Classroom Activities
Activity 1
Anticipatory Set
The learning goal will be under cover on the whiteboard, until after this exercise. Teacher will make up heterogeneous groups (gender and ability.) Before the lesson, the teacher will attach a pink strip of paper (Group A) and yellow strip of paper (Group B) under the students' desks. The teacher will separate the two groups. Then one of the colors will have fun learning activities with considerable freedom to move around, use restroom, and get drinks of water. The other group will be doing a monotonous task, like fill out a multiplication chart grid. When Group B starts to complain, stating this is "unfair," then I will call the two groups together, and see if they can guess the learning goal. The learning goal, understanding segregation and Jim Crow laws, will be uncovered. I will have additional discussion about what it felt like to be doing the monotonous work while others were enjoying themselves? Also, what did it feel like to be in the "chosen group?"
Collaborative Group Guided Practice
Students will be in cooperative groups of four. They will be numbered in these flexible groups based on previous academic performance or ability.
1 Lowest ability
2 Medium low ability
3 Medium ability
4 High ability
Each group of four students will receive a Jim Crow law. Each law will be from a different State. Laws will be in one of these four areas: voting, housing, marriage, public places. Each person in the group will have a job.
1 Will read the law
2 Will tell what State the law occurred in
3 Will explain what they think the law is saying
5 Will explain what person 3 said and can add or change the explanation
The group discusses and decides if they think that is correct or not.
After two to three minutes, the teacher will ask students numbered 1 to take their law with them to the next table group. Teacher will clearly spell out which table group each person is going to move to.
Once they have moved, they will repeat the cooperative learning strategy described above. After two to three minutes, the teacher will ask students numbered 2 to take their law with them to the next table group. This will occur at least four times, so that every student gets to experience laws from different states and different areas.
At the completion of this group activity, I will ask the students to return to their original group. The group will have two minutes to discuss what they learned from the exercise. The students numbered four from each group will share out what their group felt was the common thread running through all these laws.
Closing/Formative Assessment
The teacher will then chart, white board, or use a projection system, and record each law on a chart. The chart will have the following headings: State, Voting, Housing, Marriage, and Public Places. Below is an example of this chart.
Once the chart is completed. The students will take out their response journals and write down what they learned in this lesson. The teacher will walk around the room, reading over the students' shoulders, give suggestions, and evaluate. After two minutes, students will share with the partner directly across from them what they learned. Then the whole group will take turns discussing what they learned. Teacher will randomly ask someone in each group to share what they just discussed in their group.
Activity 2
Anticipatory Set
Teacher will announce the learning goal. The learning goal for this lesson is learning about how to make and read a timeline. The other learning goal is to learn about the important event that occurred in the struggle for African Americans to win their freedom and civil rights. Students will be asked to write down in their journals three very important events in their lives. The students will share their dates with each of their teammates. The teacher will then call on one student and make a timeline of that student's three events. Then the teacher will then call on another student and together the class will help place those events in the correct place on the timeline. Students will then jot their own personal timeline in their journal.
Each student will be given a sentence strip for making their own personal timeline of the period between the Emancipation Proclamation and ending with the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The teacher will have a giant personal timeline. The students will copy onto their timelines the marking dates and events. The timeline will begin at 1860 and marked in half-decades (1865, 1870, 1875, etc. all the way to 1965.)
Each group of students will be given an historical event that occurred during that time period. These events will have dates and a description of the event. Each table group will also be given a long strip with the name of that event and the date. The teacher will model using her own event and long strip marker. She will read it out loud to the class and then model, using one of the groups, how they will discuss the event. The teacher will then place the long strip marker, on the big timeline, in the correct place, being sure to show the students the big dates on the line. This way they know how to judge exactly where to put the event.
Collaborative Group Guided Practice
The teacher will have one group model the whole procedure again. The table group will read their event/date and discuss with their shoulder partner. Then they will discuss with their face-to-face partner. They will then discuss as a group. The student who is number 4 in the group will go up and place the event in the correct place on the timeline.
When the group has finished this part of the assignment, then they will begin to copy the big timeline. This timeline will have all the events from each group placed on the line. Using the sentence strip given to each student, they will produce their own timeline of the African American struggle for civil rights.
Closing/Assessment
As students are finishing up their timelines, teacher will discuss what the students learned in this lesson? Teacher can ask questions like: Why is it important to make this timeline? Did it help you understand? Why? Exactly what did you learn today? Timeline will be collected and graded for accuracy, completeness, and overall presentation.
Activity Three
Anticipatory Set
Teacher will hold up a book with Rosa Parks and ask what the students know about her. Do we know enough? Students will probably say, "no." Then the teacher will hold up a book or picture of Booker T. Washington and ask what the students know about him. Do we know enough? Students will probably answer, "no." The teacher can repeat that process for as long as she thinks the students need to be convinced, or "buy into," the project.
The teacher will introduce the unit project. The students will choose from a list of Civil Rights Leaders and do a biography report. Since this is their first reading unit project, they may work with a partner to collect the information, but each must produce their own written report. The oral report can be shared between the two students, but both must talk equally by dividing up the material.
The teacher will hand out the framework for the biographical report and a rubric. Together, with the class, the teacher will explain the requirements and deadlines.
Collaborative Partner Research
The research will occur mostly in the computer lab, but books will be encouraged as well. Students will work in teams, using three-by-five cards, to record their found information. They will record the website or book, where they found the information, on the back of the card. By referencing the biographical frame, the students can determine what questions they need to answer. These answers will be the information they will need to find and put on their three-by-five cards.
Closing/Assessment
When the students have completed the report, they will each complete the biographical frame and type it in the computer lab. Student will do an oral report in the sixth week of the reading unit. The written report, oral report and listening skills will all be graded using a rubric.
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