Name: Hillary Werner Number of Learners: 20 learners Date: 2/29/15 Estimated time: 60 mins. Grade: Fifth Grade Actual time: 60 mins. School/Town: Boston Curriculum Area: Social Studies

The Civil Rights Movement: Analyzing Tensions through Visuals

I. PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Prior to this lesson, students have begun a unit on the Civil Rights Movement. They have

studied major events, people, and places related to the Movement (ex. Montgomery Bus

Boycott). They have covered what the Civil Rights Movement is and the impact it had on

America.

II. CONTENT TO BE TAUGHT (NEW LEARNING FOR STUDENTS)

The content that will be covered in this lesson are the various tensions surrounding the

Movement and what it meant to be a protestor or bystander. Students will discuss if they

would have been active in the Movement or watching from the sidelines. Students will

also take a critical look at various pictures from the Movement to analyze the tensions

present in the photos.

III. RATIONALE This content is of value because the Civil Rights movement is a topic that is typically not

covered until high school. It is of high relevance to the Boston area and can help teach

kids about the various tensions that motivated much of the movement. This lesson will

help students “observe and identify details in cartoons, photographs, charts, and graphs

relating to an historical narrative” (MA HSS-5.CS.3). By teaching the Civil Rights

movement through visuals, it also exposes students to art and guides them towards using

critical thinking skills and considering multiple perspectives. Additionally, students will

foster analyzing skills as they unpack various photos throughout the movement. As the

students study the Civil Rights Movement of the past, it will help them recognize what it

means to be an active citizen as a way to have equal rights for everyone today. The Civil

Rights Movement is an important topic that students need to learn about and this lesson

provides them with the tools to understand the underlying tensions of the movement.

IV. GOALS

1. Students will be able to think critically about the tensions that existed during the Civil

Rights movement.

2. Students will be able to identify key details in photographs.

V. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

1. Given a picture of the Civil Rights movement, the student will write a paragraph (a

minimum of 8 sentences) about being a protestor or bystander.

VI. MATERIALS

1. Pictures (Appendix A-I)

2. Picture Analysis Worksheet (Appendix J) VII. PROCEDURE

Inquiry question: If you were alive during the 1960s, would you have protested or watched

the Civil Rights Movement?

A. OPENER (15 mins)

1. Have students come and sit on the rug in front of the teacher

2. Explain to the students that new research has been released saying that children with blue

are better than children with brown eyes. This means that blue eyed children are smarter,

better behaved, more athletic, and deserve rewards for being blue eyed because brown

eyed children are always less intelligent, act out, and are not as successful as blue eyed

children. Because of this new research, the class will be divided based on eye color and

treated accordingly.

3. Have the children divide into their respective eye color groups. Any students who do not

belong to either eye color group will form a third group who do not receive any special

treatment, like the blue eyed children, but also do not receive the attention to the brown

eyed children do.

4. Go over to where the blue eyed children are and hand out a basket of candy because they

deserve it for being blue eyed. Praise them for being such good students and being blue-

eyed. Then, go over to the brown eyed children and have them solve various math facts

listed on the board, because they are brown eyed and therefore must need help in math.

Leave the third group alone.

B. DEVELOPMENT (35 mins)

5. Call the class back together and explain that this activity was originally an experiment

conducted by Jane Elliott after Martin Luther King Jr. died, and is meant to demonstrate

racial prejudice. Explain that each group was chosen arbitrarily and by means of

something they cannot control. There is no truth to one eye color being better than

another. Ask each group how they felt about being separated by eye color (how did it

make them feel, why did one eye color matter, etc.). Ask about tensions in the classroom

(student-student, student-teacher, within groups, across groups). What tensions did they

notice? Then say “we will be building on to our previous lessons about the Civil Rights

movement by studying it through different photographs. We will all have the chance to

analyze different photographs to understand the tensions that existed during the Civil

Rights Movement.”

6. Have students return to their seats.

7. Hand out pictures of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This event has been discussed in

previous lessons, so students should be familiar with it. Ask students what they notice in the

photo. How does this show or relate to tensions in the Civil Rights movement (racial,

political, etc.)? Model some examples for them (photographs show tensions between black

and whites, the boycott meant that people had to find other means of transportation which can

put a strain on supporters, etc.) Repeat this process for all three photos (Appendices A, B, C,

D).

8. Explain that each group will be given a different photograph of the Civil Rights movement.

As a group they should pick out key details in the photograph that explain or point out

tensions felt during the movement. Students will fill out a worksheet that will be passed out

along with the picture that asks prompting questions to help them consider and analyze the

pictures (Appendix j). Pass out the pictures and worksheets. All the events/people have been

covered in previous lessons. To connect to background knowledge and help students

remember, there is a brief description of each photo (Appendices E, F, G, H).

9. Allow time for groups to study the pictures, have discussions, and fill out the worksheet. As

students look at their photos, walk around the classroom and answer any questions they may

have.

10. Come back together as a class and have one person from each group explain the context in

which in the photo was taken, the details they picked out, and what it reveals about tensions in

the Civil Rights movement.

C. CLOSURE (15 mins).

11. Have the class come back together and reflect on the lesson. Did this lesson change their

perception of the Civil Rights Movement? Do the tensions that existed back then still exist

today (Black Lives Matter, Ferguson, etc.)? Where any groups left out of the movement

(reference the third group students in the opening activity and how many other groups of

people, like Latin Americans and Native Americans who have also fought for equal

rights)?

12. Have a discussion about joining protests or watching. Would they have joined the Civil

Rights Movements? What about movements today? If not, what are way they can still be

involved without directly protesting?

VIII. ACCOMMODATIONS

Students on IEPs will have their own accommodations as needed and specified by the

IEP. For Emergent Bilinguals, I will have one student from the class repeat back

directions before students begin working. I will then quietly conference with each

Emergent Bilingual to make sure they understand the directions. They will also have help

from their peers as they are working in groups. As a class, students will be allowed to use

cooperative learning if needed.

XI. EVALUATION

The class will be shown the photo “Soiling of Old Glory” (Appendix I). Explain that this

photo was taken in Boston in 1976 as a reaction to the desegregation of school buses. Each

student will write a paragraph stating what their role in the picture would have been if they

had been there. Would they be protestors or bystanders? Their paragraph, which should

be a minimum of 8 sentences, will be turned in to the teacher to be graded on the student’s

ability to identify their role in the photograph and any connections made to the movement.

This will be done at the end of the lesson and collected, but if a student needs more time

they may take the picture home with them to be completed and turned in the next day.

X.EXTENSION

If students finish early, they will research and write about how to be involved, either

actively or passively, in movements like the Civil Rights. They can research past or

current movements.

XI. REFERENCES 1. Cobb, C. & Peters, W. (Writer) & Peters, W. (Director). 1985. A Class Divided. (Television broadcast). In W. Peters (Producer). Boston, Massachusetts: Frontline. 2. Freeman, A. (Photographer). December 5, 1955. Holt Street Baptist Church (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/381.pdf. 3. Cravens, D. (Photographer) Digital Image. Retrieved from http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/381.pdf 4. Cravens, D. (Photographer) Digital Image. Retrieved from http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/381.pdf 5. Villet, G (Photographer). February 1956. Church members celebrate the release of the arrested boycott leaders (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/381.pdf.

6. Counts, W. (Photographer). September 4th, 1957. Elizabeth Eckford (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/07/us/gallery/iconic-civil-rights/.

7. Moore, C. (Photographer). 1963. Firemen hose protestors (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/03/charles_moore.html 8. Hiller, H (Photographer). 1964. Malcolm X interview (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-assassination-of-malcolm-x-50-years/19/. 9. Davidson, B. (Photographer) 1962. Time of Change (Digital Image). Retrieved from http://flavorwire.com/249320/10-essential-civil-rights-movement-photographers/3 10. Forman, S. (Photographer) April 5, 1976. Soiling of Old Glory. Retrieved from http://stanleyformanphotos.com/pulitzer.html.

XII. Appendix

Appendix A:

Photo of Holt Street Baptist Church. African Americans gathered in the Holt Street

Church to plan for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and for the first meeting of the Montgomery

Improvement Association. The boycott was one of the first large scale demonstrations against

segregation. Appendix B: Photo of a man helping commuters. During the bus boycott, the African American community came together to help one another continue about their lives.

Appendix C: Photo of an African American man being written up by a white police officer. During the boycott, officials harassed many locals. Many also lost their jobs. Appendix D: Photo of a crowd cheering. Boycott leaders were arrested on conspiracy charges because of an anti-boycott state law. Both Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. were arrested. As those arrested were released, they were met with crowds of cheering people. Appendix E: Photo of Elizabeth Eckford being harassed by Hazel Bryan. As desegregation of schools occurred, white students attacked many African American students. Here, Elizabeth Eckford is shouted at by Hazel Bryan and others as she tried to enter the school.

Appendix F: Firemen hose down protestors in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1963, protestors launched the Birmingham Campaign, which was a series of sit-ins, marches, and boycotts against segregation laws. While many of the demonstrations were peaceful, they were met with violent reactions. Appendix G: This photo shows an interview of Malcolm X. He was an activist during the Civil Rights movement who advocated for African Americans to protect themselves against white aggression by whatever means necessary. His leadership is often contrasted to Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for non-violent measures. Appendix H: Photo entitled “Time of Change.” This photo depicts an African American woman and a white woman sitting next to each other at a lunch counter. Even as desegregation occurred, African Americans still faced harsh treatment.

Appendix I: This photo is entitled “Soiling of Old Glory.” Following the mandated desegregation of bussing in Boston, there were violent reactions by citizens. Appendix J:

Picture Analysis Worksheet Directions: Answer each questions based on the picture your group received.

1. What event/person is the subject of your group’s photo? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What details do you notice in the photo? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What do these details reveal about the tensions during the Civil Rights movement? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________