Classroom Activities
Activity One: Same Event, Different Story
Students will begin by examining two accounts of the same event from the Civil Rights Movement. The sources may include a newspaper article, textbook passage, photograph, speech, official statement, or firsthand account from a young person who participated. Before we begin, I will connect the lesson to something students understand. When an incident happens at school, the student involved, the administrator handling it, and the person who recorded it may tell three different stories. They may all be talking about the same event, but that does not mean each version is complete.
Working in small groups, students will identify what the sources agree on, where they differ, whose voice receives the most attention, and what may have been left out. They will use the White Hat to gather facts, the Red Hat to consider people’s feelings and experiences, and the Black Hat to look for bias, missing information, and possible harm.
Each group will decide which account offers a fuller picture and support its choice with evidence, prompting students to critically reflect on who holds power in shaping history and how different voices influence collective memory.
My Emergent Bilingual students may discuss sources in English or Spanish, and activities will be adapted with sentence stems, vocabulary support, and partner conversations to ensure inclusivity and cultural responsiveness, helping all students participate meaningfully.
Activity Two: Researching the Bit
This activity grows out of Toni Morrison’s idea of “researching the bit.” Students will pay attention to people and stories that have been pushed aside, briefly mentioned, or left out of traditional history lessons.
Students will choose a person, event, organization, or community story that deserves more attention, encouraging them to value diverse perspectives and feel motivated to amplify overlooked voices.
Each student will develop a research question and gather information from at least three sources. When possible, one source should be a primary source. Students may also interview a family member, educator, former student, church member, community leader, or longtime Hearne resident. Before conducting an interview, students will prepare respectful questions and receive permission to record the conversation or take notes.
Students will present their findings as a short article, podcast, visual timeline, digital story, or graphic narrative, developing critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of how different voices shape history and responsible citizenship.
This activity allows my students to see that Black and Hispanic history is not limited to a chapter in a textbook or a designated month. Their families and communities have histories worth preserving. A story does not become unimportant because someone in power failed to write it down.
Activity Three: The Soundtrack of Belonging
Music is already part of how my students make sense of life. It gives them words for joy, struggle, anger, love, grief, pride, and hope. This activity asks students to treat music as a text and as a record of culture, identity, and community.
We will begin by listening to and analyzing a teacher-selected song such as Bill Withers’s “Lean on Me.” Students will examine the lyrics, speaker, audience, tone, message, and cultural context. We will discuss what the song says about community and what responsibilities come with asking others to lean on us. We will also examine how a song’s meaning may change depending on the listener's experiences.
Students will then curate a playlist of five songs connected to one of the unit’s central themes: finding voice, honoring difference, belonging, collective care, resistance, joy, or standing on business. Their playlists may include gospel, blues, R&B, hip-hop, soul, country, Tejano, conjunto, corridos, reggaetón, Latin pop, or another genre that reflects their families, cultures, and experiences. Students may choose songs in English, Spanish, or both languages.
For each selection, students will identify the title and artist, explain the song’s central message, select a meaningful lyric, and connect that lyric to a text, person, event, or idea from the unit. When a song is in Spanish, students will provide an English translation or explanation of the selected lyric.
The order of the songs must be intentional. The playlist should tell a story instead of sounding like five unrelated songs thrown together. A student might begin with exclusion, move through struggle and self-discovery, and end with community, action, or hope.
Students may present their playlists as annotated lists, slideshows, digital album covers, podcasts, or visual displays. Use clean versions of songs when available. A song containing mature language may be considered only with teacher approval and when the student can explain its academic purpose.
The final reflection will answer three questions: What story does my playlist tell? Whose voice does it center? What do I want someone to understand or feel after hearing the final song?
Activity Four: Build a Freedom School for Hearne
Students will study how Freedom Schools gave Black children opportunities to learn their history, question inequality, and see themselves as participants in democracy. We will discuss why Black communities had to create these learning spaces and what students could study there that their regular schools refused to teach.
Working in pairs or small groups, students will design a fifteen-minute Freedom School lesson for students at Hearne High School. Their lesson must teach something they believe Black and Hispanic students need to know but may not find in a traditional textbook.
Possible topics include local Black history, Mexican American history in Texas, the value of bilingualism, Black family photographs, student activism, disability access, music as an archive, banned books, the history of a Hearne neighborhood, or the contributions of an overlooked person or group. Students may also suggest a topic that connects to their family or culture.
Each lesson must include a learning objective, a short reading or visual source, two discussion questions, one student task, and an exit ticket. Groups will teach their mini-lessons to the class. After each lesson, classmates will provide feedback on what they learned and what they would like to know more about.
We will close by discussing who usually decides what belongs in the curriculum. Students will consider whether they should have a voice in those decisions and what knowledge they believe schools have a responsibility to teach. This activity moves students from receiving information to creating and sharing knowledge.
Activity Five: Standing on Business Civic Action Project
The final activity asks students to apply what they have learned to an issue affecting Hearne High School or the larger Hearne community. Students will choose an issue that matters to them, but the project cannot stop with complaining. They must learn about the issue, listen to affected people, gather reliable evidence, and propose something that could actually work.
Possible topics may include language access for Spanish-speaking families, student attendance, bullying, school climate, mental health resources, support for student activities, communication between students and adults, access for students with disabilities, or the preservation of local history. All topics must be approved before students begin their research.
Students will use the Six Thinking Hats to develop their projects. The White Hat will help them gather facts. The Red Hat will help them consider how people are affected. The Black Hat will help them recognize risks and weaknesses. The Yellow Hat will focus on benefits and possibilities. The Green Hat will help them create solutions. The Blue Hat will guide their final decisions and next steps.
Students may write a letter to a school or community leader, record a podcast, create a public service announcement, develop an advocacy campaign, design an informational presentation, or propose another format. Every project must identify the issue, explain who is affected, provide evidence, propose a realistic solution, and include a section titled “What We Will Do.”
That final section matters. If students ask others to act, they must also explain what they are willing to contribute. Their plan may include educating classmates, volunteering, creating informational materials, speaking at a meeting, conducting a survey, or helping organize a school or community event.
Students will present their projects to the class or, when appropriate, to an audience that can respond. Their final reflection will answer the question: How did I use literacy to move from having an opinion to taking responsible action?
This project brings the entire unit together. Finding your voice matters, but so does knowing what you are talking about. Honoring difference matters, but it must show up in how we treat people. Standing on business means being ready to match our words with informed, responsible action.
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