Margo's+Lesson+Plan


 * Teacher:** Margo Zeidner


 * Subject Area:** Social Studies


 * Grade Level:** 7th Grade


 * Unit Title:** The Civil Rights Movement


 * Lesson Title:** The Events that Started the Civil Rights Movement


 * Enduring Understanding:** Students will understand when and why the Civil Rights Movement started in the United States. Many people believe that the Civil Rights Movement started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus; but it actually began earlier that year when Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi.  My students will learn about both the Emmett Till and Rosa Parks events and be able to put them into context with their own life.

Students will be asked the following: 1) Imagine what would life be like for you, if you were an African American living in the South during the 1950’s? 2) What famous boycott did Rosa Parks’ act of civil disobedience start? What is the significance to the Civil Rights Movement? 3) Among groups, discuss whether you think this type of discrimination could happen today. What changes would you like to see in our community?  Our country?
 * Essential Questions:** This lesson involves three activities to help students understand the events that started the Civil Rights Movement.


 * Objectives:**
 * Students will learn about two events that started the Civil Rights Movement
 * Students will apply what they are learning to their own life
 * Students will use their Web 2.0 skills to:
 * 1) Participate in a blog discussion
 * 2) Navigate the Internet for Information

• http://www.pbs.org/now/classroom/anticipation.pdf • http://carpediemtips.wikispaces.com/ • http://www.providence.edu/polisci/students/civil_rights/start.htm • http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/sittingdown.htm • http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=369 • http://www.youtube.com/
 * Materials used:** The following websites were used in creating this lesson plan:

• Computers with Internet Access • Pen and paper
 * Resources Needed:**


 * Anticipatory Set/Activator:** The following anticipation guide (using thumbs up, thumbs down for true/false) will be used to introduce the lesson:

__Statement__
 * One person's actions can make a difference in the world.
 * All Americans have equal opportunity in the United States today.
 * Non-violence is an effective way to achieve change.
 * Young people take their civil rights for granted.


 * State Objective/Purpose:** The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the Civil Rights Movement, to provide students with an interesting way of building their Web 2.0 skills, and to give students activities that are engaging and involve higher level thinking skills.


 * Input:** The lesson will be done using a powerpoint presentation ([[file:civilrightspresentation.ppt]]). The powerpoint presentation could be shown to a whole class, or to individual students with access to computers. It has been designed so that students could participate virtually in (most of) the lesson.

The lesson will begin with a review of the Jim Crow laws, Brown v. Board of Education, and life in the 1950’s. Students will watch the following video about Brown v. Board of Education: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoXIUj6weN4. The review will draw upon the student’s prior knowledge of Jim Crow and Brown v. Board of Education. media type="youtube" key="CoXIUj6weN4&hl=en" height="355"

Students will then learn about Emmett Till, and watch the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjfGcRM35xg media type="youtube" key="QjfGcRM35xg&hl=en" height="355"

After watching the video, students will do the following activity: • Imagine that you are an African American living in the South during the 1950’s. • Write about your experience in our class blog: http://mzsocialstudiesclass.blogspot.com/. • Include what school is like for you, people you encounter, and places you can or cannot go.

The next day, we will pick up with a discussion about the Civil Rights Movement. I will ask students to identify the goal of the civil rights movement, who was involved, and what forms of protests were used. This will draw on student’s background knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement.

Students will then review the story of Rosa Parks, and do the following activity: Perform a search on the Internet to find the following information: • Rosa Parks’ act of civil disobedience started which famous boycott? • Who led the boycott? • What is the significance to the Civil Rights Movement?

We will discuss as a class what students were able to find about the Rosa Parks events, and I will read the following article and interview with Rosa Parks: http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/sittingdown.htm

In small groups, students will end the day with the following activity: • In groups, discuss whether you think this type of discrimination could happen today? In our community? • Based on this discussion, are there changes you would like to see in our community? Our country? • In a word document, draft a letter about one of these changes to send to the school Principal.


 * Model:** I will model for students how to post onto the classroom blog, they will have had prior experiences with blogging, so it will be for review purposes. For the Internet search activity, I will model how to perform a search and how to determine if a website has valid/factual information.

• Observing students during classroom discussions • Reading their blog entries and letters to the Principal
 * Check for Understanding:** I will assess students during and after the lesson to check for understanding, by the following:


 * Guided Practice:** While the students are doing Internet searches to find valid information about the Rosa Park’s event, I will provide guided practice.  This will help in building the students knowledge and skills in searching the Internet.  This will take approximately 15-20 minutes.

1) On the first day they will be asked to respond in our class blog. 2) On the second day they will be asked to draft a letter to the Principal, regarding a change they would like to see in our community.
 * Independent Practice:** Students will be have two independent activities/assignments:

Blog • Spelling/Grammar – 5pts • Did your response answer the question? – 5pts • Application of topic – 10pts
 * Closure:** The blog assignment and letter assignment will serve as closure on both days of the lesson. They will be graded based on the following criteria:

Letter • Spelling/Grammar – 5pts • Proper Letter Format – 5pts • Application of Rosa Parks discussion – 10pts


 * Reflection:** After both the first and second day I will reflect on lesson strengths, and areas of the lesson that need to be improved.