Civil Rights Assignment:
Visual Essay
Your final assignment for the Civil Rights unit is to create a Visual Essay as a way to remember past and
present issues of inequality and discrimination.
First, select an issue/theme in connection with the Civil Rights movement that we have studied (eg:
Martin Luther King, non-violence resistance, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, etc.) Once you have selected
your issue/theme, begin to select images and choose a message that commemorates your topic.
Finally, combine your information and images to appropriate music that has a message/moral in
connection with Civil Rights.
With a partner, your task will be:
1. Explore the issue:
 Include introductory information on the issue you are remembering; its importance, its influence on
American society, and political/cultural implications.
 Refer back to Ch.32, the power point presentations, and the various clips that were shown in class
2. Select a song that accurately depicts the emotions and concerns of the Civil Rights movement:
 Refer to our Exemplar from class
 Provide the lyrics
3. Visually represent your issue supported with an appropriate message:
 Create a Power Point presentation
 Select images (www.google.ca) that support your Visual Essay’s message and commemorate your
issue
 Your images should create meaning and provoke critical insight and emotion
 Choose a message/quote (from your favourite musical artist, poet, writer, from one of the speeches
that were studied, etc.) that demonstrates your understanding of the Civil Rights movement
 You should focus on creating an effective presentation making use of Power Point application: time
your slides to your song, have slides transition on their own, etc.
4. Present!!!
 You must introduce your Visual Essay and explain why you have selected your issue, images,
message/quote and music. The presentation will not be more than 15 minutes in length, including
the presentation of the Visual Essay.
The Civil Rights Movement:
Visual Essay Rubric
Names:
Categories
Issue:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Knowledge/
Understanding
Understanding of
information, ideas,
concepts, and themes
Demonstrates limited
understanding of the
overall meaning of the
chosen theme
Demonstrates some
understanding
Demonstrates
considerable
understanding
Demonstrates thorough
and insightful
understanding
Understanding of
relationships among
facts, ideas, goals,
principles, concepts
and themes
Demonstrates limited
understanding of the
Civil Rights Movement in
relation to a specific
theme
Demonstrates some
understanding
Demonstrates
considerable
understanding
Demonstrates thorough
and insightful
understanding
Demonstrates limited
understanding of the
goals and principles of
the Civil Rights
Movement
Demonstrates some
understanding
Demonstrates
considerable
understanding
Demonstrates thorough
and insightful
understanding
Critical and creative
thinking and Inquiry
skills
Unable to effectively
describe their selected
music and message in
their own words
Able to describe their
selected music and
message their own
words with moderate
effectiveness
Able to describe their
selected music and
message in their own
words with considerable
effectiveness
Able to describe their
selected music and
message in their own
words with a high degree
of effectiveness
Critically think about
the message in
selected music in
relation to the Civil
Rights Movement
Unable to support their
reason for selecting their
music and message
Able to support their
reason for selecting their
music and message with
moderate effectiveness
Able to support their
reason for selecting their
music and message with
considerable effectiveness
Able to support their
reason for selecting their
music and message with a
high degree of
effectiveness
Unable to effectively
connect their music and
message to the overall
issue presented in the
visual essay
Able to connect their
music and message to
the overall issue
presented in the visual
essay with moderate
effectiveness
Able to connect their music
and message to the overall
issue presented in the
visual essay with
considerable effectiveness
Able to connect their
selected music and
message to the overall
issue presented in the
visual essay with a high
degree of effectiveness
Oral presentation:
Oral presentation:
Oral presentation:
Oral presentation:
Communicates the
information and meaning
of the music and
message with limited
clarity
Communicates the
information and meaning
of the music and
message with some
clarity
Communicates the
information and meaning of
the music and message
with considerable clarity
Communicates the
information and meaning of
the music and message
with a high degree of
clarity, and with confidence
Communication
(continued)
Visual Essay:
Visual Essay:
Visual Essay:
Visual Essay:
Communication of
information and ideas
Poorly organized and
communicates the
information and meaning
of the music and
Fairly well organized
and communicates the
information and meaning
of the music and
Very well organized and
communicates the
information and meaning of
the music and message
Extremely well organized
and communicates the
information and meaning of
the music and message
Thinking/
Inquiry
Communication
Communication of
information and ideas
message with limited
clarity. Connection of
message to selected
music and images are
inappropriate.
Comments:
Overall Level: __________
message with some
clarity. Connection of
message to selected
music and images are
moderately appropriate.
with considerable clarity.
Connection of message
selected music and images
are appropriate.
with a high degree of
clarity. Connection of
message selected music
and images are very
appropriate.