL students, bilingual dictionaries will be present to help with any vocabulary
issues they might be having. Because half of the class will be in the inner circle with the outer
circle close behind, sight adjustments need not be made because visual aids will not really be
included. If a book or picture is being cited, we will put it on the projector for everyone to see. If
we have to make hearing adjustments, students will be asked to repeat and if what was said was
still not heard then what was said will be written on the board. For students who are not verbal,
we will have them write down anything they wish to say or have them respond to yes/no
questions aimed to probe their thoughts, such as “Was what this leader did good for the
movement?” If students need help at any time, a teacher will step in to assist and then give the
discussion back to the students.
f. Assessment Strategies (Informal and formal)

● SWBAT elaborate on their Formative: Students will be assessed on their
knowledge of Civil Rights participation within the seminar by getting a checkmark
Leaders and actions next to their name on a piece of scratch paper. They will
also be assessed when they turn in their journals on the
notes they took while observing the other group’s
discussion
● SWBAT produce effective Formative: Students will be assessed on their
questions and responses. participation during the discussion. If they are actively
listening, questions will come to mind to ask others.
Students will get a checkmark next to their name on a
piece of scratch paper for asking and responding to
questions.
● SWBAT communicate Formative: Students will be assessed on how well they
effectively within a group are respectful to their peers during the discussion. They
will be monitored by the Teachers and reminded if they
are valuing others opinions.
● SWBAT talk with their Formative: Students will be assessed on their
peers about different Civil participation within the seminar by getting a checkmark
Rights Leaders and their next to their name on a piece of scratch paper.
actions during a discussion
● SWBAT ask questions Formative: Students will be assessed on their
based off of their peer’s participation during the discussion. If they are actively
response. listening, questions will come to mind to ask others.
Students will get a checkmark next to their name on a
120
piece of scratch paper for asking and responding to
questions.
● SWBAT talk and listen to Formative: Students will be assessed on how well they
their peers respectfully. are respectful to their peers during the discussion. They
will be monitored by the Teachers and reminded if they
are valuing others opinions.
g. Student Voice
Student-based evidence to be Description of how students
K-12 students will be able to: collected (things produced by will reflect on their learning.
students: journals, exit slips, self-
assessments, work samples,
projects, papers, etc.)
1. Explain student learning targets Journal Students write in their
and what is required to meet them journals what they’ve
(including why they are important learned from the discussion
to learn). and why it’s important
2. Monitor their own learning Checklist Students will complete a

progress toward the learning checklist asking if they have
targets using the tools provided asked a question and
(checklists, rubrics, etc.). responded to someone
thoughtfully. If they see they
haven’t, then it will remind
them to complete the
checklist.
3. Explain how to access Seminar Students will rely on others
resources and additional support to drive the conversation and
when needed (and how/why those learn from their peers.
resources will help them).

Students will be numbered off (1 or 2). Then the 1’s will move their desks to form a circle in the
middle of the room while 2’s move their desks to be around them in order to listen. We will also
be sitting around students monitoring their learning. This is how a socratic seminar works and
also how it is done most effectively.
a. Introduction:
“Alright now since we have been learning about different Civil Rights leaders and their
actions, we are going to give you all the roles of being teacher to one another! After we number
121
you off, we would like you to move your desks into 2 circles with one circle inside the other.
Then you all are going to lead the discussion!”
b. Questions:
1. Why was each leader was important *recognize*? (Knowledge)

2. Explain how a leader’s choice impacted the movement. (Understand)
3. Relate a Civil Rights Leader’s choice to the impact it had among people. (Apply)
4. Compare how Civil Rights would have been without the leader. (Analyze)
5. Criticize a classmates thought on a leader. How are your thoughts different? (Evaluate)
o Learning Activities:
(Why are you doing what you are doing?)
Example: Transition from introduction by asking Supports multiple means of engagement, and
students to look at “inputs” and in pairs, create a allowing students to generate their own inputs
list of additional community assets/contributions from experience; is more culturally responsive
(inputs) for social change diagram. Circulate than teacher generated ideas only.
around groups to observe students’ progress.
1. I will transition from the introduction by Allows students to show evidence for thoughts,
saying “Now that we are in our groups, I foreshadows first/second student voice
want you all to get out any resources you
might need to back your thoughts. I want
the outer group to take out your journals to
write notes in about what the inner circle is
talking about. We will be switching groups
so everyone will have a chance to talk and
at the end of our seminar you are going to
be turning in your journals to me. I’ll make
sure to give them back so you can keep
making observations about this unit.”
(Students will take out any resources they
might need to prepare for the seminar) “I
am also going to be handing out a checklist
for people in the inner circle to complete.
This is so that you can remember to be an
active learner during this meeting. I will
also be collecting these with your
journals.”
2. “You all are going to be talking about Reminds students of previous learning and sets
different parts of the movement but I expectations for discussion, promotes student-
would like to get you started. If you have led learning, multiple means of engagement
any questions, make sure to be respectful through conversation and notetaking, begins
to your peers and wait for a good time to with third student voice
ask it. This ties into our Birmingham
Pledge so make sure you keep your
122
promise. The first question I would like to
ask you would be: Which was the more
effective peaceful protest: sit-ins at
restaurants or boycotting buses?” (Students
will then begin a conversation with
responses such as sit-ins because they
demanded respect or boycotts because it
showed how important Black lives were
and still are)
3. Students will be leading conversation but if Promotes Student-led learning, multiple means
the talking comes to a stop I will ask them of engagement through conversation and
another question along the lines of “Who notetaking
was a more influential leader: Rosa Parks
or John Lewis?” Responses could be along
the lines of Rosa Parks because she wasn’t
afraid to start the bus boycott or John
Lewis because he became an educated man
now in politics
4. After the conversation has gone on for Promotes student-led learning, multiple means
about 20 minutes, I will tell the groups to of engagement through conversation and
switch: “Because group 1 has been talking notetaking
this entire time, let’s give them a break.
Group 2 please switch places with
someone in the middle and bring anything
you need to speak. Group 1 go ahead and
get your journals out to take notes on.
Group 2 I’ll pose the same questions to you
that Group 1 had: Which was the more
effective peaceful protest: sit-ins at
restaurants or boycotting buses?”
5. Now that we’ve all discussed more about the Multiple means of engagement through
Civil Rights movement, I’d like for all of you to conversation and journal writing, signals for
go back to your desks so we can discuss one more first/second student voice
question: What do you think worked out the best
for the Civil Rights Movement?” Students could
respond with things like peaceful protest,
influential leaders, violent leaders, etc. “Now that
we’ve discussed our thoughts on that I’d like for
you all to write a reflection in your journals about
how your thoughts have changed from the
beginning of this discussion and of this unit. Make
sure that you also place your checklist in your
journal.”
(Add rows as needed)
123
b. Closure:
I will end the lesson by saying “We’ve gotten to talk about some very influential people
and ways of protest throughout this seminar. What was your favorite item of discussion?”
(call on 1-2 students) “I’m very happy with how you all participated openly in the discussion
and remembered to respect your peers’ ideas. It’s important that you all took away something
from this discussion. One famous saying is that we have to learn about history in order to
never repeat history. By learning about this topic in are class, we are making sure we don’t
repeat this event in time.”
c. Independent Practice:
Students will extend thinking by reflecting on events and influential people in their lives right
now. We would also ask that students ask their parents’ influential models because there
would be a time gap after the Civil Rights Movement where their parents lived during.
d. Instructional Materials, Resources, and Technology:
124
Student Voice Checklist:
___I have asked at least one question during this discussion
___ I have responded to at least 2 questions during this discussion
125
Example of Speaking/Listening/Writing Assessment:
126

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1

Rachel Doran, Simon Jongekryg, Jamierin Walters & Kierstin Merritt

Rationale and Purpose | 4

Week 1 (Slavery, when did it start? Why did it end?)

Week 2 (Civil Rights, what would you fight for?)

Week 3 (Civil Rights, what is your dream?)

Lesson Plan #1 (Week One, Day One) | 96

Purpose and Rationale:

Social Studies Standards:

Speaking and Listening Standards:

Physical Education Standards:

Day Main Ideas Goals

Teacher Goals: To help students to understand the

Teacher Goals: to help students relate to the children in

Teacher Goals: Help students to understand the

Teacher Goals: To help students understand protests.

important to student’s understanding of their own learning, and it provides evidence to

not understanding something or if they need more help.

Freedom in Congo Square written by Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by R. Gregory

Harriet Tubman by Maryann N. Weidt

People We Should Know: Rosa Parks written by Jonatha A. Brown

The Children’s March: A Film by Hudson & Huston

1. Who was Abraham Lincoln?

2. How long was slavery legal in the United States?

3. Who comes to mind when you hear Civil Rights?

4. When did the Civil War start? When did it end?

5. What was the Civil War about?

6. Who gave the “I have a dream” speech?

7. Name an important leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

8. Name a leader during times of slavery.

9. What is meant by the term, “freedom”?

11. What does equality mean to you?

What Does Freedom

Juba This, Juba That

-Salted pork: 212 calories -Pickled pork: 58 calories

Juba This, Juba That

-Salted pork: 212 calories -Pickled pork: 58 calories

He did not eat enough calories because he ate 1,422 calories.

He did not eat enough calories because he had 2,236 calories.

1. When did the battle of Gettysburg happen?

8. How was Sojourner truth a part of the abolishment of slavery?

9. What was Tom Paine’s role in slavery?

Organization Student uses a Student uses Student uses

Website Used: https://www.shmoop.com/civil-rights-desegregation/statistics.html

4. Percentage of Home Ownership: 1940 and 1960

5. Life Expectancy 1940 and 1963

20. What did the kids do in jail?

Rubric for Seminar

Student did not Student helped to Student participated Student participated

Gave the “I Have a Was a pastor then

Gave the Gettysburg Was Assassinated in

Was a leader during

5. Who were the freedom riders?

Section 1: Planning for Instruction and Assessment

a. Instructional Plan Purpose:

1. State/National Learning Standards:

2. Content Objectives and alignment to State Learning Standards:

2. SWBAT… Identify major events that their leader was a part of

4. SWBAT… organize journal entries in a clear and appropriate way

5. SWBAT… develop journal entries over the course of three weeks

e. Planning for Student Learning Needs(accommodations, student experiences, prior learning

f. Assessment Strategies(Informal and formal)

Content/Language Objectives Assessment Strategies

1. Why was each leader was important recognize? (Knowledge)