Contemporary Social Issues
Day
Topic
Unit 7: Race & Ethnicity
Agenda
Assignments Due
HW Assigned
82
Intro

Race as a Social Construct Activities
83
Race v.
Ethnicity


PPT: Race & Ethnicity
Discussion: How does race impact your life?
Issues Paper #3
“Social Issues
Evaluation”
Enrichment [due
Mar.20]
84
MinorityMajority
Relations


PPT: Minority & Dominant Group Relations
Ethnic Cleansing Video Clips
Crash Course: Race &
Ethnicity
85
Prejudice &
Discrimination


PPT: Prejudice & Discrimination
Short Stories / What Would You Do?
86
A Class
Divided

A Class Divided Video
87
A Class
Divided


Finish Video
Discussion
88
U.S. Race
Relations



PPTs: Race Relations & Effects of Race
Video Clip
Assign topics & partners for Research Project
89
White
Privilege


“White Privilege” Article
Discussion
90
“Poor Black
Kid”


“If I Was a Poor Black Kid” Articles
Discussion
91
U.S. Race
Relations



PPT: Black Lives Matter
Video Clip [10 min]
Articles & Discussion
92
Effects of
Race

Effects of Race Research Project [Library]
Order of Research Paper & Previous 3 lessons
may change due to lab availability
93
Effects of
Race

Effects of Race Research Project [Library]
Finish Research Project
94
U.S. Race
Relations


PPT: Affirmative Action
Discussion
[Tentative End 3rd MP]
95
Debate

Affirmative Action Debate
96
“Two Nations”

FRONTLINE: Two Nations of Black America
97
“Two Nations”


Finish FRONTLINE Video
Discussion
98
Presentations

Effects of Race Research Project Presentations
99
Presentations

Effects of Race Research Project Presentations
100
Presentations

Effects of Race Research Project Presentations
101
Debate

Immigration Debate
102
Exam

Unit 7 Exam: Race & Ethnicity
Crash Course
Issues Paper #3
[Mon.3/14]
Debate Notes:
Affirmative Action
Effects of Race Research
Project
Debate Argument
Debate Notes:
Affirmative Action
Debate Argument:
Immigration
Essential Questions
 How is race different
from ethnicity?
 What proves race is a
social construct?
 How are people treated
differently based on
race?
 What forms do prejudice
and discrimination take in
the United States?
 Are affirmative action
policies still needed in the
United States to
compensate for past
discrimination?
Enduring Understandings

The term ‘race’ is applied to broad categories of people, generally classified by skin color and
sometimes related to national origin, whereas ethnicity denotes a person’s culture or
heritage.
 ‘Races’ differ by society and have changed over time, proving that these classifications are
simply constructed by society to justify differential treatment of certain groups of people.
 People in minority race groups may be discriminated against, oppressed, subordinated, or
even be victims of violence and harassment all the way to ethnic cleansing instances and
genocides.
 In the United States, prejudice and discrimination may take the form of racial slurs,
harassment, different assumptions about people based on their names or color, police
brutality and racial profiling, and even murder.
 People who see affirmative action as necessary claim that ethnic minorities still need a ‘leg
up’ in college admissions and employment; however, opponents to affirmative action claim
that being ‘colorblind’ is the best way to end racism or that racism is no longer a barrier to
ethnic minorities.
Supplemental Materials & Links
 PBS – Illusion of Race http://www.pbs.org/race/001_WhatIsRace/001_00-home.htm
 “Sorting People” Activity http://www.pbs.org/race/002_SortingPeople/002_01-sort.htm
 “Race Timeline” http://www.pbs.org/race/003_RaceTimeline/003_01-timeline.htm
 Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia [7 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbNocQORWQ8
 Ethnic Cleansing in the Central African Republic [3:25 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG8Fsu9e8oI
 Iraq: Ethnic Cleansing [3:22 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nTz1Bc6X0
 FRONTLINE: A Class Divided [54 min] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/class-divided/
 CNN: Race Relations in the United States [8 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BOlc7r_3ao
 What Would You Do? Interracial Couple [8:42 min] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjGLECNnxKE
 “The Effects of Race and Ethnicity, Both Obvious and Subtle”
http://web.trinity.edu/Documents/student_affairs_docs/CCI_docs/Diversity/The%20Effects%20of%20Race%20
and%20Ethnicity,%20Both%20Obvious%20and%20Subtle.pdf
Standards
New Jersey Social Studies Standards
 6.1.12.D.14.b Assess the effectiveness of actions taken to address the causes of continuing urban tensions and violence
 6.1.12.D.14.d Evaluate the extent to which women, minorities, individuals with gender preferences, and individuals with
disabilities have met their goals of equality in the workplace, politics, and society
 6.1.12.D.14.f Determine the influence of multicultural beliefs, products, and practices in shaping contemporary American
culture
 6.1.12.A.16.a Examine the impact of media and technology on political and social issues in a global society
 6.2.12.A.5.d Analyze the causes and consequences of mass killings and evaluate the responsibilities of the world community in
response to such events.
 6.2.12.A.6.d Assess the effectiveness of responses by governments and international organizations to tensions resulting from
ethnic, territorial, religious, and/or nationalist differences
 6.3.12.D.1 Analyze the impact of current governmental practices and laws affecting national security and/or individual civil
rights/privacy
Georgia Sociology Standards
 SSSocFR2: Explain the research methodologies used in sociology.
 SSSocC2: Students will evaluate how cultures develop and evolve.
 SSSocC3: Students will analyze social structure and interaction within society.
 SSSocSC1: Students will explain the process of socialization.
 SSSocSC4: Students will analyze functions of social institutions as agents of social control across differing societies and times.
 SSSocIC1: Students will analyze forms of social inequality.
Common Core: Social Studies Literacy Standards
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6 Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the
authors' claims, reasoning, and evidence.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and
information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.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.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups,
and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively.
CURRICULUM EXCERPT
Focus of Instruction:








Differences between race & ethnicity
How race is socially constructed
Minority & Dominant Group Relations – around the world (inferior treatment, segregation, subjugation, ethnic
cleansing, genocide, assimilation, multiculturalism)
Prejudice & Discrimination – definitions, institutional vs. individual
How race& prejudices are socialized (“A Class Divided”)
Effects of race in the United States (using Census data & “What Would You Do?”)
White Privilege
Benefits & costs of Affirmative Action
Benchmarks:








Describe in detail with specific examples how ‘race’ is socially constructed with no biological basis
Differentiate between race and ethnicity
Explain how/why race has been and still is utilized as a concept
Explain how race and ethnicity can affect opportunities for minorities in the US today
Describe ‘white privilege’ and continued examples of racism and discrimination in the US
Analyze graphs and tables to draw conclusions and make hypotheses
Describe the living standards and demographics of blacks and whites in America today
Evaluate the effectiveness and justice of Affirmative Action policies