Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Lesson 5E Lesson
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The Bank of Justice: Civil Rights in the U.S.

Civil Rights

K20 Center, Aimee Myers, Kim Pennington | Published: November 9th, 2022 by K20 Center

  • Grade Level Grade Level 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th
  • Subject Subject Social Studies
  • Course Course U.S. History
  • Time Frame Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
  • Duration More 120 minutes

Summary

This lesson, aligned with the Oklahoma Academic Standards, examines the topic of segregation and liberty from the Civil War to the present. Through the study of paired texts, The Gettysburg Address and a lesser-known excerpt from Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech, students will analyze the issue of segregation and integration between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. In their synthesis of these texts, students will create a "third text" of new meanings and understandings about segregation and deepen this knowledge by considering current events related to racial segregation and integration.

Essential Question(s)

In what ways does segregation still impact us today?

Snapshot

Engage

Students watch a brief news video about a prom in Georgia that was recently integrated (2013) and discuss why this is a newsworthy event.

Explore

Students examine photos of segregated facilities in the early 20th Century.

Explain

Students analyze paired texts, the Gettysburg Address and a lesser-known excerpt from I Have a Dream, and create a "third text" by comparing the two.

Extend

Students consider an informational text on county school integration in Mississippi from 2010 and compare this to demographic charts on school exposure for racial categories.

Evaluate

Teachers have a variety of evaluative options for this lesson that assess students' knowledge of the paired texts used in class or examine students' synthesis of information that led to the "third text."

Materials

  • Bank of Justice Texts 1&2 handout (attached)

  • Bank of Justice H Chart handout (attached)

  • Bank of Justice Exposure chart handout (attached)

  • Bank of Justice Two Voice Poem Template (attached)

Engage

Show the video embedded in the CNN article "Segregated prom tradition leads to unity" (2013), or a similar video that is more current, to the class.

Begin a class discussion about why this was considered a newsworthy event in 2013. What issues does this highlight about integration and segregation in America today? Share with students the essential question for this lesson: In what ways does segregation still impact us today? You might wish to discuss other questions, such as: Can we end segregation? Why or why not?

Explore

Ask students to share what they already know about Jim Crow laws, segregation, and/or Brown v. Board of Education (1954). As a class, discuss the function of segregation in society during the Reconstruction Era and into the 20th Century.

If you have internet access and a projector, utilize one of the online slideshows about segregation below to deepen the discussion:

Explain

Provide students with the attached Bank of Justice Texts 1&2 handout, which includes the Lincoln and King texts. This handout can be found under Attachments in this lesson. You may ask students to analyze both texts alone or to share the work with another student, having each partner read one of the two texts and then share their information together. Another option would be to read the two documents aloud with students as needed. After students have shared or the texts read aloud, pass out the attached Bank of Justice H Chart handout, which can be found under Attachments.

Have students use the H-Chart to guide their analyses. On one side, under "Text 1," ask students to jot down their thoughts about the Lincoln text and its main ideas; and on the other side, under "Text 2," have them do the same for the King text. In the middle of the H-chart, ask students to write the "third text," their ideas and thoughts about how these two texts compare/contrast and the ways in which, as a pair, they shine light on the essential question.

In small groups, or as a whole class, lead a discussion of the "third texts" students have created. Questions you might ask include: What was Lincoln trying to say about America and the war? What point(s) was King making with his speech? What ideas do both texts convey about racism, discrimination, or segregation?

Extend

To develop student understanding further, share the Washington Post article “Mississippi County Schools ordered to comply with desegregation order” (2010) or a similar one that is more current.

Another option: You might return to the original discussion regarding recently integrated proms and ask students to reflect on the gains in integration they feel America has made since Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Pass out the "Bank of Justice Exposure chart Handout," found under Attachments, to students and allow them to reflect upon what they are reading in a Think, Pair, Share activity. (The chart included there can be provided thanks to research undertaken by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, the full text of which can be found here.) Give students time to consider the charts on the handout about exposure rates in schools and discuss how this relates to their own school or experiences. Ask students to discuss their ideas about what they think exposure means in the context of these charts. Ask them to discuss what they feel the value is of ‘exposure’ in schools.

Evaluate

This lesson offers several options for evaluating student understanding. These options are offered so a teacher can choose an option that best fits the needs of his or her students.

  • Students create an iMovie or other visual representation of their "third texts" from the H Chart activity, being sure to address the essential question in their work.

  • Write a Two-Voice Poem (template included under Attachments) from the perspective of President Lincoln and Dr. King.

  • Students may write a letter to President Lincoln or Dr. King discussing integration and segregation in America since the Civil War. You might consider an authentic audience as another alternative for this assignment. Authentic audiences might include sharing the letters publicly with other students, faculty, or on a secured website.

  • Students may write a speech, set in the future and drawing on the ideas of President Lincoln and Dr. King. This speech should detail and reflect upon ways in which integration has been addressed in the 21st Century.

Resources

Publisher

K20 Center

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Downloads

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Standards

Oklahoma Academic Standards (Social Studies: United States History (9th through 12th grade))
USH.1.2C: Assess the impact of the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws,and the actions of the Ku Klux Klan.
USH.7.1C: Compare the viewpoints and the contributions of civil rights leaders and organizations linking them to events of the movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his "I Have a Dream" speech, the leadership of Malcolm X, the role of organizations such as the Black Panthers; describe the tactics used at different times including civil disobedience, non-violent resistance, sit-ins, boycotts, marches,and voter registration drives.
USH.9.3: Examine the ongoing issues to be addressed by the Donald Trump and subsequent administrations, including taxation, immigration, employment, climate change, race relations, religious discrimination and bigotry, civic engagement,and perceived biases in the media.

Learner Handouts

Click on a file type icon to download an attachment.

  • Bank of Justice Exposure chart Handout
  • Bank of Justice H Chart Handout
  • Bank of Justice Texts 1&2 Handout
  • Bank of Justice Two Voice Poem Template

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