Planning the Unit

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: FREEDOM SUMMER

MAKE KEY DECISIONS Prepare for the topic. The purpose of this unit is to build understanding of the Civil Rights Movement and to deepen students’ understanding of justice and equal- ity and the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Developing empathy for others is essential to a civil society. The attitudes and val- ues that are explored in this unit can be sensitive and in conflict with family and community views. A safe and supportive environment that fosters an exploration of racism and prejudice meaningfully is important for this unit. Suggestions are pro- vided in the first episode for establishing or revisiting classroom climate, respecting alternative viewpoints, and actively listening to each other’s ideas. The unit takes three to four weeks. Create a Time Line. In this unit you can make a class timeline to keep track of impor- tant civil rights events and dates. Plan wall space for the timeline. You may want to add events that take place before or after those in the Storypath. Use the content slide sets as a starting point. In this way, a context is provided for understanding this time period and its relationship to other events. Plan Space for the Storypath. You will need ample wall space for displaying the student artifacts, characters, and timeline. If you are doing this Storypath with more than one class, foldable display charts are useful. Plan for Interviews. In Episode 1, students interview an older family member or friend about life in the early 1960s. You may want to have students do this before the unit begins to provide adequate time for students to conduct the interviews. Arrange for Role-plays. In Episode 1 you may want to invite another adult to give the speech that introduces the unit. Again in Episode 4, arrange for an adult to play the role of restaurant owner—you could also play this role. The Teaching Master 8, Refusing Service, describes how this role should be presented. In Episode 6, as an optional activity, you can invite adults to play the role of protesters and then change roles to play community members. The teacher can play these roles as well. Discuss the Use of Language. In this Storypath “Black” and “Negro” are used because those were the terms of the time period. Be sure to explain why these terms are used in this Storypath before beginning the unit. Use Primary Documents. There are many primary documents available with video footage and first person accounts. One of the best websites is the Civil Rights Movement Veterans (www.crmvet.org). See Additional Resources for more information. Weave in Historical Information. Throughout the unit students will be guided by key questions that you will ask as the Storypath develops. Students will also read and conduct research using materials such as the Content Slide Sets, primary sources in the Portfolio and at the end of the Teacher’s Handbook, and outside resources such as fiction and nonfiction trade books. This nonfiction content will be used to move

12 Freedom Summer Customize ? Why do you think there is so much tension around Negroes literacy wanting to be treated equally? Vocabulary Listening Skills ELL ? Why is registering to vote important? • listen with a specific • civil rights ? How do you think people of color feel about the events described by purpose; (See Background the speechmaker? • visualize; Information for • use context to define ? How do you think Whites feel about the Civil Rights Movement in a definition.) unfamiliar words; and the South? • make inferences ? Do you think all Whites feel the same way about what is happening? and predictions. ? What else do you know about this time period? ? What was life like in the 1960s? ? Do you think you would accept the invitation to go to Mississippi to register voters? Read a Primary Document

Have students read the Teaching Master 3, “Mississippi Summer teaching Project Brochure.” Use Portfolio 1 “Read for Information” to guide the master reading. Discuss student responses and additional information found in T3 the brochure. Discuss classroom climate portfolio Discuss with students how they can talk about sensitive issues and respect 1 - each other’s ideas. Encourage students to construct their own guidelines, with students considering the following ground rules: Customize Reading ■ Each person has the opportunity to speak. Vocabulary ELL ■ Listeners do not interrupt the speaker. Common Core • civic action Cite evidence to support ■ Listeners listen carefully to what is said. • rights understanding and analysis • free speech ■ Anything personal that is shared is kept confidential in and make inferences. • volunteer the classroom. Introduce the civil rights workers Explain that the students’ story is going to be about the people that volunteered to travel to Jackson, Mississippi to register voters in the summer of 1964. Explain that each student will create his or her own character for the story—a civil rights worker. Use questions like the following to get the discussion underway. During the brainstorming, create a list of students’ ideas. ? What kind of people might want to participate in this activity? ? What would they value?

? What would families of volunteers value? Content ? Who could arrange to take a summer away to participate? slide set ? What occupations might people have that would be helpful 1 as volunteers? After students have discussed the above questions explain to students that in our democracy, citizens can take action to change the way things are. These civic actions are the rights we have as citizens: the right to free speech, the right to move from one place to another, and the right to disagree with each other. Episode 1 Freedom Summer 17