Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Grade:
5th
Unit Length (Number of class periods):
2-3 class periods
Required Technology:
A computer and an Epson Projector
Concept:
Equality and Justice
Course:
Social Studies
Topic:
Integration in Austin
Unit Understandings:
Desegregation, “Separate but equal”, and busing policies
Overarching question:
What happens when governments enforce unpopular laws that prevent
equality and justice for its citizens?
Unit Questions(s):
How did desegregation laws impact the students attending Old Anderson
High School?
TEKS/TAKS:
5.21D: The student understands the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens in a constitutional government.
5.23C: Summarize the contributions of people of selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups to our national identity.
5.25A: The student understands how to locate, differentiate, and use primary and secondary sources.
5.25B: Apply critical thinking skills to gather and analyze social studies information through a variety of strategies.
5.25 D: Identify different points of view about an issue or topic.
5.25E: The student understands how to identify and support different historic points of view.
5.26C: The student understands how to express ideas orally.
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
June, 2006
1
Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Materials:
 Austin Past and Present program
 Interactive Notebook
 Article from Austin American Statesman “Anderson Students Oppose Closing”
Preview:
Interactive Journal and/or class discussion:
 What does the word discrimination mean?
 What are some examples of discrimination?
 How does discrimination affect people…the people doing the discriminating and the victims of discrimination?
Listed below are important dates and events that should be mentioned before beginning the activity.
 1896 – Plessy v. Ferguson – Supreme Court case which established the validity of the “Separate but equal” doctrine
 1954 – Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS – Supreme Court declares segregation, including “separate but equal” illegal
 1964 – The Civil Rights Act passed – prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Jim Crow laws in
the south were now outlawed – which compelled segregation of schools, housing, and hiring)
 1971 – Old Anderson High school is closed in order to comply with government mandated integration and students are bused to other
traditionally white schools
Students need to read the Austin American Statesman article – “Anderson Students Oppose Closing”
Discuss with students the following issues:
1. Note the delay of integration (17 years) even after the government passed laws. (Desegregation orders were generally ignored)
2. Why was the school closed?
3. What happened to the students who attended Anderson High?
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
June, 2006
2
Social Studies – Unit Activity Planner: Austin Past and Present
Austin Independent School District
Student activities that support the TEKS/TAKS:
1. Open Austin Past and Present program and click on Geo-Tour icon
2. Click on the East section of the map
3. Locate the Old Anderson High School icon
4. Click on the picture of the building, and then view pictures and captions 1-7.
5. Focus on picture 5 of 7, which is a group of students who are protesting the closing of Anderson High School.
6. Click on the picture and read the extra information about why the building was being closed (the courts had just outlawed segregation).
7. Have YOUR students stand in front of the projected picture, juxtapose as the students, and then turn off the projector.
8. Ask each student to “come alive” and role-play as though they were the students in the picture protesting the closing of their school.
9. Prompt questions:
- What emotions are you feeling today?
- What are you saying to each other to express your feelings?
- How do you feel about the plan to bus you to another schools across town?
Assessment(s):
Student Interactive Notebooks:
 For students who participated in the role-play, write a reflection on how they felt while portraying their role.
 For those students who observed the role-play, have them write what they would have said if they had been given the opportunity.
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Curriculum Department
June, 2006
3