U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1 of 3
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement
Overview
Overall days:
20
(1 day = 50-55 minutes)
Purpose
In this unit, students will examine the causes, events, and effects of the Civil Rights movement by
focusing on three pivotal moments. The unit requires students to “do” history—gather evidence from
primary documents, use that evidence to make claims about the past, and then apply what they learn to
their own lives. Students will move beyond the famous leaders to engage in the stories of ordinary men
and women who performed acts of courage and sacrifice to achieve equality and social justice. By
examining issues of civic participation, the role of the courts, and conflicts between local, state, and
federal control, students will explore the fundamentals of democracy as well as issues of individual rights
and responsibilities.
Content to be learned
Processes to be used

Trace the development of the Civil Rights
movement from the 1950s through the 1970s,
highlighting the struggle to desegregate the
Boston public schools and lynching and
resistance to civil rights reform in the South.

Identify examples of discrepancies between
democratic ideals and the realities of life for
African Americans and other minorities, noting
causes, events, opposition, and the effects of
the Civil Rights movement.

Recognize the connections between voting
restrictions in the past and voting rights in the
present.


Evaluate the strategies, impacts, and
effectiveness of various civil rights activists
and ordinary citizens in their quest for equality.
Apply history for a deeper understanding of
one’s own life and examine personal values
and experiences to understand the value of
voting rights.

Examine the role the Warren Court and
decisions in smaller courts played in addressing
equal rights and civil liberties.
Identify the choices made by people involved
in civil rights activism and the consequences of
those choices.

Address the role of the Warren Court and its
legacy for today’s generation.

Essential questions students should be able to answer by end of unit

Why did some people in the Civil Rights
movement choose civil disobedience as
opposed to more radical protest?

What contributes to making an event in history
“pivotal”?
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin

What are the legacies of the Civil Rights
movement?
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U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
Written Curriculum
Grade Span Expectations
C&G 1: People create and change structures of power, authority, and governance in order to
accomplish common goals.
C&G 1 (9-12) –2 Students demonstrate an understanding of sources of authority and use of power, and how
they are/can be changed, by…
b. explaining how political authority is obtained and legitimized
C&G 2: The Constitution of the United States establishes a government of limited powers that are
shared among different levels and branches.
C&G 2 (9-12) –1 Students demonstrate an understanding of United States government (local, state, national)
by…
c. identifying and describing ways in which people gain or fail to gain access to the institutions of the U.S.
government (local, state, national) or other political institutions (e.g., access to the U.S. political process)
d. critically examining the principles, traditions, and precedents of American constitutional government
National Standards for History (U.S. History, Grades 5-12)
Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
Standard 4 The struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties.
4A The student understands the “Second Reconstruction” and its advancement of civil rights.
Explain the origins of the postwar civil rights movement and the role of the NAACP in the legal assault on
segregation. [Analyze multiple causation]
Evaluate the Warren Court’s reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education and its significance in advancing
civil rights. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
Explain the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954 and 1965. [Identify issues and problems
in the past]
Analyze the leadership and ideology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X in the civil rights
movement and evaluate their legacies. [Assess the importance of the individual in history]
Assess the role of the legislative and executive branches in advancing the civil rights movement and the
effect of shifting the focus from de jure to de facto segregation. [Evaluate the implementation of a
decision]
Evaluate the agendas, strategies, and effectiveness of various African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino
Americans, and Native Americans, as well as the disabled, in the quest for civil rights and equal
opportunities. [Explain historical continuity and change]
Assess the reasons for and effectiveness of the escalation from civil disobedience to more radical protest in
the civil rights movement. [Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances]
4C The student understands the Warren Court’s role in addressing civil liberties and equal rights.
Analyze the expansion of due process rights in such cases as Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v.
Arizona and evaluate criticism of the extension of these rights for the accused. [Interrogate historical
data]
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Extension for learning in this unit:
Standard 4 The struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties
4B The student understands the women’s movement for civil rights and equal opportunities.
Analyze the factors contributing to modern feminism and compare the ideas, agendas, and strategies of
feminist and counter-feminist organizations. [Marshal evidence of antecedent circumstances]
Identify the major social, economic, and political issues affecting women and explain the conflicts these
issues engendered. [Formulate a position or course of action on an issue]
Evaluate the conflicting perspectives over the Equal Rights Amendment, Title VII, and Roe v. Wade.
[Consider multiple perspectives]
Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Reading
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent
understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
WHST.11-12.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry
when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating
understanding of the subject under investigation.
Notes, Clarifications, and Prerequisites
Students have been exposed to the concept of reform. They will continue this line of study with the
introduction to the Civil Rights movement using the Facing History and Ourselves materials.
An extension for learning for this era focuses on the origins and course of the women’s movement for
civil rights and equal opportunities. The standards to follow for this extension are listed in the Written
Curriculum section, and learning objectives and activities are in the Planning for Instructional Delivery
Considerations section.
These units include Common Core literacy standards in reading and literacy and Historical Thinking
Standards. The impact on instruction of these new and additional standards is noted in the Planning and
Instructional Delivery Considerations and Assessment sections.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
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U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
Taught Curriculum
Learning Objectives
Resources
Students will be able to:
United States History, Pearson, 2010 (pp. 914-949)

Examine the causes, events, opposition to, and
effects of the Civil Rights movement. (5 days)
Assessment Rubrics for High School (pp. 5, 8, 10,
13, 14)

Apply history to deepen their understanding of
their own lives and use their own experiences
to deepen their understanding of history, with a
special focus on voting rights. (5 days)
Facing History and Ourselves


Evaluate not only the roles of famous leaders
but also the roles of ordinary men and women
who fought for equal rights and social justice.
(5 days)
Examine issues of civic participation, the role
of the courts, and conflicts between local, state,
and federal authority in the Civil Rights
movement. (5 days)

Civil Rights Historical Investigations,
www.facinghistory.org/ resources/units/bostonpublic-schools-civil-rights

Big Paper, http://facing.org/resources/
strategies/big-paper-building-a-silent-c

Iceberg Diagrams, http://facing.org/resources/
strategies/iceburg-diagrams

Jigsaw, http://facing.org/resources/strategies/
jigsaw-developing-community-d
Instructional Considerations
Key Vocabulary
civil disobedience
Jim Crow laws
de facto segregation
non-violence
de jure segregation
sit-ins
due process rights
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
freedom rides
Planning and Instructional Delivery Considerations
In this unit, students will examine the causes, events, and effects of the Civil Rights movement by
focusing on three pivotal moments. The unit requires students to “do” history—gather evidence from
primary documents, use that evidence to make claims about the past, and then apply what they learn to
their own lives. Students will move beyond the famous leaders to engage in the stories of ordinary men
and women who performed acts of courage and sacrifice to achieve equality and social justice. By
examining issues of civic participation, the role of the courts, and conflicts between local, state, and
federal control, students will explore the fundamentals of democracy as well as issues of individual rights
and responsibilities.
Students will use the Facing History and Ourselves Civil Rights unit to study the early demands for
equity, the movement’s gaining ground, and new successes and challenges. Material from Pearson
Chapter 27, The Civil Rights Movement 1945-1975, can be used to supplement this unit.
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
The main resource for this unit can be found on the Facing History and Ourselves website. (All teachers
should also have a hard copy of the full unit and resources.) The Civil Rights Historical Investigations
curriculum requires students to “do” history—to gather evidence from primary documents, use that
evidence to make claims about the past, and then apply what they learn to their own lives. Each unit
begins with a general introduction, a unit outline, historical background, unit learning goals, and
suggestions for final assessments. Each lesson within the unit is fully scaffolded for student success and
includes suggested teaching strategies, assessment ideas, and extensions.
A journey through all the Facing History and Ourselves units allows students to trace the development of
the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s to the 1970s.
In the first unit, students learn about the murder of Emmett Till and the trial of his murderers. This
material asks students to consider the historical context that contributed to the growth of the Civil Rights
movement in the 1950s. In the second unit, students explore voter discrimination in the South and the
philosophy of nonviolence that guided civil rights activists’ responses to this injustice, culminating in the
march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The third unit exposes students to the Civil Rights movement
in the North by focusing on the struggle over school desegregation in Boston in the 1960s and early
1970s.

To ensure that students will be able to examine the causes, events, opposition to, and effects of
the Civil Rights movement (5 days):
All three of the Facing History units introduce students to the causes, effects, opposition to, and
effects of the efforts described in those units. Teaching all three units will satisfy all elements of this
objective.

To ensure that students will be able to apply history to deepen their understanding of their own
lives and use their own experiences to deepen their understanding of history, with a special
focus on voting rights (5 days):
See the Facing History and Ourselves Personal Voting Profile Packet and have students fill out the
“Anticipation Guide” (see Step One) to activate their prior knowledge and beliefs about voting. (This
resource is available online at www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/nonviolence-a-tool-change. The
packet spans pp. 81-96.) Standard 5: Historical issues-analysis and decision-making.

To ensure that students will be able to evaluate not only the roles of famous leaders but also the
roles of ordinary men and women who fought for equal rights and social justice (5 days):
In emphasizing the roles of ordinary men and women in the desegregation movement in Boston, it
may be helpful to focus a day of study on the following: (1) Stay Out for Freedom, (2) Operation
Exodus, (3) METCO, (4) community schools movement, and (5) Morgan v. Hennigan, a lawsuit by
black parents against the Boston Schools Committee. Standard 2: Historical comprehension.

To ensure that students will be able to examine issues of civic participation, the role of the
courts, and conflicts between local, state, and federal authority in the Civil Rights movement
(5 days):
All three of the Facing History units address issues of civic participation, the role of the courts, and
conflicts between local, state, and federal authority in the episodes described in those units. Teaching
all three units will satisfy all elements of this objective.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
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U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
Additional Teaching Strategies
Have students use an iceberg diagram to organize factors pertaining to the Civil Rights movement in the
United States. Creating a “durable” version of this diagram that can be posted in the classroom will permit
additions and subsequent reference during other lessons/assessments.
1. Introduce students to the concept of “the tip of the iceberg.” Draw a large representation of the classic
iceberg—a massive oval shape, with a small portion peeking above a waterline. Note that, typically,
only about one ninth of an iceberg appears above the water’s surface. What one sees is only a tiny
portion of the whole thing. So it is with historical events. What one sees is tiny compared with the
many factors and personalities that constitute the whole story.
2. On the drawing, which will be titled “American Civil Rights Movement,” have students refer to your
preliminary introduction of the terms and objectives of the unit as they suggest facts to be entered in
the tip of the iceberg. What happened? Who did it, to whom, and why? When did it happen? Where
did it happen? What did these events signify?
3. Divide the class into small groups. The recorder (scribe) for each group will write down the factors
suggested by the others in the group as they refer to the text and any other resources you provide.
What were the proximate (immediate) causes of the events? What were the issues that motivated the
actors? What decisions, elections, accidents, disasters, inventions, etc., were contributing factors?
4. On the whole-class diagram, in the area “below the water,” write the factors shared out by the groups’
reporters. It may be helpful to divide the iceberg into social, political, economic, etc., factors.
5. With the factors organized, have students use the information during a discussion (or independently,
in writing) in response to the following questions:
Which factors were the most important?
Are there pieces of information missing? That is, can you think of questions related to this topic that we
should have answers for? How might we find answers to those questions?
How would you write a conclusion statement based on this information?
How does your understanding of this event—and the factors that contributed to it—help you to understand
what’s happening now in Providence, the U.S, or the world?
See the Facing History and Ourselves website’s Iceberg Diagrams page for more information.
Have students brainstorm lists of roles of the different groups of actors during the civil rights movement.
Emphasis should be placed on the actions of ordinary people, volunteers, and nameless activists.
Consider having students concentrate on the causes and effects of ordinary citizens’ efforts to desegregate
Boston’s public schools. Use the following jigsaw activity. This strategy asks a group of students to
become experts on a specific text or body of knowledge and then share that material with another group
of students.
1. Split the class into five or ten research groups.
2. Then assign each group one of the following—(1) Stay Out for Freedom, (2) Operation Exodus, (3)
METCO, (4) community schools movement, (5) Morgan v. Hennigan.
3. Have the students within each research group skim the Facing History and Ourselves resources on the
desegregation of Boston’s schools (Unit 3, Lesson 3, at http://www.facinghistory.org/
resources/units/education-civil-rights, pp. 205-228) to identify key words and unfamiliar words and
summarize how their assigned topic fits into the bigger picture and how effective these grassroots
efforts were.
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
4. Then have the students form new groups, ensuring that each new group contains at least one expert
from each of the research groups.
5. Students will then synthesize their findings into a single product (e.g., graphic organizer, outline,
essay, etc.).
6. Have a reporter from each group share what they produced from the synthesized information.
7. Encourage students to discuss the differences in their products.
See the Facing History and Ourselves website’s Jigsaw page, http://facing.org/resources/strategies/
jigsaw-developing-community-d, for more information about this strategy.) Standard 4: Historical
research. Take the opportunity to implement writing standard for literacy in history/social studies
WHST.11-12.7.
Have students participate in a silent conversation about different groups’ roles in the Civil Rights
movement. A discussion that takes place entirely in writing causes students to slow down, gives shy
students an equal voice, and results in a written product for later reference.
Read or post the following steps and discuss before beginning the activity in order to prevent students’
questions from breaking the silence.
1. Divide the class into groups of two or three students. Ensure that every student has a pen or marker.
Using different-colored markers makes it easier to see the back-and-forth of a conversation. Each
group also needs a “big paper” (e.g., butcher paper, newsprint, sheet from a chart tablet) that will
accommodate a written conversation and added comments.
2. There is to be no talking whatsoever; students will write what they want to contribute/ask.
3. In the center of the page, students will write the “stimulus” (image, quotation, excerpt, etc.) around
which this silent discussion will take place.
4. Referring to the text and any other resources you choose to provide, students respond to the stimulus
by writing their comments and questions and engaging in silent conversations with the others in their
group. Students can write at the same time, and their discussions can run off into tangents according
to where the students’ minds lead them. Allow 15 minutes or more for this phase.
5. To clarify relationships among the comments and questions, students may find it helpful to draw lines
or arrows connecting related entries.
6. Allow the students to take their markers with them as they split up and examine other groups’ big
papers, as in a gallery walk. While maintaining the silence, students may comment in writing directly
on others’ big papers.
7. Once students return to their own papers, they are free to speak with their group about their big
papers, discussing their own thoughts as well as the comments/questions posed by their classmates.
8. Lead the class in a discussion about their observations and unanswered questions. Identify and have
students write the emerging themes and persistent questions in their journals. Encourage students to
respond to their classmates’ questions.
9. Call on volunteers to offer statements about what they learned.
See the Facing History and Ourselves website’s Big Paper page for an image of a big paper and for more
information.
Use the activities and readings in the Pearson text to provide students with background information and
critical thinking opportunities that align to the learning objectives.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
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U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)

Use the activities and selections in Chapter 27, Section 1 (pp. 916-924) to describe efforts to end
segregation in the 1940s and 1950s, to explain the importance of Brown v. Board of Education, to
describe the controversy over school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas, and to discuss the
Montgomery bus boycott and its impact.

Use the activities and selections in Chapter 27, Section 2 (pp. 925-935) to describe the sit-ins,
freedom rides, and the actions of James Meredith in the early 1960s, to explain how the protests at
Birmingham and the March on Washington were linked to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and to
summarize the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Use the activities and selections in Chapter 27, Section 3 (pp. 936-945) to explain the significance of
Freedom Summer, the march on Selma, and why violence erupted in some American cities in the
1960s, to compare the goals and methods of African American leaders, and to describe the social and
economic situation of African Americans by 1975.

Review the Quick Study Guide with students to draw connections to the main issues in the unit. The
quick study timeline and graphic organizers will help prepare students for the summative assessment
tasks (pp. 946-947).
Extension for Learning
Trace the origins, course, and results of the women’s movement.
Have pairs of students refer to their textbooks, notes, and any other resources you choose to provide as
they create timelines of the major events of the “second wave of feminism,” or the women’s movement of
the 1960s and 1970s. Each event should be accompanied by a caption that adequately explains what the
date and event signify. Use Assessment Rubrics for High School (p. 14) to assess. Standard 1:
Chronological thinking.
Organize a classroom debate on the issues women raised in the postwar period and whether those issues
have been resolved or still exist today.
Assessed Curriculum
Formative Assessments
Provide feedback to students through daily monitoring of student understanding using a variety of
methods. For example, use exit cards. Have students answer questions on paper before they leave the
class. Keep the activity prompt specific and brief to check for understanding of the day’s concepts. For
instance, to check students’ comprehension of public reactions to atrocities in the South, ask students to
respond to the following question: “What decisions made by Mamie Till-Mobley (Emmett Till’s mother)
helped make this a pivotal historical moment?”
See the Facing History and Ourselves Civil Rights Historical Investigations for details on supporting
students on the summative assessment. Having students complete all three of the following formative
assessments will prepare them to perform the summative assessment successfully.

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Unit 1—Emmett Till Essay: Students write an essay in response to the question, “Which three factors
do you think made the most significant contribution to the impact of the murder of Emmett Till?” The
Emmett Till Essay Preparation Packet prepares students to answer this essay question and can be
adapted to fit other questions.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2

Unit 2—Personal Voting Profile: This assignment asks students to write a personal voting profile
about what voting means to them, comparing their own thoughts to those of protesters in 1965. The
Personal Voting Profile Packet support students in this assignment.

Unit 3—Reporter’s Notebook: The lessons in Unit 3 are designed to help students write a newspaper
article chronicling attempts to create more racially balanced schools in Boston during the 1960s.
During each lesson, students record what they have learned in “field notes.” At the end of the unit,
students will develop a “better ending” to this story. The purpose is twofold: (1) Writing the article
provides an engaging way for students to demonstrate their understanding of the history, and (2)
developing an alternate ending gives students the opportunity to connect this history to their own
beliefs and experiences.
Additional Formative Assessments
Monitor student understanding through various methods including checking graphic organizers and
providing feedback to journal entries.
To assess the progress of understanding:

how to examine the causes, events, opposition to, and effects of the Civil Rights movement, have
students write conclusions drawn from their findings during the Iceberg Diagram activity.

how to apply history to deepen their understanding of their own lives and use their own
experiences to deepen their understanding of history, with a special focus on voting rights, have
students write and discuss their thoughts regarding “Voting as a Right and Opportunity” (see Personal
Voting Profile Packet, Step Two).

how to evaluate not only the roles of famous leaders but also the roles of ordinary men and
women who fought for equal rights and social justice, have students write a dialogue between a
fictional person who participated in a sit-in and his or her grandchild. The dialogue must include
questions from the grandchild, as well as observations from the grandchild about current actions or
current issues that are ripe for popular action/protests.

how to examine issues of civic participation, the role of the courts, and conflicts between local,
state, and federal authority in the Civil Rights movement, have pairs of students refer to the Big
Papers (theirs and those of the other groups) as they write their conclusions about the topic. Each pair
will collaborate to write one multi-paragraph essay that includes at least three facts from the Big
Papers as evidence to support their conclusion.
Summative Assessment
Students will create a product (poster, essay, dialogue, newspaper editorial, or oral presentation) that
addresses three critical events in the Civil Rights movement: (1) the Emmett Till Case, (2) the March for
Voting Rights, and (3) the Boston riots. Students will fully address the question: “What factors
contributed to making each event a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement?” When students answer
the Essential Questions, take the opportunity to implement reading standard for literacy in history/social
studies RH.11-12.9.
Use the appropriate rubric from Assessment Rubrics for High School (pp. 5, 8, 10, or 13), depending on
the type of product the student chooses to make.
Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin
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U.S. History (1890–Present), Quarter 4, Unit 1
Version 2
Pivotal Moments of the Civil Rights Movement (20 days)
Notes
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Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the
Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin