Justine Hipsky
Pathwise Lesson Plan
Unit: "People Power: The Role of Non-Violent Protest in Democracy"
Lesson: The Children of Project C
Grade Level: 7th grade Civics
Content Standards:
SS.912.C.1: Demonstrate an understanding of the origins and purposes of government, law,
and the American political system.
SS.912.C.2: Evaluate the roles, rights, and responsibilities of United States citizens and
determine methods of active participation in society, government, and the political system.
Learning Objectives:
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Students will use primary source documents to analyze the social and political
climate in Alabama in 1963.
Students will understand why the organizers behind the Civil Rights movement
were focused in Birmingham, AL.
Students will understand the general nature of Civil Disobedience by learning about
the difference between a just law and an unjust law.
Students will understand the outcome of the children’s crusade in relation to the
goals of Project C.
Students will understand how the First amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects
the rights of the Project C demonstrators.
Guiding Question:
Why did 2,000 children go to jail in Birmingham, AL in May 1963?
Sub-questions:
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What were the goals of Project C and how were these goals to be accomplished?
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” how does MLK Jr. explain the purpose and
effectiveness of nonviolent direct action?
What is the difference between a just law and an unjust law?
What is the rationale behind using children in the fight for civil rights?
Did using children in the mass protests help to achieve the goals of Project C?
How does the First Amendment apply to the events of Project C?
Content Summary:
Prior to this unit, students will be introduced to the Bill of Rights, and will explore how the
Bill of Rights has structured our democratic society. This unit in its entirety is intended to
be a series of case studies on the First amendment with a specific focus on the right to
peacefully assemble. Project C took place during the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham,
AL in the spring of 1963 to protest the discriminatory city ordinances. The series of peaceful
mass demonstrations, led by the SCLS, involved the black community of Birmingham
staging sit-ins and marches. After a month of action, the leaders of Project C decided to
organize a children’s march to take place on May 2nd since children did not have to miss
work to participate. 959 children filled the Birmingham jails by the end of the day. The
following day, another 1,000 children showed up to march. The police turned hoses and
police dogs on the child protesters. The jails were now full, and the situation in Birmingham
made national news. Three days later, the Birmingham Treaty was signed. The
demonstrations that took place during Project C will illustrate to the students why the First
amendment is a potent tool in helping citizens to address grievances with the government,
and affect legal and social change.
Student Grouping:
Students will analyze the provided clues in pairs. Pairs, as opposed to small groups or
individuals, work best with this activity because it would be difficult to gather more than
two students around one computer, yet it will be beneficial to students to be able to discuss
and share ideas with a peer while reviewing the clues. Students will complete the
worksheets and write the journal entry individually because some of the questions on the
worksheet are subjective, and they should not feel obligated to compromise if they feel
strongly about a particular answer. Also, the individual work component will ensure that all
students are held accountable for their participation.
Methods:
This content is conducive to the inquiry method because there seem to be an abundance of
primary sources available from this historical event—from newspaper articles to videos to
photographs to speeches to a list of city ordinances. Inquiry allows students to truly utilize
their critical thinking skills by investigating a certain issue independently and using their
findings to reach a conclusion of some sort. While this particular lesson is an example of
highly structured inquiry learning since the teacher is providing the resources to be
investigated, it still forces students to combine their background knowledge with their
interpretations of the research findings to form their own opinions. The inquiry method is
an effective tool to use when teaching students how to be efficient researchers, and in turn
how to reach their own conclusions. The skills required to engage in inquiry-based learning
are skills that will enable students to become informed citizens.
Think-Pair-Share will be utilized for the analysis of primary sources to provide students
with an outlet to discuss the meaning of each primary source. Again, this method allows
students an opportunity to reflect on findings with their peers, and makes it easier for those
students who may be hesitant to participate in a large group setting to engage in peer
discussion.
A simple teacher-led discussion will be used to reflect on the students’ takeaway from the
lesson in a holistic manner. The teacher and students together will debrief the inquiry
activity by summarizing what everyone learned from the lesson. Students will be called on
to answer questions from their graphic organizer. This will ensure that if one student
misinterpreted a particular clue, or question, they can gain some clarity from their peers
and from the teacher. This activity serves to not only hold students accountable for their
work, but to also discuss the overall themes from the lesson: just laws vs. unjust laws, nonviolent protest (peaceful assembly in particular), and the first amendment. Once students
appear to have a thorough understanding of the new content, the teacher will assign the
journal entry for homework.
Activities:
Opening: A mini-lecture reviewing the First amendment, the definition of non-violent
protest, and an overview of the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement. This will be
conducted via Power Point presentation.
The skeleton outline of the Power Point is as follows:
 Remembering the First Amendment
 How is non-violent protest defined? What are some examples? When might it
be necessary for citizens to use non-violent protest?
 When did the Civil Rights Movement begin? What were the overall goals of the
movement?
Main Activity: The teacher will pair students before leading the class to the computer lab to
begin the web-based inquiry lesson. This lesson requires that the students review nine
different primary sources in pairs in order to answer sub-questions that are listed on a
thought organizer worksheet. Once students are settled at their computer next to their
partner, the teacher will give verbal instruction to supplement the written instructions that
are provided on the weebly website. The students will be expected to thoroughly review
each clue, and discuss each clue in pairs as they progress. Students will be encouraged to
use the worksheet to guide their reading. This way, they have a better understanding of
what information they should be seeking in the primary source documents. The teacher will
be available throughout the duration of this online activity to answer any questions, and to
guide students in the right direction. The teacher will be continuously walking around in
order to assess each student’s participation level in the activity, and to gauge whether the
provided clues are actually leading the students in the intended direction. If the teacher
senses that the clues are not scaffolding the material well enough, the teacher will address
the class as a whole in order to help them along the inquiry process (if this is the case, the
teacher will use this experience to appropriately adjust the lesson for future use). Once each
student has finished reviewing the clues, and completing the worksheet, the class will move
back to the classroom. Since the mini-lecture and the inquiry activity will take an entire
block period, the “closing” activity will most likely need to be conducted during the
following class meeting.
Closing: Conduct a class discussion using the sub-questions from the worksheet. This will
be a structured, teacher-led discussion meant to review the new content and to reflect on
the students’ takeaway from the lesson in a holistic manner. The teacher and students
together will debrief the inquiry activity by summarizing what everyone learned from the
lesson. Students will be called on to answer questions from their graphic organizer. This
will ensure that if one student misinterpreted a particular clue, or question, they can gain
some clarity from their peers and from the teacher. This activity serves to not only hold
students accountable for their work, but to also discuss the overall themes from the lesson:
just laws vs. unjust laws, non-violent protest (peaceful assembly in particular), and the first
amendment. Once students appear to have a thorough understanding of the new content,
the teacher will assign the journal entry for homework.
Materials:
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At least one computer for each student
The Weebly Website (http://thechildrenofprojectc.weebly.com)
Primary Sources relevant to the guiding question (accessible through the class
website)
o Birmingham Racial Segregation Ordinances
o The two excerpts from MLK Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
o The two newspaper articles that reported on the children’s march in
Birmingham
o The excerpt from MLK Jr.’s “School Boycott Concept”
o The Project C video from PBS’ Eyes on the Prize series
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o The Birmingham Truce Agreement document
o The teacher abridged version of President Kennedy’s Civil Rights Address
Worksheet with guiding sub-questions (accessible through the class website)
Vocabulary sheet with new words (accessible through the class website)
The Penzu website where the class journal is located (accessible through the class
website)
Evaluation:
Formative:
 Walking around room to observe levels of student participation
 Completion of worksheet
Summative:
 Journal Entry:
o Students will write a journal entry from the perspective of a 12-year-old
African American child who is behind bars in a Birmingham jail due to their
participation in the marches. They will be required to reference at least ten
historically relevant facts to support their entry. Students will be asked to
consider the following questions while writing their entry:
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How did the policemen treat you today and what are the conditions in the jail?
What changes do you hope to see in society as a result of these protests?
Do you feel that your participation in the protests is honorable? Are you proud to be
a part of the movement? Is your family proud of you?
Do you feel that even if your actions do not change anything your efforts are still
worth it?
The writing assignment in the form of a journal entry has been chosen as the summative
evaluation for this lesson because it allows each student to empathize with the children who
participated in Project C, and in turn allows each student to illustrate their understanding of
WHY people engage in non-violent protest.