Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Grade: 4
Unit Length (Number of class periods): 5 days (or, time may be teacher-dependent
based on depth & complexity of Civil Rights Movement review). Note: Unit may be
integrated throughout school year in 2-day intervals during Reading and Writing
Concept: Similarities and Differences
Unit Understanding: Students will understand the fundamental democratic
principles behind the Civil Rights Movement, and describe unequal education
conditions of blacks in Austin’s past and present.
Course: Texas History
Topic: Civil Rights Movement
[Note: Also refer to the Great Depression/WWII lesson plan for Austin, Past and Present video clips and relevant web sites]
Overarching Question:
-How are relationships between black and white Austinites similar and different before and after the
Civil Rights Movement?
Unit Questions(s): -What were the Civil Rights Movement goals, and strategies used by participants?
-What impact did the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have on
the University of Texas’s (UT) history? Go to video folder: tt_main61.mov (click 10min:30sec) to view
UT’s early history (1930 – 1950, Depression/War Years) or view video in its entirety (total 14min:45sec)
-Given the chance to participate in a past race relations issue, what injustice would you protest?
Examples: tt_main51.mov (City of the Violet Crown, 1893-1929); Segregated AISD schools and UT admissions,
No social equality (4min:30sec); Mexicans vs. Blacks/UT (5min15sec); 1906 segregated street car law; 1921 KKK
march-Congress Ave; Negro District I-35 Divide, housing (1min:20sec, 4:54 & 7:30) or self-selected inequality topic
-Given the chance to participate in a current education injustice issue, who would you attempt to persuade to listen
to your race relations problem, ideas, and solutions? What strategy would you use? e.g. sit-ins, protests, boycotts
Social Studies TEKS/TAKS Questions:
4.5 The student will understand important issues, events, and individuals of the 20th Century in Texas, e.g. The Great Depression; World War II; Civil Rights Movement
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/pkcfl.html (Texas Civil Rights); http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/AA/wmafr.html (African-Americans in Politics)
4.20 Culture. The student will understand the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas
The student is expected to:
(A) Identify the similarities and differences within and among selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups in Texas;
(B) Identify customs, celebrations, and traditions of various culture groups in Texas; and
(C) Summarize the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups in the development of Texas.
4.22A Social Studies Skills. Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as oral, print, and visual media
Cross-curricula Connections: Reading = Read Aloud, Character Analysis, Historical Non-fiction; Author’s Purpose; Writing = Overcoming Obstacles, Third Person Perspective
Reading (4.11B) – Interpret text ideas through such varied means as journal writing, discussion, enactment, media
Writing (4.15A) – Write to express, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve
Technology (4.5A) – Acquire information including text, audio, video
Math (4.13C) – Interpret bar graphs
Math (4.14A) – Identify the mathematics in everyday situations; Austin’s demographics http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-04-01/pols_feature4.html
1. What is the ethnic or racial make-up of students in your class? Create an ethnic bar graph for your class and compare results to Austin’s demographic make-up.
2. Does your class reflect segregation, diversity (different races of students), or an equal number of blacks and whites? Why do you think your class looks this way?
3. Even though it’s been over 40 years since the Civil Rights Movement, why do you think Austinites still discuss the unequal education that blacks receive in AISD in 2006?
4. ACCOUNTABLE TALK: In your opinion, what would be the Civil Rights Movement goals for educating blacks today?
5. What would you suggest to ensure that black students receive an education equal to whites in Austin? http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/inside/initiatives/taskforce/
6. G/T: What presidential decisions did Lyndon B. Johnson make to advance rights for black citizens? http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/2upa/Aaas/CivilRightsJohnson.asp
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Materials – Use everyday materials for placard or protest signs.
-Placard: Banner paper, book tape or masking tape, markers (optional = paint). Directions: Cut a “V” or space for student’s neck; tape two pieces of banner paper at shoulders; tailor length waist high; width fits
student’s body frame like a shirt; see example below:
http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/newsmedia/releases/index.phtml?more=0807&lang=
-Signs: Cardboard or posters; book tape or masking tape; markers or paint, and a strong branch, or 5 diagonally/tightly rolled newspaper sheets taped to use as the handle
Directions: Students will be expected to design a sign with a slogan based on the group’s position, either pro-segregation or anti-discrimination along with a *reference.
-Use creativity: Yellow or white paper with black letters captures the audience best!
*Mini-Lesson: Reference(s) may come from “H.E.B.”
–
Home (e.g. oral history from a parent, neighbor, or “subject matter expert”)
–
Electronic (e.g. computer, television, radio); or
–
Book (any written literary work; print media – newspaper, brochures, etc.)
[“H.E.B.” acronym created by Ms. Joseph, 4th Grade/Norman Elementary]
Critical Thinking! *Use the reference criteria as a mini-lesson to teach students the importance of citing references for research. Students will be expected to cite the author or source’s
name, date of information retrieval, web site URL (address) and/or page numbers.
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Note: From AISD’s Intranet, Austin video clips forward easily, but lack “good” reverse mode. To view video verbiage, click on the screen then view static timeline by clicking scrolling horizontal bar.
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Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
BEFORE – (4.15) Dear Diary Writing Warm-up Activity: Write to express and reflect on ideas.
-Think and respond with one specific example to the following questions using Dear Diary format:
*Have I ever been treated differently because of the color of my skin or for another reason?; or
*Have I ever received a special privilege because of my family’s name or because of someone I know?
*Why do I think I was treated differently? *How did being treated differently make me feel and why?
Note: Remember to use figurative language.
Simile Example: I felt as if . . . or, I felt as mad as . . .
Metaphor Examples: I was a sea of debris when... I became the wind (earth or fire), blown away by…
~Review vocabulary with students before the lesson; or Read Aloud using historical fiction: “Remember” – The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison and explain during
reading!
~Preview Austin’s “I-35 Divide” history (Negro District text) http://www.findit-locators.com/austin_information.htm; Review vocabulary, phrases, and laws related to Civil Rights
Movement such as synonyms for “African American” = Negro, Blacks, Colored; Caucasian = Anglo, White; “Jim Crow” law; lynching; Ku Klux Klan; ethnic; racist; race relations; racial barriers;
obstacles; inferior; superior; supremacy; activist; tolerance; opposition; prejudice; protest; non-violence; sit-ins; 1954-Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas; The Civil Rights Act of
1964; Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Lyndon B. Johnson. Option: List vocabulary on board; conduct a 5-minute oral check.
G/T http://www.booktv.org/General/index.asp?segID=7275&schedID=441&category=After+Words Note:
Interview, 55min – Dr. Bryant, author, The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and the Struggle for Black Equality; open-ended questions; view segments: JFK downplays Civil Rights (35:45 – 40:30); 1961 Freedom
Rides and James Meredith Old Miss (40:34); JFK & Dr. King, 1963 Aggressive Tactics (43:40); Univ. of AL (45:25); 1300 non-violent demonstrations Jun – Aug 28, 1963; Sept 1962 – Dog attack on blacks; open
riot; black on white violence (47:50); NAACP; March on Washington; fear grew = over 200, 000; biggest military build up in US peace time (48:15); MLK Sept 12, 1963 Birmingham church bombing (49:1552:02); Nov 22, 1963 Kennedy assassination; LBJ (54:10)
Extension – Angela Davis http://www.booktv.org/indepth/index.asp?segid=4946&schedID=305
[CSPAN-Listen for 25 minutes: Angela Davis talks about her life as an activist, prisoner, and professor in a 3-hour interview]
Modification: Student(s) may illustrate during read aloud; make personal connections; use a “high” vocabulary or “new” word in the title and caption, then write one “I wonder …” research
question
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Note: From AISD’s Intranet, Austin video clips forward easily, but lack “good” reverse mode. To view video verbiage, click on the screen then view static timeline by clicking scrolling horizontal bar.
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Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
DURING – Students’ research activities that support the TEKS:
Past: From AISD’s Intranet, students will view the Texas Past and Present – Town in Transition 1950-1975 video clip (estimated 15 min.) and Anderson High School’s static history (Geographic Tour: East
Austin). Clarksville’s history may also be viewed to gain knowledge of unequal education issues in Austin’s history CA16V1L.MOV~Clarksville 1min:15sec
Past (Additional local reference): Austin History Center presents “Black in the Past” links http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/africanam.htm
Past: Students will research Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas to understand segregation and unequal/unfair treatment of blacks in the United States
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/brown_v__board_of_education.htm (kid text) http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/innovators/brown.html (Linda Brown’s story) http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/enlight/brown.htm
(Thurgood Marshall; First Black Supreme Court Justice = Won the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education case
Present Segregation Issues: Students will research AISD’s Intranet to gain knowledge of the Joint AISD and City of Austin Task Forces on African American and Hispanic Education and Quality of Life
http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/inside/initiatives/taskforce/ http://www.jsonline.com/index/index.aspx?id=13 (50 years; still separate/unequal stories)
DURING: Protest Activity, Non-violent Strategies (e.g. Oral Arguments; Socratic Questioning; Speech & Debate; and/or Sit-ins)
Criteria:
Each group will state 3 to 5 reasons for or against segregation in Austin schools citing evidence from the Town in Transition video clip and two (2) other references during oral arguments
using Accountable Talk, e.g. According to ____, we feel . . .
1) Teacher: Decide the Target Audience. Either teacher or G/T student(s) may play the role of mayor (city council), AISD School Board member(s), NAACP president or a role shown in the
“Town in Transition” video clip
2) Divide class (orally) into two (2) heterogeneous groups, or randomly pull names
-One Group = Pro-segregation
-Second Group = Anti-discrimination
3) Option (Probability): Teacher may use random selection to divide class into two ethnic groups regardless of students’ race to reflect realism during role play
Group One = “White” or Ku Klux Klan and Group Two = Negro or Colored
-Modification = Student(s) may make a banner for each group with ethnic label or make simple individual signs with paper (e.g. construction, notebook or bond paper)
4) Activity: Each student will create a placard or protest sign with a slogan and a pro- or anti- statement citing the source for their argument/position. Group may use “sit-in” strategy during
debate/discussion and creativity to persuade Target Audience
5) Protest (Oral Argument): Students will present oral arguments to Target Audience G/T Extension: Teacher may use this activity to introduce Socratic Questioning; legal arguments or
Speech & Debate rules of engagement; and public speaking
Rubric: Develop rubric based on criteria with students’ input or give one point for each subject area stated in TEKS/TAKS Questions (page 1 of 3). Refer to www.rubistar.com.
Subject Areas: Social Studies; Reading/Writing (enactment), Technology, Math
Grading: 4 = A; 3 = B; 2 = C; 1 = F
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Note: From AISD’s Intranet, Austin video clips forward easily, but lack “good” reverse mode. To view video verbiage, click on the screen then view static timeline by clicking scrolling horizontal bar.
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Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
AFTER – Assessment(s) – Letter to the mayor (City of Austin) or AISD official serving on the Quality of Life for African-Americans Task Force; or, write a letter to the AISD School Board Members, local
media or newspaper
-Teacher will assess students’ letter format along with depth and complexity of written response based on a three paragraph “COW” Response: Connections, Observations and Wonderings related to current
AISD re-segregation Academic Rigor:
Mayor, city gov’t http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/mom1.html
Criteria (“TAP”): *Students will include at least three “3” higher vocabulary words in his/her letter
Topic: Segregated AISD Schools -Include one specific segregated educational problem; ideas to resolve problem or connections to unequal schooling; possible solutions; and at least one “1”FEELING, e.g. happy,
sad or begin letter with a higher vocabulary synonym using figurative language (e.g. Dear . . ., Despair filled my soul when . . .)
*Audience: Letter may be used as entry for the “Mayor for a Day” (Fall 2006) essay contest since the mayor serves on the Quality of Life Task Force, or students may address letters to a specified Target
Audience member
*Purpose: Persuade an elected official to take action, or include his/her views in upcoming Austin education policy discussions. Mayor for a Day Essay Examples
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/news/mbc_nr20051121.htm
Differentiation *Academic Rigor: Lesson Learned ~ Always state your lesson learned from the activity!
*G/T: Lawyer role. Write a letter with “3” high vocabulary words (from Day 1); cite 2–3 sources from video clips & articles to support your opinion; persuade an Austin official to read peers’ letters & take action
against segregation.
*Modification: Independent or partner activity – Construct a timeline (with a sentence strip), or draw a Venn Diagram to show similarities and differences between black and white Austinites in education. Or,
compare Old Miss and/or University of Alabama to the University of Texas’s admissions policy and outcome during WWII era.
*Whole Group: Teacher and volunteer students may read their letters or conduct a sit-in while wearing placards, or holding picket signs during an AISD School Board meeting or Austin city council meeting. Or,
conduct mock-meeting and create a video (Mac users, go to www.maestro.com I-movie); share with upper or lower grade class.
Overview “I-35 Divide” History – Timeline: http://www.findit-locators.com/austin_information.htm
Good Introduction: City Plan, Austin’s past to present relations between blacks and whites:
-Between 1842 and 1845, Austin’s population dropped below 200 and its buildings deteriorated.
-1845: After resuming its role as the seat of government in 1845, Austin officially became the state capital on February 19, 1846, the date of the formal transfer of authority from the republic to the state.
-1850: There were 225 slaves and ‘one’ free black in Austin; 48% percent of Austin families owned slaves.
-1881: Austin emerged as a seat of education.
-1906: Ordinance required separate compartments on streetcars despite blacks’ two-month boycott.
-1928: City Plan, the first since 1839: Austin developed residential, cultural, and educational center.
-1928: “Negro District” designated in east Austin. Black residence had been widely scattered across the city in 1880 but by 1930, they were heavily concentrated on the east side of town, a process encouraged by
the 1928 city plan, which recommended East Austin be designated a "Negro district."
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Additional References:
Awesome Dr. King Holiday Bill http://utopia.utexas.edu/avoice/gallery/photos/index.html?typeq=still%20image
-Photo Gallery from African American Voices in Congress; click and zoom on photo!
Documents http://utopia.utexas.edu/avoice/gallery/documents/index.html?pageq=12&typeq=text&themeq=
-Desegregation (From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown) http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/pubs/A5/wolff.html
-NAACP/UT–Desegregation in Texas Sweatt v. Painter (1950) http://utopia.utexas.edu/explore/clark/sweatt.html
Brown versus Board of Education (Segregation, kid-friendly text; also click on photos for information) http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/brown_v_board/segregation.htm
Brown versus Board of Education http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education and http://www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/govweb2/govweb2.htm
African-Americans and Politics http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/AA/wmafr.html
African-Americans in Texas http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/AA/pkaan.html
Civil Rights Movement in Texas http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/pkcfl.html
Free Slaves (Sam Houston) http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/FF/pkfbs.html
Juneteenth http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/JJ/lkj1.html
Slavery in Texas http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/yps1.html
UT Website – Super Social Studies Documents; lesson plans too http://utopia.utexas.edu/educators/
Yale-New Haven (excellent teacher web site, detailed lessons); search/type key words at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/; also check out www.vivisimo.com excellent search engine with
subtopics!
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
July, 2006
[Created by: Ms. Joseph, Norman Elementary]
Note: From AISD’s Intranet, Austin video clips forward easily, but lack “good” reverse mode. To view video verbiage, click on the screen then view static timeline by clicking scrolling horizontal bar.
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