Confrontations of the Civil Rights Movement

Grade Level(s):  7, 8, 9

Subject(s):       Social Studies
                       Science
                       Vocational/Technical

Learner Outcomes: 
1.   Students will be able to, through verbal and written expression, identify several important confrontations that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.
2.    Students will be able to cite the importance of each confrontation in the Civil Rights Movement and how they may have affected the progression of the movement.

Duration of Lesson:  1-2  50 minute periods

Materials:


Technology Tools/Courseware:   Computer, Microsoft Word, Video, TV, VCR, Video, Internet access, Encyclopedia CD

Teacher Notes:

Students will be given a scenario and will be asked to plan a strategy based on the Civil Rights strategist to change the scenario to benefit everyone involved.

Discuss arrest and physical harm to help the students gain a deeper appreciation of the difficulties and hardships that African Americans went through.

Using teacher notes discuss confrontations that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement.  The confrontations to be discussed include the Freedom Rides, and the Birmingham Confrontations.  Students will copy notes and place in their notebook or binder.

Using teacher notes discuss the events that lead up to the passing of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Included in this discussion will be the March on Washington, the Sixteenth Street Church Bombing and the Selma March.
 

Procedures:

1.  Divide students into groups of 5 or less.
2.  Pass out copy of scenario.
3.  Students brainstorm to develop strategies and convincing arguments to allow African American customers into the skating rink.  Allow each group fifteen minutes.
4.  Each group will present to the class their strategies and arguments for class discussion.
5. Show the video segment from "A Time for Justice" on confrontations during the Civil Rights Movement.

Modifications:

Students with special needs will be assisted by a Special Education teacher or aide.  Modifications to lesson plan will be made according to students in each class.

Enrichment Activities:

Researching the internet or encyclopedia CD, students will write a one-to-two page paper on Martin Luther King, Jr's contribution to the passing of the Civil Rights Act.

Evaluation/Assessment:

Each student is to pick a confrontation that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement. Students will research the confrontation they chose and write a one-to-three page paper on the importance of the confrontation in encouraging equality in the Civil Rights Movement.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:
Science:    7.5,7.13,7.17,7.19,8.13,8.17,8.19, 9.5,9.8
Social Studies:    7.5, 7.19, 7.32, 7.33, 7.45, 7.50, 7.52, 9.2, 9.9, 9.15, 9.30, 9.44, 9.45
Computer/Technology:    7.59, 7.60, 7.68, 8.59, 8.60, 8.61, 8.63, 8.70, 9.51, 9.52

National Standards:
Science:
1. Know that there is no fixed procedure called "the scientific method," but that investigations involve systematic observations, carefully collected, relevant evidence, logical reasoning, and some imagination in developing hypotheses and explanations.
2. Uses appropriate tools (including computer hardware and software) and techniques to gather, to analyze, and interpret scientific data.
3.  Establishes relationship based on evidence and logical argument (e.g. provides cause and effect).
Social Studies:
1.    Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties.
2.    Understands the development of the civil rights movement (e.g. the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education and its significance in advancing civil rights; the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954 and 1965; how the "freedom ride," "civil disobedience," and "non-violent resistance" were important to the civil rights movement; Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in the context of major events)
Computer/Technology:
1.  Uses a word processor to edit, copy, move, save, and print text with some formatting (e.g., centering lines, using tabs, forming paragraphs)
2.    Uses menu options and commands

Resources:    "A Time for Justice", Teaching Tolerance, Montgomery, Alabama.

Photo Credits:   www.civilrightsmovement.com

Author(s):        Rodena Belcher
                        Brenda Jackson
                        Francine Windon

School Name:  Eastern Greenbrier Junior High

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Lesson 1 
Prominent Figures		 Lesson 2
Important Acts		 Lesson 3
Important Events		 Lesson 4 
Confrontations		 Lesson 5
Organizations