Campaigning for Civil Rights

Krista Ruud

Civil Rights Summer Institute Lesson Plan 2010

To download this lesson in PDF format, click here

Abstract:

Although many of the Civil Rights Movement events and situations that are mentioned in textbooks take place in the South, there was still discrimination and Civil Rights work in the North… even in Champaign County! These lessons will allow students to learn a lot about one specific situation and how people involved worked for change using local primary sources. Students will then be able to teach their classmates what they learned. Ultimately students should come away with the idea that discrimination was all around and the various ways people in the early to mid-1900s worked toward equal treatment.

Essential Questions:

• What were some obstacles to equality African Americans faced?
• How did people do to try and achieve equality for blacks?
• What were the goals of the Civil Rights Movement?

Age Group: Middle School

Duration: This lesson will take 1-2 days.

Assessment:

Throughout the lesson there will be some formal and informal assessment. Students will fill out a document analysis graphic organizer, create protest signs, discuss their event with the class, and write a short summary of their event.

Activities:

Reviewing and Setting the Purpose – Before beginning this lesson, review what students already know about the Civil Rights Movement on a national level

• Why was the Civil Rights Movement needed?
• What types of things were unequal?
• When and where did the Civil Rights Movement take place?
• What were some of the major events in the Civil Rights Movement and what happened?
• Who were some of the leaders in the Civil Rights Movement?
  
  

What Happened? – Students should be assigned to groups (3-5). Each group will receive set of documents about a specific Civil Rights Event (each group will have a different event).

• Cafes – NegroStudents (6/37); NegroStudentProblem (7/37); LilyWhiteCafes (11/37); NegroesMustEat (4/38)
• Barber Shop – NegroEnters (2/11/54); 5BarbershopsClose (2/19/54); BarberShopCaseBegins (2/19/54); AgreementInBarberShopCase (3/23/54); BarberShopPicketing (3/23/54)
• JCPenney’s – WhyPicketPenneys (4/8/61); PenneysMemo (4/25/61); CeasePicketing (4/27/61)
• Housing – NorthEnd1 & NorthEnd2 (9/22/63); NotToNegro (9/23/63); NotOneForeclosure1 & NotOneForeclosure2 (9/24/63); C-UCIAwalk (10/4/63);
• Hospital –HumanRelationsCommision1 & HumanRelationsCommision2(11/19/59); DeferAction2 [Are Critical of Burnham Report] (7/30/63); CityHospital (8/18/63);

Students should use the documents to fill out the Civil Rights Event graphic organizer. When they have completed the graphic organizer each person in the group should create their own protest sign pertaining to that event.

Now Let Me Tell You What Happened – Using their graphic organizer and holding up their protest signs, groups should share their event with classmates and discuss the different methods Civil Rights workers used to gain equality.

In the End – Individually each student will write a one paragraph summary of the event they learned about as well as how it impacted Champaign-Urbana.

Analysis of Primary Sources: Each group will be given a collection of local primary documents from the Champaign County Archives regarding Civil Rights in Champaign-Urbana. Students will then analyze, discuss, and summarize their findings.

Ties to National Primary Sources: In this lesson, students will link information they have previously learned about the Civil Rights Movement, leaders, and documents to what took place in Illinois. Students should understand that just because what happened in Champaign County is not in their textbooks, it doesn’t make it any less important to the Civil Rights Movement.

Annotated List of Materials and Resources