CIVIL RIGHTS MINI-UNIT

Civil Rights Mini-Unit
(A prep for Dr. Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, which is another unit all of its own)
Grade 8 – Based on class periods 48 minutes long


Standards to be Addressed

English Language Arts:

EL.08.RE.17 Identify and summarize sequence of events, main ideas, and facts.
EL.08.RE.18 Clarify understanding of informational texts by creating summaries.
EL.08.RE.24 Compare and Contrast information on the same topic after reading several passages or articles.
E.L.08.WR.17 Use correct spelling conventions.
E.L.08.WR.20 Demonstrate appropriate English usage.
EL.08.WR.21 Use conventions of punctuation correctly, including commas, hyphens, dashes, and semicolons.
EL.08.WR.22 Use correct capitalization
EL.08.WR.32 Plan and conduct multiple-step information searches by using computer networks.
EL.08.WR.33 Analyze the validity and reliability of primary and secondary sources, and use the information appropriately.

Educational Technology

ET.3.B. Locate, organize and use information ethically from a variety of sources and media.
ET.3.C Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
ET.3.D. Analyze, evaluate, and summarize information

Prior Education

*The following mini-unit used after students have had experience and lessons with Publisher and the Internet Survey. Prior lessons would already have shown students how to use search engines and how to find credible/reliable sources. This mini-unit only enhances the skill.

The Lessons


Day 1
Lesson 1 – Part 1(In the computer lab if possible)

1. KWL +Discussion

*Teacher will distribute a KWL worksheet to each child. (What you Know, what you Want to know, and what you Learned – see attached at the bottom of the lesson plan for a sample KWL worksheet)

*On the board, the teacher will write “Civil Rights/Martin Luther King”. I put in Martin Luther King to give them a hint of the time period.

*Ask the students to write down what they know or want to know about the topic in the
appropriate columns.

*Allow them to brainstorm on the KWL for 4-5 minutes.

2. Define Civil Rights

*After students have finished the KWL, the teacher will start the discussion about what each child knows or wants to know. Students will participate by raising their hands.

*After the discussion, define Civil Rights and explain with brief statements, when, why, and what was exactly going on during the Civil Rights.

3. Directions of Assignment

*After defining Civil Rights, hand each child the handout with the directions for a short biography summary assignment. (Handout is attached at the end of the lesson plan)

*Discuss the directions and answer any questions or concerns.

4. Hand Each Student a Name

* The first step in starting the Civil Rights assignment is to hand each student a strip of paper of a name from a victim of the Civil Rights Movement. Also, make sure to keep track of which student has each victim. It will come in handy later on in the mini-unit.
~ (The teacher, prior to the lesson, made strips of paper with a victim’s name.)The teacher will use this website to find the names: http://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial/civil-rights-martyrs

*Once students have victim’s name, have them take their web-site surveys out and look for information and biographies about their victim. Remember, they can only use internet sources.
Link to internet survey: http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/biog/credib.html.
You will also find an introductory lesson plan for using it.

*The rest of the period is for researching. They need to use at least 3 different reliable sources to find information.


Day 2
Lesson 1 – Part 2

In the computer lab:

*Allow students research time for the whole class period.

*Remind them to fill out their survey for the sites they use. This will be an evaluation tool for you as well as them.

*If they finish their research early, they can start working on their posters.


Day 3
Lesson 2 – Part 1

In the computer lab:

*Review different parts of how to use Publisher. Remember they should have had training prior to this mini-unit. Answer any questions. (10 minutes)

*Allow the rest of the period for students to make and create their posters.

Day 4
Lesson 2 – Part 2

In the computer lab:

*Review different parts of how to use Publisher. Also, address any concerns about students’ work.

*Review the directions and requirements handout, for the next day the poster is due.

*This will be the last day to work in the computer lab.

*Allow the students to work for the rest of the period.

*If there is time when students are finishing up, have students peer edit for grammar and content (does the biography make sense?)


Day 5 – Lesson 3

In the classroom:

*As students walk into the classroom, hand them piece of tape and tell them to post their posters around the room and then sit down. Students will post their posters on the wall around the entire room. You can post them to the wall with painters tape or regular tape – which ever you choose.

*Once students have posted the posters around the room, give students a different victim’s name than the one they did their poster on. The teacher can either give them a strip of paper with a name on it, or simply call out a name.
~Obviously, this will be tough to do randomly, so the teacher will have to make up a list of students names and the name of the different victim that each student will receive ahead of time.

*As soon as the students have their strip of paper or know the name of their victim, they can go and find the poster and bring it to their desk.

*After everyone has found their person, they must read the short biography silently.

*Next, tell the students that the next part of the lesson must be silent except for the student who is reading the short biography to the class.

*Every student will stand up at his or her desk, read the short biography, show the picture of the victim, and sit down.

*As soon as a student sits down, the next student stands up and repeats the process.

*This process will repeat until every student has read.

*The next step is to have a very short discussion about similarities and differences between the victims’ biographies.

*Have students turn in the posters and the internet surveys at the end of the period.

Assessment
Day 6

*The next day, have each student take out their KWL worksheet and fill in the L portion. This should only take 5- 10 minutes. After they have finished the KWL, have each student turn his or hers in. This will assess what they have learned in the last 5 days.

*Teachers will also have the posters to assess correct information, correct use of spelling and grammar, and be able to summarize and incorporate important information. Teachers also have the internet survey which allows them to see if students really understand what sources are reliable and not reliable. The survey also allows the students to apply the other Educational technology standards.

* Teachers will be able to see if students can compare and contrast information through the discussion that will occur on the last day of the mini-unit.





Those We Have Lost
Civil Rights Poster Project

Directions:

You will create a biographical poster about your selected victim from the Civil Right Movement in the United States. This poster should inform your viewers and readers a short synopsis of this person’s life.

Requirements

Each poster should include:

• The victim’s name as the title
• The victim’s picture
• A short biography (a summary) of the victim’s life
• Color
• Your name on the back
• Font that is readable – use color, size, and writing style that you can read!
• Internet survey – you will hand this in separately

The Short Biography:

• Think about some of the following questions:
~Where was he or she born?
~Where did he or she live?
~Did this person go to school?
~How far did this person go in school?
~What was his or her occupation?
~What type of person was he or she?
~Did he or she have a family?
~Who were some important people in the family?
~Who were some important people in his or her life?
~How did he or she die?
You do not have to answer all of these questions, but most are going to be very useful in your summary of his or her life.

• You must research this person only using internet sources.
• You must use at least 3 sources! But, you can use more!
• You MUST include your internet survey for each source you used!
• Conventions (Spelling, grammar, etc.) will all be evaluated. You are expected to still have high quality writing – just like in an essay!

Date due: __________________________________________________________



Reflection

I have attempted this mini-lesson before, but without the use of the internet. Last year my students filled out the KWL chart and then discussed. I also gave them a list of victims and we had a great discussion. However, I was the one who did all of the work. That is why I chose to do this topic for my mini-unit; I really wanted to make the lessons covering this topic better for the students and give them more of an opportunity to take involvement in their own education. I don’t usually do a lot of technology based assignments or use the internet in many of assignments in my classroom, so I felt like this would be a perfect place to put it to work!
Now that I have added the web sources and enhanced this lesson with other creative ideas, I am not the only one doing the work to learn. The students are being active participants in their own education. They are also improving and enhancing their summarizing, grammar, spelling, and technology skills, as well as learning about important history.
In terms of just technology, the students have a chance to improve their site searching skills, while looking for valid information. These skills are not just helping them learn the topic, but also helping them be life long learners in the process. I know I am teaching them to be more comfortable with the internet and be able to find reliable information on their own in the future.