The Women of the Civil Rights Movement Lesson Designers

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The Women of the Civil Rights Movement Lesson Designers CIVIL RIGHTS Unit: Lesson 2 We Shall Not Be Moved: The Women of the Civil Rights Movement Lesson Designers: K. Wise Whitehead and Yvonne Waller Grade Level: 6th - 8th grade Unit: Integrating with All Deliberate Speed--The Civil Rights Movement 1954-1972 Lesson Duration: One 60 minute class period OOVVEERRVVIIIEEWW Students should have a working knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement (for more information, please see Lesson One: The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement). In addition, students should know how to analyze primary and secondary sources; how to synthesize material; and how to read and analyze historical documents. Lesson Essentials: Primary source "packets" comprised of 1. NVLP video clips and transcripts 2. Images 3. Speeches & Documents Additional Materials 4. Historiography 5. Words and Phrases 6. Worksheets 7. Teacher Transparency Classroom Materials: 1. Chart paper 2. Students' in-class journals 3. Activity Bins (colored paper, markers, scissors, glue, tape, etc.) Student Tools: 1. Timeline (opens in new page) 2. Student Site (opens in new page) Technical Requirements: To teach this lesson, you will need: 1. A computer with Internet connection 2. Windows Media Player (free download) 3. A PDF reader (for example, Adobe Acrobat, free download) 4. Speakers attached to the computer 1 Suggested Vocabulary: Activist: A person who believes in forceful action (as a mass demonstration) for political purpose. Civil Rights Movement: The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle by Black Americans in the mid- 1950s to early 1970s to achieve civil rights equal to those of whites, including equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education, as well as the right to vote, the right to equal access to public facilities, and the right to be free of racial discrimination. OOBBJJJEECCTTIIIVVEESS Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to: . Analyze the contributions and struggles of Black women leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy I. Height, and Coretta Scott King, by reading and discussing their experiences; . Explain the influences of motives, beliefs, and actions of different individuals and groups on the outcome of historical events; . Analyze multiple perspectives; . Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations; and . Interpret primary source documents to determine their validity. EESSSSEENNTTIIIAALL QQUUEESSTTIIIOONNSS . What was the role of women during the Civil Rights Movement? . Who defined their role and participation in the Civil Rights Movement? . Who were some of the female leaders of the Civil Rights Movement? . What were their contributions and struggles during the Civil Rights Movement? PPRROOCCEEDDUURREESS Prior to using this lesson in the classroom, review the Historiography and primary source materials for this lesson by clicking on the button on the left side navigation labeled "primary sources." In addition to primary sources, this area includes historical documents, speeches, and worksheets that you can download and use for this lesson. The NVLP lessons are designed for both teachers who have access to the Internet and a computer with Windows Media Player (free download) and those who do not. If you do not have Internet access, you can print the materials and read the video clip transcripts. Depending upon how much time you have to teach this lesson, choose two or more video clips. For this lesson, there are also five images of women who were instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement; a suggested teacher transparency with an image of the “Big Six” Civil Rights leaders; an article by Ella Baker; and student worksheets. Print out the photographs, video transcripts and documents and organize the material into "primary source packets" for your students. The students will be working in groups, so print enough copies so that you have one "packet" for each group. If you like, you can print different images and different transcripts so that each group does not have the same exact primary source packet. 2 DAY ONE Warm Up/Motivation: 1. Begin by instructing students that you are going to give them three minutes to write just three sentences about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. (Since this is a continuation of the Civil Rights Movement lesson, ask students to specifically think about what they knew before they began discussing it over the last couple of days.) 2. After the instructed time has elapsed, tell the students to pair up and share their sentences by discussing the following questions: . Do their two stories match up with one another? . Are there any misconceptions in the sentences? . If the stories are not similar and misconceptions were found, why do they think this is so? (Note: Often, students have been taught information about certain historical events and they do not know that these misconceptions are in fact false. This activity will allow the students to, through their own exploration, discover how easy it is for history to be misrepresented depending upon who is telling the story.) 3. Take time to clear up any misconceptions that students may have about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Guided Practice: 4. Inform the students that they will be examining the contributions of five women in the Civil Rights Movement to investigate whether these women have been largely overshadowed by male leaders in the Movement. They will also examine the possible implications this presents to the historiography--the writing of history based on scholarly disciplines such as the analysis and evaluation of source materials--of the Civil Rights Movement. 5. Distribute Student Worksheet 2-1 to students. This resource sheet presents photographs of Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Dorothy I. Height, and Coretta Scott King. 6. On the chalkboard or on chart paper, write the numbers that correspond to the photographs of the women and ask students to name the women. 7. After the students have answered or attempted to answer, reveal the names of these women and begin to inform students of their contributions to the Movement. (See Historiography.) 8. After you have given the background of these women and their contributions, refer to the vocabulary list and answer any questions or clear up any misconceptions that the students may have. 9. Tell students that they are going to listen to (or read) two interviews from the National Visionary Leadership Project: Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Coretta Scott King. Of the women profiled in this lesson's historiography, Dr. Height is the only one who is still alive. She talks about her experiences as a woman helping to organize the March on Washington. Coretta Scott King talks about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. If you have access to the Internet and a computer with Windows Media Player, play one or two of the clips listed in the primary sources section for this lesson. If not, read the transcripts aloud. Also hand out copies of the transcript(s) so students can read them silently along with you. Tell them to take notes about anything that peaks their interest. (See Student Worksheet 2-4 for text of the clips.) (In addition to the selected Dr. Height and Coretta Scott King clips, screen the Amelia Boynton Robinson clip(s) and the additional Dr. Height clip for possible inclusion in the lesson.) 3 10. Once the clip(s) has ended, guide the students in a discussion with the following questions: Dr. Height questions: . Why do you think it was so difficult to convince the organizers to have a woman speak at the March? . Do you think it was important to have a woman included in the list of speakers? Why or why not? . Who are some of the women that would speak if a March on Washington was held this year? (Have the students provide reasons for their choices.) Coretta Scott King questions: . What do you think Coretta Scott King meant when she said that, "you have an inner peace and a satisfaction if you feel that you are doing the right thing and doing what God intends for you to do"? . How difficult would it be for you to commit to doing something that may cause you to lose your life? Can you think of a reason or cause for which you would be willing to die? . What is Dr. King's legacy? What is Mrs. King's legacy? What do you want your legacy to be and what will you do to make it happen? Independent Practice: 11. Separate students into groups of four and then give them the Student Worksheet 2-2: Women and Community Leadership by Ella Baker. 12. Inform students that they will have twenty minutes to read the passage. After students have completed the passage, hand out Student Resource Sheet 2-3: How to Interpret a Document. 13. Students should select a recorder to record the group findings on chart paper (everyone else should record their notes in their notebooks); a reporter to present the group findings to the class; a task manager to manage their group's process and a time-keeper. 14. Once group assignments have been made, inform students that they will have 10-15 minutes to complete Student Resource Sheet 2-3. 15. Once time has elapsed, group leaders should then share out their group's findings. Whole group discussion should follow: . Explain why Ella Baker said, "There was no place for me to come into a leadership role." . Do you feel that the other women we have discussed felt the same way? Why or why not? . Baker states that she made a "conscious decision on the basis of larger goals" to accept the positions given to her. Do you agree or disagree with this decision? Why or why not? . Do you feel that women today face some of the same challenges when it comes to occupying leadership positions? Give some examples.
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