Year 3: Unit 3 – “We Shall Overcome” – The Modern Civil Rights Movement (1945 – 1970): Lessons

Central Question: To what extent did black Americans gain civil rights after World War II?

Historical Background

Unlike wars, social movements seldom begin or end on a specific date. The Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown decision holds up fairly well, however, as a catalyst and starting point for wholesale shifts in perspective. Prior to the decision, Jackie Robinson had broken baseball’s color barrier and President Harry Truman had integrated the armed forces, adopted a civil rights platform, and won the upset election of 1948 despite a revolt in his Southern base. And although the Brown decision reversed the long- standing legal defense of segregation outlined in Plessy v. Ferguson, Southern white resistance — and violence — still limited the extent to which these rights were exercised.

For more background, read “The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Terms:

• Plessy v. Ferguson
• Jim Crow
• NAACP
• Brown v. Board of Education
• White supremacy
• Emmett Till

Scholars understand the laws in effect in the United States after World War II and can explain how the laws either promoted or denied rights for black Americans.

Preparation

• Display the Unit 3 Essential Question on the wall in your classroom for scholars to reference throughout the unit.
• Create a word wall in your classroom with the Unit 3 Key Terms for scholars to reference during class discussion. Hold scholars accountable for using these Key Terms throughout the unit.
• Post a timeline in your classroom or digitally to track key events from this unit and previous units.
• To complete this gallery walk, before class you must:
  • Print all texts and images on card stock and distribute at each respective station.
  • Determine how you will present video or audio content, if necessary.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 3 Lesson 1 Do Now in the Unit 3 Workbook.

Context — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Introduce the Essential Question for Unit 3: To what extent was nonviolence effective in achieving rights for black Americans?
• Explain that, each day, scholars will gather more evidence to answer this question.
• Remind scholars that this unit builds upon past content and that they must constantly make connections to previous periods of history to help them answer this Essential Question.
• Then pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in analyzing the landscape of American race relations after World War II.

Listen (9 minutes)

• Listen to the episode “How the Civil Rights Movement Worked” on the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast.
  • Begin the podcast at 2:04 and pause the podcast at 11:03 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they listen to the podcast:
  • How did Jim Crow laws affect the lives of black Americans?

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the podcast, as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the podcast.
  • How did the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education affect the lives of black Americans in the 1950s?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: Why was the Emmett Till case more of a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement than the Brown v. Board of Education decision?

Investigate — 35 minutes

• Divide scholars into four groups. Assign each group one of four stations to begin the gallery walk: Plessy v. Ferguson (page 3 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), Jim Crow laws (page 4 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), Brown v. Board of Education (pages 5–6 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), and Emmett Till (page 7 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook).
• Explain that each group will examine the images, watch the videos, or read the text at its assigned station for 8 minutes before switching to the next station.
• After examining the sources, scholars should record their observations and inferences.
• While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trends in scholars’ work and conference with groups of scholars as they rotate among stations.

Discuss — 5 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How did the laws put in place after World War II affect the rights of black Americans?
  • To what extent did these laws advance the Civil Rights Movement?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: To what extent was the Brown v. Board of Education decision a win for black Americans’ rights?

Investigate 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate Document A on pages 8–9 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook. As scholars read, they should think about how Document A helps answer the lesson’s Central Question. After reading the source, they should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.

Discuss — 10 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How does the author compare de facto segregation in the North with de jure segregation in the South?
  • How did de facto segregation affect black Americans?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas and previous content. Ask: To what extent did segregation limit black Americans’ rights after World War II?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • To what extent did black Americans gain civil rights after World War II? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two sources.

Homework

• Scholars read “The North Isn’t Better Than the South (Part 2)” on pages 11–13 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: Against which form of segregation, de jure or de facto, should civil rights activists focus their efforts?

Historical Background

Although much of what is taught about the Civil Rights Movement focuses on the South and the de jure segregation of Jim Crow laws, the North’s de facto segregation practices were often overlooked. Many African Americans moved north in what was known as the Great Migration for more freedom and opportunity, but those ideas proved elusive. The North was seen as more accepting in comparison with the South, but de facto segregation ran rampant. These competing tensions elevated the fight for Civil Rights beyond the Jim Crow South and made the movement truly a national call to action on behalf of black Americans all over the country.

For more background, read “The North Isn’t Better Than the South (Full Text)” on the Salon website and “The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Terms:

• De jure segregation
• De facto segregation

Scholars plan and draft speeches with strong ideas backed by evidence that develops, supports, or proves their claims.

Preparation

• To complete this writing seminar, before class you must:
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Speech Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible.
  • Create a teacher model of the planning guide and the speech.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Mentor Text Study — 30 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the landscape of American race relations after World War II.

Read (20 minutes)

• Read Documents A and B on page 14 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook.
• Tell scholars that they will be writing speeches from the perspective of a civil rights leader on the issue of de facto and de jure segregation in the North and South. As scholars read the following mentor texts, they should think about how the authors of these texts developed their ideas about segregation.
• Read Documents A and B together as a class. After reading each source, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents.
  • What are the authors’ main ideas?
  • Why did the authors write these documents?

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea annotations for the documents based on the discussion.

Discuss (3 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents.
  • Which argument about segregation is the most persuasive? Why?
  • To what extent do the arguments about segregation in the documents support the argument the author makes in the homework reading?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: To what extent did legislation effectively address segregation in the North and South?

Teacher Model — 5 minutes

• Say: Today, you will be writing a speech as if you are a civil rights activist. You will be creating a speech in response to our Central Question (display for scholars to see): Against which form of segregation, de jure or de facto, should civil rights activists focus their efforts?
• Show scholars your completed Speech Planning Guide.
• Ask: What is the idea I want to convey in my speech?
• Ask: How does my evidence support my argument?

Plan — 15 minutes

• With partners or in small groups, scholars discuss possible answers to the prompt. Ensure that scholars pay attention to perspective when answering this prompt.
• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible answers this question. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this question, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their answers and defend them with evidence from Documents A and B.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their ideas.
• During the discussion, chart strong versus weak answers. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong versus weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their claims in their final speeches. All of the evidence in a speech must prove this claim.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to write down their own claims in the Speech Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own claims based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their speeches in the planning guide by finalizing their claims and determining the relevant evidence from Documents A and B that supports their claims.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain his or her claim. Does his or her claim answer the speech prompt? Is it compelling? Does the evidence chosen support and illustrate this claim?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps convey the harms of each type of segregation on the documents or in their outlines.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their speeches. As scholars draft, they must focus on strong and clear claims. Make sure their ideas contain an argument, rather than just a statement of facts or details.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can their writing be made stronger
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their claims.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for using the proper formatting and style for speeches.

Share — 5 minutes

• Select a few scholars to present their draft speeches to the class and/or have scholars share their drafts with partners.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their claims and supporting evidence in this speech as well as their future writing. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: Against which form of segregation, de jure or de facto, should civil rights activists focus their efforts?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their speeches based on individualized teacher feedback to make their speeches stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft speech from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-Lesson. If there is no exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their speeches and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the narrative writing prompt with scholars: Against which form of segregation, de jure or de facto, should civil rights activists focus their efforts?
  • Ask: How does narrative writing differ from argumentative writing?
  • Scholars discuss in pairs. Call on one or two pairs to share out.
  • Then share an exemplar draft. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s claim compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this claim.
  • Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-Lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar’s draft speech that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholars’ work in the previous lesson and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the speech. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Revise 1 — 20 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their speech drafts.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will only be productive if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an argument that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 25 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their speeches.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their speeches.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: compelling claims and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Share — 10 minutes

• Select a few scholars to present their final speeches to the class and/or have scholars share their final speeches with a partner.

Optional Extension

• If you have extra time in your schedule, pick the strongest speech for each type of segregation and put segregation on trial in the classroom. The rest of the class can be the jury and deliberate to make a decision based on who they think created the best speech.

Homework

• Scholars read the biographies of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Biography.com in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, give each scholar a final grade on their revised essay, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Central Question: How did Malcolm X’s philosophy on achieving rights for black Americans differ from Martin Luther King Jr.’s?

Historical Background

Two very gifted men, both African American, both relatively young, shook the social foundations of the United States in the late 1950s and 1960s. It was common while they were alive, and has been customary since, to see Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as very different, both in their manners and their messages, and even to see them as adversaries. Ideologically, the differences were indeed stark, but these leaders also shared common ground, even as they debated which road to take on the journey toward equality in America.

For more background, read “Martin Luther King Jr.” and “Malcolm X” on the History Channel website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Terms:

• Philosophy of nonviolence
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Malcolm X

Scholars understand the differences between the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and can explain how both philosophies achieved rights for black Americans.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 3 Lesson 4 Do Now in the Unit 3 Workbook.

Context — 20 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in beginning their study of the competing philosophies to achieve civil rights for black Americans.

Activity (12 minutes)

• Have scholars work in pairs to complete the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. activity in the Unit 3 Workbook in which they read quotes and determine whether they think Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. said them.
• Once pairs have finished the activity, direct them to the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. answer key in the Unit 3 Workbook to read the correct answer for each quote.

Discuss (6 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the questions below in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the activity.
  • How have Americans typically characterized the relationship between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.?
  • How are Malcolm X’s and Martin Luther King Jr.’s perspectives similar?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How do Malcolm X’s and Martin Luther King Jr.’s similarities challenge the perceived differences between them?

Investigate 1 — 15 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate Documents A and B on pages 16–17 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook. After reading each source, they should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss 1 — 10 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • How does Martin Luther King Jr.’s stance on economics differ from Malcolm X’s?
  • How does Martin Luther King Jr.’s stance on nonviolence differ from Malcolm X’s?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: To what extent do both philosophies promote increased rights for black Americans?

Investigate 2 — 20 minutes

• Scholars read and annotate Documents C and D on pages 17–18 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook. After reading each source, they should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the document.

Discuss 2 — 10 minutes

• Scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the documents. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • According to Martin Luther King Jr., how should the black community respond to injustice? Why?
  • According to Malcolm X, how should the black community respond to injustice? Why?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: Why was nonviolence chosen as the method used to combat injustice in the Civil Rights Movement?

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • How did Malcolm X’s philosophy on achieving rights for black Americans differ from Martin Luther King Jr.’s? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two sources.

Homework

• Scholars read “Direct Action and Nonviolent Protest” on pages 20–21 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: How was nonviolence used in the Civil Rights Movement?

Historical Background

In the wake of the Brown decision, white Southerners grew increasingly vocal and violent in their resistance to advances in civil rights. Despite the very real threat to their own safety, civil rights advocates and black Americans throughout the nation organized their movement for civil rights around Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership and philosophy of nonviolent direct action and protest. In the form of boycotts, sit- ins, so-called “freedom rides,” and other nonviolent demonstrations, the small movement leveraged nonviolent protest to gain the attention of white Americans beyond the Deep South, ultimately influencing the new Kennedy administration to propose a Civil Rights Act.

For more background, watch “Crash Course US History: Civil Rights and the 1950s” on YouTube and “Nonviolent Methods of Protest” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required), read “King Speaks to March on Washington” on the History Channel website and “Nonviolent Direct Action at Southern Lunch Counters” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required), and browse the collection of images and political cartoons in “Brown v. Board of Ed at Fifty: ‘With an Even Hand:’” on the Library of Congress website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Terms:

• Freedom Riders
• Children’s March
• March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Sit-ins
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Scholars understand the forms of nonviolent protest used in the Civil Rights Movement and create a presentation that conveys how the form of protest they research embodies the philosophy of nonviolence.

Preparation

• Scholars may complete this project in small groups and may create their projects digitally or on posters.
• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • If scholars are doing the project digitally, ensure that each scholar has access to a computer, laptop, tablet, etc.
  • If scholars are not doing the project digitally, ensure that each group has chart paper or posters, and gather colored pencils and Sharpies or permanent markers. Organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
  • Create a teacher model of the presentation in the format you will be having scholars do their presentations.
  • Select groups strategically or set expectations for how scholars will choose groups in class.
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Presentation Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible.
    • Adapt the Planning Guide based on whether your scholars will be creating posters or digital presentations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Context — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the competing philosophies to achieve civil rights for black Americans.

Listen (6 minutes)

• Listen to the episode “How the Civil Rights Movement Worked” on the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast.
  • Begin the podcast at 12:50 and pause the podcast at 18:35 to allow for discussion.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they listen to the podcast:
  • What were the strategies used in response to Southern white resistance to civil rights?

Discuss (7 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the podcast, as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from their homework and the podcast.
  • Why did civil rights activists organize around nonviolence and direct action protests?
  • Make a connection to the Essential Question. Ask: How did direct action affect black Americans? White Americans? Why?

Planning — 35 minutes

Teacher Model (5 minutes)

• Show scholars your completed planning guide as a model for how scholars will create their own projects.
• After viewing your planning guide, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with specific evidence from your project example.
  • What argument about nonviolent protests does my planning guide convey?
  • How did I express my idea in my planning guide?
  • How did I organize my evidence in my planning guide to support my idea?

Investigate (15 minutes)

• Explain that scholars will be working in groups to create a presentation on an assigned method of civil disobedience. Remind scholars that before they create their presentations, they must begin with an idea. Their presentations must portray a powerful and compelling idea supported by strong evidence, just like the teacher model.
  • Remind scholars that projects, just like written pieces, make arguments, and all arguments require a strong idea with supporting evidence.
• Tell scholars that they will be making their projects as either digital presentations or posters, with text and images to convey their argument about nonviolent protests.
• Divide scholars into groups and assign each group one of six protests: Children’s March (page 22 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), Freedom Riders (page 23 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), Little Rock Nine (page 24 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), March on Washington (page 25 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), Montgomery Bus Boycotts (page 26 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook), or Sit-Ins (page 27 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook). Each group reads and annotates the documents for its assigned topic. After reading, scholars should write a main idea next to the title of the source.
• While scholars work, circulate to determine the major trend in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the document he or she is reading. What is the main idea of this document? How do you know? How does this document help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on the main idea of the documents.

Planning (15 minutes)

• Scholars meet with their small groups and use their planning guides to plan their presentations, writing their ideas, planning the evidence they will use to support them, and mapping out how they will organize this information in their presentations.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas and persuasive visual evidence in project work and to determine major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each group tell you the idea conveyed by his or her presentation plan. Can the idea be made stronger? How can the presentation express the idea more effectively? Is the presentation or poster interesting and visually compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on conveying an argument about their nonviolent protest.
• If you notice trends across scholars’ planning, bring the class together and deliver whole-class feedback. Either show an exemplar plan to the class that precisely and compellingly communicates a clear idea or show a non-exemplar plan that demonstrates the whole-class trend and have the class revise.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 5 minutes

• Share an exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss how the plan illustrates the scholar’s idea with clear and coherent organization.
• Share a non-exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss why the plan lacks an idea and/or clear and coherent organization.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their plans based on what they have learned.

Revise — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their plans.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Ensure that all scholars are rereading their plans to ensure that they have strong ideas and clear organization.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: ideas and supporting details.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Project Work — 20 minutes

• Scholars begin working on their presentations, referring to their corresponding documents as they work.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas and persuasive visual evidence in project work and to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the idea conveyed by his or her presentation. Can the idea be made stronger? How can the presentation convey the idea more effectively? Is the presentation interesting and visually compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on conveying an argument about nonviolent protest.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ presentation drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their ideas and supporting evidence in their projects as well as their future work. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ projects.

Central Question: How was nonviolence used in the Civil Rights Movement?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars create a presentation that illustrates how their assigned protest represents the philosophy of nonviolence in a historically accurate and compelling way.

Preparation

• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • If scholars are doing the project digitally, ensure that each scholar has access to a computer, laptop, tablet, etc.
  • If scholars are not doing the project digitally, ensure that each group has chart paper or posters, and gather colored pencils and Sharpies or permanent markers for scholars using chart paper/posters. Organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Presentation Planning Guide from the Unit 3 Workbook accessible, along with any feedback from the previous lesson.
  • Think through systems for scholar note-taking during scholars’ presentation time to ensure that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations for both presenters and listeners.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their presentations and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Project Work — 30 minutes

• Have scholars recall the previous lesson’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the nonviolent protests of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Explain that scholars will be working in their groups to finalize their presentations. Scholars get into assigned groups and finish their presentations, referring to their documents and their planning guides with your feedback as they work.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas and persuasive visual evidence in project work and to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the idea conveyed by his or her presentation. Can the idea be made stronger? How can the presentation convey the idea more effectively? Is the presentation interesting and visually compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on conveying the significance of their nonviolent protest.

Practice — 15 minutes

• Tell scholars they must be prepared to give the presentation to the class within a 5-minute time frame.
• Scholars use this time to practice their presentation or finalize any missing information or details.
• Hold scholars accountable for presenting clearly and audibly for their classmates as they practice.

Presentations — 30 minutes

• Each group takes 5 minutes to give its presentation to the class (time might need to be adjusted based on the number of scholars in each group).
• Hold presenters accountable for presenting clearly and audibly for their classmates. Strong public speaking is essential to an effective presentation!

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • How was nonviolence used in the Civil Rights Movement? Justify your argument with at least two concrete pieces of evidence from two presentations.

Homework

• Scholars read “Dr. King’s and Malcolm X’s Perspectives on Integration” on pages 29–30 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: Which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice?

Historical Background

Recent historians have raised questions about the centrality of the nonviolent protests advocated by Martin Luther King Jr. African Americans in the rural South had always had a tradition of armed self- defense. World War II inspired black soldiers not to turn the other cheek on their return to the South. The threat of black violence accompanied all the classic nonviolent campaigns. It was black violence, or the threat of it, that finally prompted the federal government to propose civil rights legislation. It was the threat of violent black reprisals that successfully faced down the revived Ku Klux Klan in the South between 1964 and 1967 and that enabled the gains of the 1964 and 1965 Civil Rights Acts to be implemented at the local level.

For more background, read “Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required).

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Term:

• Black nationalism

Scholars plan and draft speeches with strong ideas backed by evidence that develops, supports, or proves their ideas.

Preparation

• To complete this writing seminar, before class you must:
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Speech Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible.
  • Create a teacher model of the planning guide and the speech.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Mentor Text Study — 30 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the competing philosophies to achieve civil rights for black Americans.
• Tell scholars that they will be writing speeches in support of or against nonviolence. As scholars watch the following speeches, they should think about how the speakers develop their ideas about nonviolence.

Watch (6 minutes)

• Watch the video “Malcolm X’s Famous Speech After Returning from Mecca” on YouTube.
• Scholars watch the speech and follow along on the transcript on pages 31–32 of the Unit 3 Sourcebook.
• After watching the video, they should write a main idea next to the title on the transcript.

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
  • What is the main idea of Malcolm X’s argument on integration?
  • What moves does Malcolm X make to convey his argument?

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea annotations for this speech based on the discussion.

Watch (6 minutes)

• Watch the video “Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream Speech” on YouTube.
• Scholars watch the speech and follow along on the transcript on the Stanford University King Institute website.
• After watching the video, they should write a main idea next to the title on the transcript.

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the video.
  • What is the main idea of Martin Luther King Jr.’s argument on integration?
  • What moves does Martin Luther King Jr. make to convey his argument?

Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main idea annotations for this speech based on the discussion.

Discuss (4 minutes)

• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the videos. Ensure that the discussion leads scholars to answer the Central Question.
  • Based on the homework and the videos, to what extent do King and Malcolm X support integration?
  • Which argument about integration is the most persuasive? Why?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How did these arguments about integration affect the course of the Civil Rights Movement?

Teacher Model — 5 minutes

• Say: Today, you will be writing a speech. You will be creating a speech in response to the Central Question (display for scholars to see): Which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice?
• Show scholars your completed Speech Planning Guide.
• Ask: What is the idea I want to convey in my speech?
• Ask: How do I develop my idea?

Plan — 15 minutes

• Lead a whole-class discussion on possible answers to this question. Remind scholars that there is not a single right answer to this question, but they must have evidence to defend their answers!
  • Call on pairs to share out their answers and defend them with evidence from the videos.
  • Have scholars evaluate one another’s answers. Scholars should consider whether each answer is compelling and based on evidence from the text.
  • Give scholars feedback on the clarity and quality of their ideas.
• During the discussion, chart strong versus weak answers. Ensure that scholars can explain what makes a particular answer strong versus weak.
• Tell scholars that their answers to this question will become their claims in their final speeches. All of the evidence in a speech must prove this claim.
• After the discussion, give scholars 2 minutes to write down their own claims in the Speech Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook. Ensure that scholars are not just copying an answer that was discussed but are actually formulating their own claims based on the discussion.

Outline and Draft — 30 minutes

Outline (15 minutes)

• Scholars create an outline for their speeches in the planning guide by finalizing their claims and determining the relevant evidence from Documents A and B that supports their claims.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain his or her claim. Does his or her claim answer the speech prompt? Is it compelling? Does the evidence chosen support and illustrate this claim?
  • If scholars are struggling to choose strong evidence, have them write how each document helps convey which philosophy was more effective at fighting racial injustice on the documents or in their outlines.

Draft (15 minutes)

• Scholars use their outlines to draft their speeches. As scholars draft, they must focus on strong and clear claims. Make sure their ideas contain an argument, rather than just a statement of facts or details.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain their writing. Can their writing be made stronger?
  • Ensure that scholars are using relevant evidence to prove their claims.
  • Ensure that scholars are revising their writing to make sure it is simple and clear.
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for using the proper formatting and style for speeches.

Share — 5 minutes

• Select a few scholars to present their speeches to the class and/or have scholars share their drafts with partners.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ drafts and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their claims and supporting evidence in this speech as well as their future writing. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ writing.

Central Question: Which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars revise their speeches based on individualized teacher feedback to make their speeches stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.

Preparation

• To complete this revision, before class you must:
  • Choose an exemplar and non-exemplar draft speech from the previous lesson to use in the Launch and Mini-Lesson. If there is no exemplar piece, plan to use your own teacher model piece.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars read your feedback on their initial drafts of their speeches and discuss with a partner how they will apply this feedback in their revisions today.

Launch — 10 minutes

• The launch is your opportunity to provide a whole-class model of excellence and explain the biggest issue that holds scholars back from achieving excellence. The launch should end with scholars describing how this piece of writing exemplifies the Habits of Great Writers.
  • Reread the narrative writing prompt with scholars: Which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice?
  • Ask: How does narrative writing differ from argumentative writing?
  • Scholars discuss in pairs. Call on one or two pairs to share out.
  • Then share an exemplar draft. Have scholars discuss 1) what makes the scholar’s claim compelling and 2) why the evidence selected is effective in proving this claim.
  • Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Mini-Lesson — 10 minutes

• Choose an anonymous scholar’s draft speech that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholars’ work in the previous lesson and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• An anonymous non-exemplar scholar draft speech that demonstrates a whole-class trend from your study of scholars’ work in the previous lesson and show this scholar’s line-edited draft to the class.
• Have the class work together to apply your individualized feedback to begin to revise the speech. Then call on scholars to articulate how this scholar must apply this feedback to all writing moving forward.
• Have scholars articulate to partners how the work study applies to their own writing today.

Revise 1 — 20 minutes

• Scholars use their individualized feedback to revise their speech drafts.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use this entire time to revise their work based on the feedback you have given them. Explain that some scholars may need to start from scratch, and that is OK! Note that this time will only be productive if you have given every scholar individualized feedback.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars explain the feedback that they have received, as well as their plan to apply it.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an argument that has greatly improved through revision. Have the scholar explain how he or she has applied his or her feedback to effectively revise.
  • If there is a clear whole-class misconception that must be addressed, share an anonymous example of that trend. Have the class discuss how the scholar needs to change his or her approach to revision in order to make more substantial changes.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their work based on the Mid-Workshop Teach.

Revise 2 — 25 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their speeches.
• Set the expectation that scholars should use the entire time to continue revising their speeches.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: compelling claims and supporting evidence.
  • Coach scholars on how to apply your feedback.

Share — 10 minutes

• Select a few scholars to present their final speeches to the class and/or have scholars share their final speeches with a partner.

Homework

• Scholars study their speeches and notes from Lessons 4–8 in preparation for the next lesson.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, give each scholar a final grade on their revised essay, as well as one transferable next step that they must apply to their next piece.

Central Question: Which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars can explain why the philosophy of either Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X was more effective and present their speeches clearly and compellingly.

Optional project extension: Scholars can explain why the philosophy of either Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X was more effective and convincingly present their speeches in a debate.

Preparation

• Think through systems for scholar note-taking during scholars’ presentation time (or debate) to ensure that notes are purposeful and scholars are clear on your expectations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars complete the Unit 3 Lesson 9 comprehension quiz on Lessons 4–8 in the Unit 3 Workbook.

Planning — 15 minutes

Launch (2 minutes)

• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in continuing their study of the competing philosophies to achieve civil rights for black Americans.

Review (13 minutes)

• Explain that scholars will be independently reviewing their speeches and practicing for their presentations.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas.

Optional Extension

• Break scholars into two groups: those who support Malcolm X’s philosophy and those who support Martin Luther King Jr.’s.
• Explain to scholars that they should use this time to plan how they will present their arguments in the debate. Each team should choose the three to five speeches from the previous lesson that most effectively convey its perspective. Scholars must also determine counterarguments they anticipate the opposing side will argue, based on the previous lessons, and how they plan to rebut those arguments.
• While scholars work, circulate to ensure that scholars are effectively planning their arguments for a debate and are keeping the Big Ideas of their arguments front and center.

Presentations — 60 minutes

• Each scholar takes 3 to 4 minutes to give their speech to the class (time might need to be adjusted based on the number of scholars in your class). Make sure you make clear what your nonnegotiables are for respectful audience members.
• Remind scholars who are listening to peer presentations that they are responsible for learning from their classmates during this time and should take notes during other presentations.

Optional Extension

• Split the room in half and have scholars sit on the side they are arguing.
• Have a scholar from one side present his or her argument at the front of the class.
• After this scholar presents his or her argument, have the other side respond directly to that scholar’s argument.
• Then have a scholar from the opposing side present his or her argument, next allowing the first group to respond.
• Hold scholars accountable for taking notes while scholars are presenting their arguments; they will use these notes to come up with a response to the argument.

Exit Ticket — 10 minutes

• Write a paragraph of no more than 200 words:
  • Based on the arguments presented today, which philosophy, Martin Luther King Jr.’s or Malcolm X’s, was more effective at addressing racial injustice? Justify your response using at least two pieces of evidence from two presentations.

Homework

• Scholars read “The Civil Rights Act, Selma, and the Voting Rights Act” on the Newsela website in preparation for the next lesson.

Central Question: What is the lasting impact of the Civil Rights Movement?

Historical Background

Much of the study of the Civil Rights Movement focuses on key figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Although their contributions are incredibly important to the movement, many unsung heroes who dedicated their lives to gain rights for black Americans are often forgotten or overlooked in a history unit. The purpose of this final project is for the unsung heroes to be commemorated for their contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and for their lasting legacy to be remembered by future generations.

For more background, explore “Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement” on the CBS website, “Explore: Civil Rights Icons” on the PBS website, and “Civil Rights Movement: ‘Black Power’ Era People” on the Shmoop website.

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 3 Key Terms:

• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Selma to Montgomery March
• Voting Rights Act of 1965

Scholars understand how individuals contributed to the Civil Rights Movement and can explain their lasting impact on gaining rights for black Americans.

Preparation

• To complete this independent research, before class you must:
  • Create a teacher model project, including all of the components of the project:
    • a completed Research Planning Guide (in the Unit 3 Workbook)
    • a completed Trifold Planning Guide (in the Unit 3 Workbook)
    • a model trifold
    • an oral presentation
  • Ensure that each scholar has access to a computer, laptop, tablet, etc.
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Research Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their Exit Tickets from the previous lesson based on the grade and feedback you gave them.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Review the Big Ideas from the previous lesson by having scholars quickly share their takeaways from the lesson.
• Pose today’s Central Question and invest scholars in answering this question by researching an unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement and presenting their research.
• Scholars discuss the following questions in pairs:
  • Are there individuals you have previously heard of whom you have not learned about in this unit so far? What do you know about them?
  • What are you most excited to research for your trifold presentation? Why?
• Then call on pairs to share out.

Context — 10 minutes

Watch (5 minutes)

• Watch the video “Civil Rights Foot Soldiers” on Biography.com.
• Tell scholars to think about the following question as they watch the video:
  • How did the Foot Soldiers promote civil rights for black Americans?

Discuss (5 minutes)

• Pairs of scholars discuss the question posed at the beginning of the video, as well as the questions below. Then call on pairs to share out. Insist that scholars answer your questions with claims supported by evidence from the homework and the video.
  • Why are the Foot Soldiers referred to as “forgotten”?
  • Make a connection to the Big Ideas. Ask: How did the Foot Soldiers affect the Civil Rights Movement?

Teacher Model — 15 minutes

• Show scholars your completed Research Planning Guide for an independent research project. Tell scholars that all good projects start with independent research, and all research drives to answer the Central Question with a strong idea and evidence from the research to support it.
• Model for scholars how to choose relevant evidence from an article online that helps answer the Central Question. Open an article and show scholars where in the text you found your evidence. As you work, explain to scholars how you chose relevant evidence to put in your Planning Guide.
• After viewing your planning guide, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with specific evidence from your project example.
  • How did I choose evidence from the article?
  • How am I using my research to answer the Central Question?
  • How do I determine which evidence is relevant and which evidence is irrelevant?

Independent Research — 30 minutes

• Explain that scholars will spend the rest of the lesson conducting independent research on one of the individuals from the Civil Rights Movement listed in the Unit 3 Workbook. Scholars must choose one individual and answer the Central Question about that person with their research.
• All research conducted today will prepare scholars to plan how they will display this research in their trifolds in the following lesson.
• Scholars use the links in the list of individuals in the Unit 3 Workbook as a starting point. They then conduct their own research for further information about their topic. Guide scholars on how to choose high-quality, accurate websites for their research using “Scholar Research Guidance” in the Unit 3 Workbook. Scholars put their findings into the Research Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook.
• Tell scholars that they should not be writing down every detail that they learn about their topic. Their research should focus on answering the Central Question.
• Scholars should answer the following questions, in order, as they research:
  • How did this individual become a civil rights leader?
  • How did this individual contribute to the Civil Rights Movement? Why was he or she a leader? How?
  • How did this individual have a lasting impact on civil rights in the United States?
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for strong ideas and relevant evidence in research work that answers the Central Question and to determine the major trends in scholars’ work.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar tell you the main idea of the research article he or she is reading. What is the main idea of the article? How do you know? How does this article help answer the Central Question?
  • Hold scholars accountable for staying focused on recording research that is relevant to their topic.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss how the plan effectively organizes the scholar’s research and how the scholar has chosen the best evidence from the research to include in the guide.
• Share an anonymous non-exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss why the plan lacks coherent organization of the evidence from the research and/or how the scholar has chosen irrelevant evidence from the research.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their research based on what they have learned.

Revise — 10 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to finish and review their research.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Ensure that all scholars are rereading their research to ensure that they have strong evidence that answers the Central Question.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Wrap-Up — 5 minutes

• Show an exemplar plan to the class. Look for work that clearly and compellingly answers the Central Question with an idea supported by relevant evidence from the research.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ completed plans and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the quality of their research for these projects as well as their future work. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ projects.

Central Question: What is the lasting impact of the Civil Rights Movement?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars plan and draft clear and compelling trifolds that answer the Central Question with strong ideas and evidence from their research that support or prove their ideas.

Preparation

• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • Ensure that you have all of the necessary materials available in your classroom to allow scholars to complete their trifold, in addition to the exemplars prepared for the previous lesson. Specifically, you must:
  • Ensure that scholars have the Trifold Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible.
  • Ensure that each scholar has access to a computer, laptop, tablet, etc.
  • Ensure that each scholar has the Research Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible with your feedback.
  • If your school has printers accessible, organize a system for scholars to print all of the images they plan to use. During scholars’ planning time, have scholars provide you with links to the images they wish to print for their final trifold presentations. Ensure that all images are appropriate and relevant for scholars’ projects. Make a plan to print all of the scholars’ images and distribute them in the following lesson.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their research plans based on the feedback you gave them.

Teacher Model — 10 minutes

• Show scholars your completed Trifold Planning Guide. Tell scholars that all good projects rely on a strong idea conveyed through clear and coherent visual presentation and organization of images and text. Scholar presentations must answer the Central Question with a strong idea and evidence from the research to support it.
• Show scholars how you used your research to determine an idea.
• Tell scholars that there are a number of effective ways to organize their trifolds and that this is how you chose to organize your evidence. Narrate to scholars why you chose to organize your trifold in this way in your plan.
• After viewing your planning guide, scholars discuss the following questions as a whole class. Insist that scholars answer your questions with specific evidence from your project example.
  • How did I use my research to determine an idea to answer the Central Question?
  • Why is this an effective way to organize my research on my trifold?
  • How does the organization of my research support my idea?

Plan — 30 minutes

• Have scholars work individually to complete the plan for their trifold.
• Tell scholars that their presentations must express a powerful and compelling idea supported by strong visual and written evidence, just like the teacher model.
  • Remind scholars that projects, just like written pieces, make arguments, and all arguments require a strong idea with supporting evidence.
• Scholars use their Research Planning Guides to determine an idea. Scholars must ensure that their ideas answer the Central Question. They may use the research questions as guidance as they determine their own ideas:
  • How did this individual become a civil rights leader?
  • How did this individual contribute to the Civil Rights Movement? Why was he or she a leader? How?
  • How did this individual have a lasting impact on civil rights in the United States?
• Scholars use the Trifold Planning Guide to sketch out how they will organize and present their research on their trifolds.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for trifold plans that answer the Central Question with ideas and are supported by relevant evidence from their research.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have each scholar explain his or her plan to you. Is the trifold organized around a clear idea? Does the research clearly and coherently support the idea?
  • Is the presentation of the research visually interesting and compelling?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for using both images and text as evidence in their trifolds.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss how the plan conveys a clear idea and organizes the scholar’s research clearly and coherently.
• Share an anonymous non-exemplar plan. Have scholars discuss why the plan lacks a clear idea and/or coherent organization of the research.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their plans based on what they have learned.

Revise — 30 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their trifold plans.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Ensure that all scholars are refining their plans based around an idea that answers the Central Question.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: organized presentation of an idea using supporting research and compelling evidence.

Wrap-Up — 5 minutes

• Select a few scholars to present their plans to the class and/or have scholars share their plans with a partner.
• Discuss how effectively their trifold plans demonstrate their ideas and the evidence from research used to support them.

Teacher Feedback Guidance

• Before the next lesson, review scholars’ completed plans and provide feedback on the quality of their work. Prioritize the most important change that scholars must make to improve both the strength of their ideas and supporting evidence in their projects as well as their future work. Use your study of scholars’ work to determine a common trend in scholars’ projects.

Central Question: What is the lasting impact of the Civil Rights Movement?

What Does Success Look Like?

Scholars create creative and compelling trifold presentations and oral presentations based on their presentation plans.

Preparation

• To complete this project, before class you must:
  • In addition to the exemplars prepared for the previous lesson, you must ensure that you have all of the necessary materials available in your classroom to allow scholars to complete each option. Specifically, you must:
    • Ensure that scholars have trifolds for their projects.
    • Provide colored pencils, markers, and fine-tip Sharpie markers for writing on trifolds.
    • Provide construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks to support trifold work.
    • If you have access to a printer, distribute all images printed in the previous lesson to scholars to use in their final trifolds.
    • Organize these materials in a place accessible to scholars for easy use during project work.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Trifold Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible with your feedback.
    • Ensure that each scholar has the Oral Presentation Planning Guide in the Unit 3 Workbook accessible and note cards for oral presentations.

Do Now — 5 minutes

• Scholars revise their trifold plans based on the feedback you gave them.

Launch — 5 minutes

• Explain that today, scholars must create their trifold presentations and accompanying oral presentations.
• Remind scholars of any changes they must make to their presentation plans today based on your Wrap-Up from the previous lesson and your feedback.

Project Work — 25 minutes

• Scholars create trifolds to present their research. Hold scholars accountable for presenting information in an organized and compelling way.
• Ensure that scholars are handling materials carefully and are constantly referring to their plans as they work on their trifolds.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for trifolds that answer the Central Question with ideas and are supported by relevant evidence from their research.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Have scholars tell you how they plan to transfer their plans onto their trifolds. How will this effectively convey the idea of his or her research to the viewer? Is the impact of his or her individual on the Civil Rights Movement clear? Is he or she using the space on the trifold effectively and according to his or her plan? Is the presentation creative and clear?
  • Hold scholars accountable for implementing the feedback you’ve given them.
  • Hold scholars accountable for creating compelling and engaging trifolds.

Mid-Workshop Teach — 10 minutes

• Share an exemplar trifold. Have scholars discuss how the trifold presents the scholar’s idea and evidence clearly, compellingly, and neatly.
• Share an anonymous non-exemplar trifold. Have scholars discuss why the trifold lacks a clear idea and evidence or coherent organization.
• Ensure that scholars understand how this feedback is transferable to their own work.
• Scholars articulate to partners how they will revise their final presentations based on what they have learned

Revise — 20 minutes

• Scholars use the transferable takeaway from the Mid-Workshop Teach to revise their trifolds.
• Spend 2 to 3 minutes working with three to five scholars.
  • Ensure that scholars are rereading their work to ensure that they have strong ideas.
  • Help scholars focus on what is most important: ideas and supporting details.
  • Coach scholars on how to implement the feedback you’ve given them.

Oral Presentation Preparation — 20 minutes

Plan (15 minutes)

• Scholars plan their oral presentations in their Oral Presentation Planning Guides in the Unit 3 Workbook to present their research and their trifolds. Tell scholars to ensure that their oral presentations, like their trifolds, answer the Central Question with an idea and explain the research they have put on their trifolds.
• Tell scholars that their oral presentations should be 2 to 3 minutes long, and the purpose of the presentation is to sell the viewer on their trifold.
• While scholars work, actively circulate to reinforce your expectations for oral presentations that explain scholars’ trifold presentations with ideas and are supported by relevant evidence from their research.

Preparation (5 minutes)

• Scholars use their plans to write notes for their oral presentations on the note cards provided.
• Scholars ensure that all materials are finalized by the end of the lesson.

Wrap-Up — 5 minutes

• Show one or two exemplar trifolds to the class. Look for work that is historically accurate, answers the Central Question with an idea and strong evidence, and is visually compelling.

• Scholars read the following articles on Newsela*:
  • “A New Civil Rights Era Taking Shape”
  • “Five Years On: Recalling Trayvon Martin and the Birth of Black Lives Matter”
  • Black Student Challenges Texas Law by Refusing to Recite the Pledge”
• Scholars write an essay of no more than 400 words based on all three of the articles above in response to the following prompt:
  • How do the protests of the Civil Rights Movement continue to influence civil rights activism in the present day?

*To access all articles on the Newsela website, you must create a free account.

Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about Big Ideas in American history.

• To what extent did Brown v. Board of Education successfully end segregation in the United States?
  • Why did Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence gain more widespread support than Malcolm X’s philosophy of “by any means necessary” in the 1960s?
  • Compare the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the Black Lives Matter movement of the present day. How did the Civil Rights Movement influence the methods and message of Black Rights Matter activists?

Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below.

• Thematic Essay: Scholars write a thematic essay that answers one of the extra credit prompts, drawing on evidence both from the unit and from their own independent research.
• Podcast: Scholars create an original podcast that answers one of the prompts above. The podcast should be 5–8 minutes long. Podcasts must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• “Docudrama”: Scholars create a “docudrama” that answers one of the prompts above. A docudrama is a dramatized video that tells the story of historic events. The docudrama should be 5–8 minutes long. Docudramas must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Interview: Scholars record (video or podcast) an interview with a “historian” or a historical figure in order to answer one of the prompts above. The historian or historical figure must be the scholar. A parent, a classmate, or a teacher should be the interviewer. Interviews should be 5–8 minutes long. Interviews must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.
• Propose your own project: Scholars may propose to do their own project. These projects must still answer one of the extra credit prompts, and any project proposal must draw on evidence both from the unit and from scholars’ own independent research.