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Defining US: The American Experience
FCPS Teaching American History Grant
LESSON PLAN
Subject: Civil Rights
Grade: 11th grade LD self-contained class
Prepared by: Carole Clarke
School: Oakton HS
Title or Topic: America’s Civil Rights Movement
Instructional Time: Four block periods
Part I
Essential Learning: African Americans, working through the Court system and mass protest,
reshaped public opinion and secured the passage of civil rights legislation.
Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL):
VUS.1 The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis, including the ability
to
a) Identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary source documents, records, and data,
including artifacts, diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical accounts, and art to
increase understanding of events and life in the United States.
c) Formulate historical questions and defend findings based on inquiry and interpretation.
h) Interpret the significance of excerpts from famous speeches and other documents.
VUS.13b The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and
1960s by describing the importance of the NAACP, the 1963 March on Washington, the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Fairfax County Program of Studies (POS):
Benchmark 13.1: The student describes and evaluates the efforts and accomplishments of individuals
and groups, within the public and private sectors, to affect change in Civil Rights.
A: Identify and evaluate patterns of Supreme Court decisions (Brown v. Board of Education) as catalysts
for the desegregation (national and state) of public education, accommodations, transportation, housing,
and employment.
National History Standards:
 Historical comprehension
 Historical analysis and interpretation
Learning Strategy(s) Objectives:
 Make inferences
 Use selective attention
 Use resources
 Cooperate
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Connection to TAH grant:
Content: Civil Rights Movement
Pedagogy: Using primary sources
PART II
Assessment:
Instructor will assess knowledge informally by a variety of means including oral responses to questions,
analysis of political cartoon and photographs, written responses on chart, journal entries, and reflections
on “I Have a Dream” Speech. The Cube Project will be the primary means of assessment.
Instructional Strategies:
Day 1-Origins of the Civil Rights Movement
Activate Learning - Students will respond orally to the following questions.
1. What do you think about when you hear the words “civil rights”? Give examples of these rights.
2. Can you identify rights denied to individuals or groups?
3. Why do you think society denies some people those rights?
4. Why are civil rights important in a democratic society?
Check for Understanding - Clarify the meaning of civil rights if needed
Introduce Lesson – Discuss the recent death of Rosa Parks and the significance of her coffin at the
Capitol Rotunda. Hand out political cartoon worksheet (Attachment A) to introduce the period.
Students will analyze the cartoon and write their responses on the worksheet.
1. Identify the cartoonist, publication source, and date of publication.
2. What is the historical context of this cartoon?
3. Name a person or people you recognize.
4. Describe the action or dialogue.
5. Explain the message of the cartoonist. How does written language help convey the message of the
cartoon?
Check for Understanding - Ask volunteers to share their responses with class.
Lesson
Entire class - Students will take turns reading aloud pages 813-817 in textbook, Creating America. The
reading addresses the following objectives:
 To identify factors that contributed to the civil rights movement
 To explain the significance of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
 To analyze the effects of civil rights victories
 To describe the process of school desegregation in Little Rock and the numerous sit-ins
throughout the South
As students read, the class will discuss and complete the front of the chart (Attachment B). Teacher
may wish to model the first event. Clarify to ensure students understand the differences between cause
(the reason why something happened) and effect (the outcome or action resulting from the event).
Small groups – Use a sample photograph to model for students how to analyze a photograph. I use a
photo of two water fountains, one labeled “colored” and the other “whites only”. However, any photo
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from that period would work. I like to laminate attachments of photographs so students can draw on the
picture with a non-permanent marker, dividing it into quadrants. I encourage them to study details in the
picture closely with a magnifying glass as an archivist would.
Divide class into three groups. Each group will receive three copies of photo analysis worksheet
(Attachment C), one per photograph. Groups will work with one photograph (Attachments 1, 2, or 3),
discuss it, and choose a recorder to fill in responses to questions on the photo analysis worksheet
(Attachment C). After five to seven minutes, rotate picture to next group. After each group has the
opportunity to analyze the three pictures, ask each group to share the third photograph and their analysis
with class. Match the photographs to the dates posted on the board. (Write dates on board.)
Before dismissing the class, ask each student to share something he/she learned that day in class.
Day 2 – The Civil Rights Movement Gains Strength
Activate Learning – Ask students to write three things in their journals they recall from previous class
period.
Lesson
Entire class - Students will take turns reading pages 818-821aloud in textbook, Creating America. The
reading addresses the following objectives:
 To evaluate the effects of the 1960 election and the Birmingham protests
 To analyze the events leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
 To describe President Johnson’s role in the Civil rights movement
As they read, the class will discuss and complete the back of the chart (Attachment B).
Small groups – Each group will receive three copies of photo analysis worksheet (Attachment C), one
per photograph. Groups will work with one photograph (Attachments 4, 5, or 6), discuss it and choose
a recorder to fill in responses to questions on the photo analysis worksheet (Attachment C). After 5-7
minutes, rotate picture to next group. After each group has the opportunity to analyze the three pictures,
ask each group to share the third photograph and their analysis with class. Match the photographs to the
dates posted on the board. (Write dates on board.)
Watch video – Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream”.
Before dismissing the class, ask each student to share something he/she learned that day in class.
Day 3 – Summarize and Reflect on Civil Rights Movement
Activate Learning – Ask students to recall a phrase from Dr. King’s speech and explain what it meant.
Lesson
(Attachment 7) Read italicized section of transcribed copy of Dr. King’s speech aloud as students read
silently. Ask students to copy and respond to the following questions in their journals. Discuss answers
after everyone has finished.
1. In his speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. made two references to Abraham Lincoln. What were they and
why do you think King make them.
2. To what dream was MLK, Jr. referring? How do civil rights fit into the American Dream?
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3. Police arrested Dr. King 30 times for civil rights activities. Why do you think civil rights workers
were willing to go to jail?
Watch video - A Time for Justice. (A worksheet to accompany the video is available from
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/resources/civil_rights_guide.jsp Students can answer the questions as
they watch the video.)
Discuss new information presented in the video.
If time permits, ask students to place themselves in one of the events as an eyewitness and write a onepage journal entry reporting what they saw. (Instructor can assign this activity as homework or
enrichment.)
Day 4- Cube Project
 Explain instructions for Cube project (Attachment D)
 Demonstrate Cube template (Attachment E). Provide students with an overhead copy of the
cube for students to trace onto poster board taped on wall or chalkboard. I use laminated
templates measuring 5” by 5” per side for students to trace onto poster board. The enlarged
templates provide sufficient space for students to complete the assignment. Note: A student
may have more information for one side of the cube than another side. Encourage students to fill
blank space with sentences or pictures that convey the emotion of that aspect of the issue.
 Discuss rubric for grading projects (Attachment F)
Students will choose their topic and will use the class period to work individually on projects. If they
wish to type and print their information, the students should have access to computers. Provide old
copies of magazines for students to cut out. Libraries give away issues of news magazines on a regular
basis. Evaluate projects according to the rubric (Attachment F). Display Cubes in Media Center
showcase. It would be a great idea to display the cubes by hanging them from the ceiling; however,
FCPS fire codes mandate that no items may hang from the ceiling. The OHS Media Center showcase
has glass shelves and our media specialists agreed to rotate the sides of the cubes on a daily basis so that
students can view all sides of the concept or issue as they pass by the Media Center.
Materials/Resources:
Textbook Creating America: A History of the United States
Attachment A - Analysis of Political Cartoon
Attachment B – Analysis of Events
Attachment C - Photograph Analysis Worksheet
Attachment D - Cube Project
Attachment E – Cube Template
Attachment F - Rubric
Primary Documents
Attachment 1 - Arrest of Rosa Parks
Attachment 2 – Little Rock Central HS
Attachment 3 - Greensboro Sit-in
Attachment 4 - Police Dog Attacking Protestor in Birmingham
Attachment 5 - March on Washington
Attachment 6 - Freedom Riders’ Bus Firebombed
Attachment 7 - “I Have A Dream” Speech - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Videos
Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream”
A Time for Justice
Differentiation:
I designed this lesson for special education students in self-contained 11th grade US History classes,
many of whom read at a much lower level than their grade placement. The text Creating America: A
History of the United States is on the FCPS approved list for high school special education classes and
features reduced reading levels and a variety of formats for instruction. This lesson would work equally
well for ESOL students.
Teachers of regular history classes can adapt the lesson by providing printed material meeting the listed
objectives commensurate with the reading levels of their students. Several enrichment activities include:

Students can search other current newspapers or web sites to find a political cartoon comparable
to the one presented expressing a different perspective on the issue.

Students can read Dr. King’s speech in its entirety and analyze his message in depth.

Students can create an illustrated timeline of major events in the Civil Rights Movement.

Students can research topics related to essential knowledge of VUS 13.a and 13.b, create a visual
collage to answer essential questions about the Civil Rights Movement, and write a short
paragraph explaining why they chose each picture to answer essential questions.
Essential Questions:
1. What was the significance of Brown v. Board of Education, and what roles did Thurgood
Marshall and Oliver Hill play in the demise of segregated schools?
2. How did Virginia respond to the Brown decision?
3. How did the 1963 March on Washington influence public opinion about civil rights?
4. How did the legislative process advance the cause of civil rights for African Americans?
5. How did the NAACP advance civil rights for African Americans?
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Annotated Bibliography:
Textbook
Garcia, J., Ogle, D., Risinger, C. F., and Stevos, J. Creating America: A History of the United States.
McDougal Littell a division of Houghton Mifflin Company. 2005. pp. 813-821.
This text provides an interactive approach to teaching United States History through
interdisciplinary activities and interactive exercises utilizing primary documents. Ancillary materials
include a wealth of resources including A Reading Toolkit for Social Studies with a variety of teaching
strategies enabling students to become independent learners.
Student Worksheets
Attachment A - Political cartoon
Cartoon downloaded from archives of The Washington Post; teacher created worksheet
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/toles
Attachment B - Analyzing Events
Teacher created worksheet
Attachment C - Photo Analysis Worksheet
Designed and developed by the Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, DC for use by educators.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/photo.htm
Attachment D - Instructions for Cube project
Adapted from activities in a kit produced by Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=550
Attachment E – Cube Template
http://mathforum.org/alejandre/workshops/cube.net.html
Attachment F – Rubric
Teacher created worksheet
Primary Documents
Attachments 1 -Photograph
Arrest of Rosa Parks
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/27/parks.capitol.ap/index.htm
Attachment 2 - Photograph
Little Rock Central High School
http://www.ed/gov/free/bybe.htm
Attachment 3 - Photograph
Greensboro Sit-In
http://www.gfsnet.org/msweb/sixties/lunchcounterarmfeb1960.htm
Attachment 4 - Photograph
Police Dog Attacking Protestor in Birmingham
http://www.gfsnet.org/msweb/sixties/birmingham.htm
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Attachment 5 - Photograph
March on Washington
http://www.gfsnet.org/mswebsixties/marchonwashingtonska63.htm
Attachment 6 - Photograph
Freedom Riders’ Bus Firebombed
http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_546.htm
Attachment 7 - Speech
“I Have A Dream” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.mecca.org/rights/dream.html
Videos
Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream.” MPI Home Video, 1986.
This twenty-minute video includes photo coverage of 200,000 civil rights marchers on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial and covers Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
A Time for Justice. Produced by Charles Guggenheim. Teaching Tolerance: The Southern Poverty
Law Center, 1992.
This thirty-eight minute video presents the Civil Rights Movement in the words of people who
risked their lives in the struggle for equality and freedom. It includes the crises in Montgomery, Little
Rock, Birmingham, and Selma. The 38-minute film depicts the sacrifices made by some and the victory
won by all.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/resources/civil_rights_guide.jsp
Book
Thomas, Velma Maia. We Shall Not Be Moved: The Passage from the Great Migration to the MillionMan March. Crown Publishers, Inc. 2002
This book present historical events of the Civil Rights Movement and provides a variety of primary
source documents including flyers, letters, photographs, decrees, an excerpt from the Montgomery City
Code outlining segregation on buses, lunch counter suggestions for the Greensboro Sit-In participants,
and sworn statements taken by a notary public of violence by police in Birmingham.
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