Defining US: The American Experience
LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
Subject: Civil Rights
Prepared by: Mary Bannon and Mary Em Parrilli
School: Quander Road School
Grade: 11th Grade
Topic: “Reactions to Brown v. Board of Education”
Instructional Time: 8 55 minute class periods
PART I. CONTEXT
1. Essential Learning
 Students will learn and understand laws and Supreme Court decisions
regarding Civil Rights to include segregation and integration.
 Students will learn and understand the responses to Brown v Board of
Education
 Students will learn and understand the impact of individuals to the Civil
Rights movements.
 Students will use and analyze a variety of primary source documents that
relate to the Civil Rights movement.
2. Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)
VUS.13a, 13b. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil Rights
movement of the 1950s and 1960s by
a) identifying the importance of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the
roles of Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill, and how Virginia responded.
b) describing the importance of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), the 1963 March on Washington, the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
3. Fairfax County Program of Studies (POS)
Period Six: Civil Rights Era
Benchmark 13.l: 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.
13.1 Performance Indicators A, B, C, D
4. National History Standards
3. Historical Analysis and Interpretation
5. Historical Issues
5. Learning Strategy Objectives:
Students will be able to make predictions, use selective attention, use primary
sources and summarize materials from Civil Rights era.
6. Connection to TAH grant:
 Seminar by Dr. Errico on U.S.presidents during the Civil
Rights Era
 Article by Stephen B. Oates “Trumpet of Conscience: Martin Luther King,
Jr.” in Portrait of America
 Eric Foner’s lecture on the Fourteenth Amendment
 Eric Foner: “The Checkered History of the Great Fourteenth Amendment” in
Portrait of America
 Dr. William Obrochata and Dr. James Anderson “Civil Rights in Virginia”
at Virginia Historical Society
PART II.
1. Assessment:
 Students will define vocabulary words, participate in class discussion, and do
a photograph analysis.
 Students will go to the library, do a document search, and produce a
document.
 Students will complete a Written Document Analysis.
 Students will read and discuss documents.
 Students will participate in class discussion with guest speakers.
 Students will complete Word Splash.
 Students will complete a Timeline Scramble as final assessment.
2. Instructional Strategies
A. Day 1
1. Teacher will present a short lecture on Brown v Board of Education (1954) and the
role of Thurgood Marshall in the Supreme Court decision. (Materials/Resource
#22)
2. Students will view document from the Supreme Court decision but be presented
with synopsis of the document.
3. Students will read implications of document in Joy Hakim’s book All the People
(the overturning of Plessy v Ferguson) pp. 66-71
4. Students will read and discuss document “Frontiers in Civil Rights: Dorothy E.
Davis, et al. versus County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia. They
will also view photographs from the plaintiffs’ exhibits and discuss the role of
Oliver Hill (Materials/Resources #23).
5. Guest, Webster Bellfield, will discuss his experiences as an African American high
school student living in Virginia at the time. Students will have the opportunity to
ask him questions and view his yearbooks.
B. Day 2
1. Students will view a 10 minute film “Justice in Montgomery: JoAnn
Gibson Robinson and the Bus Boycott” from AMERICAN STORIES.
2. Students will Activate Prior Knowledge (put words/phrases on overhead or board)
regarding Rosa Parks, bus boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc.
3. Students will define vocabulary words (Materials/Resources #’s 3 and 4)
4. Teacher will give a short lecture on Rosa Parks and the momentum created by her
refusal to move to the back of the bus. (Materials/Resources #22)
5. Teacher will show newspaper headline on overhead projector.( Materials/Resources
#24)
6. Students will receive a photograph of Rosa Parks, do a written analysis of the
photograph and discuss the photograph with the class. ( Photographs #9,
Materials/Resources #5)
C. Day 3
1. Students will read an article from Montgomery newspaper and list the requests for
change. (Materials/Resources #7)
2. Students will view a PBS video clip on the Montgomery bus boycott (review) and
be introduced to the “Little Rock Nine.” (Materials/Resources #25)
3. Students will read account of “Little Rock Nine” from Joy Hakim’s book.
4. Students will take notes from overhead regarding Governor Faubus and
Eisenhower sending in federal troops. (Materials/Resources #22)
5. Students will search for newspaper accounts of “Little Rock Nine’s” attempt to
integrate Central High School. The librarian will help with databases
(Materials/Resources #10).
6. Students will discuss research in small groups and turn in a written group summary.
They will present results to class the next day.
D. Day 4
1. Students will read President Eisenhower’s “Little Rock School Crisis” speech and
Jackie Robinson’s response to the speech. (Materials/Resources #14)
2. Students will analyze using a Written Document Analysis
sheet.(Materials/Resources #12)
3. Students will view “Fighting Back” (Materials/Resources #26)
4. Students will conclude lesson by listening to CD by Mahalia Jackson singing at
Lincoln Memorial. (Materials/Resources #13)
5. Homework: Students will be given words from the “I Have a Dream” speech in
preparation for a Word Splash. (Materials/Resources #14)
E. Day 5
1. Students will form groups of three and decide what the speech/reading is about.
They will present their explanations to the class in a narrative which contains all
of the words listed.
2. Students will view a PBS film clip on the March to Washington (1963) with Mr.
Ronald Jones, our AP, reading Martin Luther King’s speech. Students will have
time to share their feelings and impressions of the speech. (Discussion of the
speech as inspiration for civil rights legislation) (Materials/Resources #27)
3. Teacher will lecture on the role of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. Students will take notes. (Materials/Resources #22)
4. Students will be shown with the lengthy document and view a synopsis of Civil
Rights Act (Materials/Resource #20)
5. Students will work in groups of three or four and using a Venn Diagram
(Materials/Resources #18)compare/contrast the Fourteenth Amendment and the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
F. Day 6
1. Teacher will read from Joy Hakim’s book All the People (pp. 119-121) about the
March from Selma, AL to Montgomery, AL.
2. Students will view video clip of March to Montgomery to include participation of
George Wallace (Materials/Resources #28)
3. Students will be given an actual literacy test and will answer the
questions. Then they will discuss their answers and how they feel about the tests.
(Materials/Resources #29)
4. Guest will discuss her remembrances of literacy tests in North Carolina.
5. Students will read and discuss the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (Materials/Resources
#20)
G. Day 7
1. Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. “Timeline Scramble” using pictures to assess learning. Students will assemble
given laminated political cartoons, photographs and newspaper articles in
chronological order to show understanding of the Civil Rights unit. (Materials/
Resources #6)
3. Materials/Resources to be used:
1. Film “Justice in Montgomery: JoAnn Gibson Robinson and the Bus Boycott”
2. Overhead projector
3. Vocabulary list
4. Model vocabulary definitions
5. Photograph Analysis Sheet
6. Laminated photographs, cartoons, articles for Timeline Scramble
7. Montgomery newspaper article
8. PBS video clip of Montgomery bus boycott and “Little Rock 9”
9. Joy Hakim’s book All the People
10. Library databases (ABC-CLIO, GALE)
11. Letter from Jackie Robinson
12. Written Document Analysis worksheet
13. Mahalia Jackson CD
14. Speeches listed in Bibliography
15. Word Splash
16. Final Assessment (test)
17. Documents listed in Bibliography
18. Venn Diagram
19. Political Cartoon by Herb Block
20. Textbook
21. Audiocassettes/books
22. Lecture talking points: Rosa Parks, Brown v. Board of Education and Thurgood
Marshall, Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights Act of l964.
23. “Frontiers in Civil Rights: Dorothy E. Davis, et al. versus County School Board of
Prince Edward County, Virginia
24. “Civil Rights Struggle in Modern Times”
25. “Second American Revolution”
26. “Fighting Back” Eyes on the Prize videocassette
27. PBS film clip on March on Washington
28. Video clip of March to Montgomery
29. Literacy test
30. Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
4. Differentiation
 Give more vocabulary to help students understand basic concepts.
 Give highlighted texts to read.
 Teacher organized groups.
 Provide copied notes.
 Give GT students more challenging readings (original documents) and
vocabulary.
 Give audio cassette and book to students with lower reading ability
5. Attachments
6. Annotated bibliography
“African American Odyssey: The Civil Rights Era (Part 1).” American Memory
Collection. Library of Congress. 15 April 2005.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9.html#0903
Background and photographs #2, 14, 18, 19, 21, 23 for the “Timeline Scramble.”
“African American Odyssey: The Civil Rights Era (Part 2).” American Memory
Collection. Library of Congress. 15 April 2005.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html
Background and photographs #4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17 for the “Timeline Scramble.”.
Anderson, Wayne. Supreme Court Cases Through Primary Sources: Brown v. Board of
Education. N.Y.: Rosen, 2004.
Photograph # 20 of Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering “I Have a Dream” speech.
Anderson, Wayne. Supreme Court Cases Through Primary Sources: Plessy v Ferguson.
N.Y.: Rosen, 2004.
Photograph #1 of the “colored” man at the water cooler.
Awakenings (1954-56), Vol. # 162. 1986. Videocassette. PBS, 2005.
Videoclips from the Eyes on the Prize series on events in the Civil Rights Movement
between 1954 and 1956.
Block, Herb. “And remember, nothing can be accomplished by taking to the streets.”
Herblock’s History. 6 September 1963. Library of Congress. 25 September 2005.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/animal.html
Brown, Adele Q. Martin Luther King, Jr. Milwaukee: World Almanac Library, 2004.
Photograph #26 of Malcolm X. Recommend for additional reading.
“Brown v. Board of Education.” 1955. National Center for Public Policy Research’s
Constitution and the Courts Archive. 15 September 2005.
http://www.nationalcenter.org/
Summary of the case with issues listed for appeal.
“Civil Rights Struggle in Modern Times.” Dec. 6, 1955, Copyprint from microfilm.
Serial and Government Publications Division (9-3) Montgomery Advertiser.
http://www.zum.de/wettbewerbe/unterricht_innovativ/projekte2004/fiebig/1000days/civil
rights.htm 26 April 2005.
Photocopy of headline article “5,000 at Meeting Outline Boycott; Bullets Clip Bus”
in Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, Alabama. December 6, 1955.
Collins, Michelle. “Little Rock: An Overview.” 1997. New York Times Electronic Media
Company. 15 April 2005. http://www.uoregon.edu/~jbloom/race/overview.htm
Provides an overview of the situation in Little Rock, Arkansas, three years after the
Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine (Brown v. Board of
Education), and Central High School was required to admit black students.
“Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27.” Historical Documents.
National Archives. 11 September 2005.
Http://www.archives.gov/
Text of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Downey, Matthew T., James R. Giese, and Fay D. Metcalf. United States History: In the
Course of Human Events. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1997.
General background for lectures.
“Dwight D. Eisenhower: Little Rock School Crisis speech (1957).” American History.
ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 27 April 2005.
http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/tools/printoremail/PrintOremail.html
President Eisenhower’s televised speech to the American people on September 24,
1957 explaining the deployment of federal troops and the nationalization of the
Arkansas National Guard to ensure the integration of Central High School in Little
Rock, Arkansas.
“Eight Key Documents on Civil Rights.” Teaching With Documents Using Primary
Sources from the National Archives. 1989. Washington, D.C. Published for the
National Archives and Records Administration by the National Archives Trust Fund
Board.
Discussion questions on the Fourteenth Amendment.
“Federal Records Pertaining to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954).”
Reference Information Paper 112. Washington, D.C. Published for the National
Archives and Records Administration by the National archives Trust fund Board.
25 September 2005.
Photograph #7 of Linda Brown and other children part of the landmark challenge case.
Fighting Back (1957-62). Vol.#163. 186. Videocassette. PBS, 2005.
Videoclips from Eyes on the Prize series on events in the Civil Rights Movement
between 1957-1962.
Fradin, Judith Bloom and Dennis Brindell Fradin. The Power of One: Daisy Bates and
The Little Rock Nine. N.Y.: Clarion, 2004.
Photograph #13 of “A mother and son parade in front of the Arkansas State Capitol.”
Recommend for enrichment reading.
Freedman, Russell. The Voice That Challenged the Nation: Marian Anderson and the
Struggle for Civil Rights.” N.Y.: Clarion, 2004.
Photograph #3 of what came from the Jim Crow segregation laws of 1960’s.
Recommend for enrichment reading.
“Frontiers in Civil Rights: Dorothy E. Davis, et al. versus County School Board of
Prince Edward County.” Teaching With Documents: Documents Related to Brown v.
Board of Education. 2001. U.S. National Archives & Records Administration.
11 September 2005.
http://www.archives.gov/
Background on the Civil Rights Movement in Virginia. Photograph #6 of exterior of
Moton High School.
“George Wallace at the University of Alabama.” Photograph. Teacher-Created Materials
#8128. Exploring History Through Primary Sources – Civil Rights.
Photograph.
Hakim, Joy. A History of US. Book 10. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
pp. 81-85.
Background information for lectures.
Jackson, Mahalia. “Amazing Grace.” Queens of Gospel. Compact Disc. 2002. Universal
Special Products. 2005.
CD that features “Amazing Grace,” a song sung often by gospel singer, Mahalia
Jackson during her early involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
Johnson, Tom. “Bus Boycott Conference Fails to Find Solution.” Alabama Archives:
Riding the Bus.” 12/9/55. Alabama Department of Archives and History Public
Information Subject Files – General file, Bus Boycott, SG6945, folder 305b. Alabama
Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.
http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/rights/lesson1/doc3.html 26 April 2005.
In a meeting with local bus lines officials, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. set
forth proposals for new seating arrangements for blacks on buses. These proposals
were put forth in an effort to stop the black boycott of city buses. King’s efforts were
unsuccessful and the boycott continues.
Justice in Montgomery: Jo Ann Gibson Robinson and the Bus Boycott. American
Stories. 1998. Videocassette. McDougal Littell Inc., 2005.
Primary source account narrated by Jo Ann Gibson Robinson who was involved in the
Bus Boycott.
King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream Speech.” Washington, D.C.. 28 August 1963.
The U.S. Constitution Online. 15 September 2005.
http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html
Inspirational speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
“A Literacy Test.” Proceedings of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States
Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress, First Session on S. 1564, March 23-April 5, 1965.
Teaching With Documents Using Primary Resources from the National Archives.
An actual literacy test to use with students.
Major, Devorah. Rosa Parks: Freedom Fighter. Volo, ILL: Don Johnston Incorporated,
1999. CD, Audiocassette, Book.
This set would provide a Special Education adaptation for lower reading level student,
who could read along while listening to the text. Recommend for enrichment reading.
“1957: Troops end Little Rock School Crisis.” On This Day. BBC News. 25 September
2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/25
Photograph #11 of troops escorting nine schoolchildren to class in Little Rock.
Parks, Rosa and Jim Haskins. Rosa Parks: My Story. N.Y.: Dial Books, 1992.
Photograph #9 of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted. Recommendation for outside
reading.
Robinson, Jackie. “Letter to President Eisenhower.” 5/13/1958. National Archives. 15
April 2005.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/featured_documents/jackie_robinson_letter/images/
robinson_letter_page_1
In this letter, Jackie Robinson admonishes President Eisenhower for telling blacks that
they need to have “patience” with reference to civil rights. He refers to Eisenhower’s
decisive action in ordering troops into Little Rock, and suggests that anything short of
decisive action on civil rights served as an encouragement to pro-segregationists like
Governor Faubus.
“Rosa Parks Being Fingerprinted.” Photograph. Teacher Created Materials #8128.
Exploring History Through Primary Sources – Civil Rights.
Photograph (same as photograph #9 on photographs list)
Second American Revolution, Part II; Volume # 94. 1986. Videocassette. PBS, 2005.
Video clips of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, segregation/desegregation in Little
Rock, AR, Greensborough, NC lunch counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides, the
University of Mississippi, and desegregation of the University of Alabama.
Turner, Matthew, ed. USA Sixties, Vol. 2. Danbury, CT: Grolier, 2001.
Photograph #25 of the “ugly face of racism.”
“Voices of Civil Rights.” Exhibitions. May 26, 2005. Library of Congress. October 28,
2005.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civilrights/cr-exhibit.html
Photographs #13, #20.
“Voting Rights Act 1965.” . Historical Documents. 1965. U.S. National Archives &
Records Administration. 11 September 2005
http://www.archives.gov/
“Written Document Analysis Worksheet.” U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration, Washington D.C.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/photo.html
24 April 2005.
Worksheet for analyzing documents.