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.

WEB RESOURCE LIST

Part I:

I found three different evaluation tools for assessing the quality of websites. I felt that all of them were pretty similar (including the ones I did not choose as I was searching for the perfect one). However, the one I chose to use was already written in “kid friendly” language and it could be something I could use right away. It also was part of an entire lesson plan which I plan to incorporate into my classroom next year. It also has great simple questions that really evaluates how credible and reliable each source is, while also allowing students to think deeply. Below, you will find a copy of the survey.
The evaluation tool is titled, “Information Reliability Survey” and I found it on this website: http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/biog/credib.html. On this website you will also find the lesson plan that it is part of. The reliability survey consists of ten question and therefore worth ten points. Each question received one point if it was an answer that counted toward the best quality of the website. If the question did not pertain to the website I was using, I simply wrote “N/A” and gave it one point. All of my websites received a score of nine or better, but if it received a six I would not have passed it; this would have meant that it is just too questionable of a website.
After using this survey I would definitely make a spot for my students to right down how many points they gave each question and what the total score was. Other than that I think it is completely appropriate for eighth grade, especially after the lesson we would have had before receiving the survey to do independently.


Web Resource List

Professional Sites and Lesson Plans

American Library Association. 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010 from American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/

This site is targeted toward librarians, but a Language Arts teacher can find it very valuable for it has sites regarding reading. For instance, it has the top award winning book titles through different organizations, as well as lists of books that have been challenged.
*Passed Evaluation = This is a quality source! Score = 10/10


National Council of Teachers of English. 2010. Lesson Plans. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from National Council of Teachers of English: http://www.ncte.org/lessons

This site allows English teachers to access all sorts of information regarding Language Arts, teaching, and the classroom. The specific place this link will take one to is a list of lesson plans. There are many great ideas and the lessons can be put to use as soon as the teacher needs them.
*Passed Evaluation = This is a quality source! Score = 10/10

Oregon Department of Education. 2010. Teacher of Language Arts – Curriculum and Instruction. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from Oregon Department of Education: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=1617

This allows to teachers of Language Arts (but other teachers of different subjects may find it useful as well) to access lesson plans for the Language Arts classroom. Among the different Language Arts subjects, writing lessons were abundant. There are a lot of great ideas that can be put right to work in the teacher’s classroom that day or the very next day!
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score =10/10

US Department of Education. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from US Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/

I definitely think that every teacher can use this site for their professional life. This site gives information about state requirements, standard, what is happening in the news, etc. It is a very helpful site for teachers and something I can use throughout my professional career.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 10/10

Audio/Video/Interactive

Audiobooks.org. 2010. Retrieved July1, 2010 from Audiobooks.org: http://audiobooks.org/

This site allows a teacher to access free complete samples of audio stories she and her class may be reading in the classroom. One that I will find very useful is the “Monkey’s Paw”. We read this story in grade 8 each year and it would be fun to have someone else read it aloud to them.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9.5/10

Language Arts: Go Grammar. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from:
http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-grammar.html

This site allows students to play interactive educational games. This would work great in a computer lab when a student has finished his or her work. A teacher could also use some of the examples to create her own game for in the classroom.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9.5/10

LearnOutLoud, Inc. 2010. Short Stories: Free Audio and Video. Retrieved July 2, 2010 from LearnOutLoud, Inc.: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Literature/Short-Stories#play35446

This site has many popular audio novels/books/short stories available for free. One of the stories that I use frequently in class is The Tell-Tale Hear by Edgar Allan Poe. It has The Works of Edgar Allan Poe available, so I could pull out a few more stories to have the kids listen to in my class. They really enjoy listening to stories read by someone else from time to time. This site is incredible and will be very helpful when I am teaching different stories!
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 10/10

Storynory. Fairytales. Retrieved July 2, 2010 from Storynory: http://storynory.com/archives/fairy-tales/

This site allows a teacher to use audio for different stories he or she may use in a class. In my classroom, I have used Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella as part of different units. They usually are the base for what I am going to be building on.
*Passed Evaluation – This is quality source! Score = 10/10

Zuitube:Videos For Kids. 2009. Grammar. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from http://video.kidzui.com/channels/Grammar

This cool site can be used by students or teachers. If a student might be struggling with a particular part of grammar, I can recommend this site to the student to help him or her out. I can also show some of these in my classroom through our video streaming cart as part of a lesson plan!
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9/10


Curriculum Based

Lois Lowry. 2002. Biography. Retrieved from LoisLowry.com: http://www.loislowry.com/index.html

One important novel I teach in my 8th grade Language Arts class is The Giver by Lois Lowery. Usually in class we just talk about her, but I think it would be cool for the students to write her an email and read her biography on her own website. They are always filled with questions after they read The Giver. I think this would come in very useful.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9/10

Reading Rockets. (2008). Classroom Strategies. Retrieved July 3, 2010, from Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies

This site lists classroom strategies for enhancing literacy in the classroom. The site has it listed by a particular strategy and it also tells you when this particular strategy should be used (before reading, during reading, after reading). When you click on the strategy you would like to try, it will take you to an explanation of that strategy and how to use it. Many examples are included for multiple subject areas. I really would like to access more ideas for my struggling readers. This site would really help me do this!
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 10/10

Teaching Tolerance. Classroom Activities. Retrieved from The Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.tolerance.org/activities

This is an incredible site that I can use with my Civil Rights unit in grade 8. There are so many different lesson plans that really go in depth and make students think why tolerance is so important. It is a great source that also includes links to other credited sources through the website and listed lesson plans.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9/10

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Education. Retrieved July 2, 2010 from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/education/

In the 8th grade we read The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank. We also look pretty closely at the Holocaust and we explore what happened during World War II. This site is a great site for teachers to understand how delicate the subject matter is and it gives many ideas, lessons, and sources to use. This will be very handy during my Holocaust unit.
*Passed Evaluation – This is a quality source! Score = 9/10


Search Engines

Bing. 2010. Retrieved from Microsoft: http://www.bing.com/?scope=web&mkt=en-US&FORM=BWFD

I had never used Bing before, but have seen commercials and it was promoted on other teachers’ websites. It was very helpful and it helped me search a little deeper than just Google. I would suggest this to my students just so that they could branch out there and use other search engines than just Google. It would also help them to remember the difference between a search engine and a website!
*Passed Evaluation! This is a quality source! Score = 10/10


Dogpile. 2010. Retrieved from Infospace, Inc.: http://www.dogpile.com/

I had never heard of this search engine before, nor had I ever used it! I actually searched through another search engine to find it. I found it very helpful and a lot like Google and Bing. It will also give another option for my students to try another search engine on the computer. I think they will also like the name. 

Text Set: The Holocaust

I decided to focus on the Holocaust for my text set. Every year I teach The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank and I realized I really could do a lot more with this unit. Each year I do recommend different books to go along with the reading of Anne's diary, but I know I could do so much more.

This text set has really open my eyes to what is out there in terms of books/novels centered around this time period. Some of the texts I included are:


Boas, Jacob. (1995). We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust. New York: Square Fish.

A collection of five diaries written by teenagers during the Holocaust. All of these young adults passed away during this tragic time in history, living in different parts of Europe. Anne Frank is also included in this collection.


Lobel, Anita. (1998). No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
This is a memoir of Lobel’s story of surviving the Holocaust. She tells of being a young Jewish child and all of the horrible things she had to endure (hiding, marches, camps, etc.) The story is written in a first person, child’s viewpoint.


Schloss, Eva, and Barbara Powers. (2008). The Promise. New York: Penguin Group.
Eva grew up in Austria, but she and her family had to flee the country when Nazis took over. The story tells of hiding, concentration camps, and other tragic events that she and her family had to endure. Eva is the step-daughter of Otto Frank.


Zullo, Allan, and Mara Bovsun. (2004). Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust. New York, New York: Scholastic Inc.
Nine children have given testimony to what happened to them in the Holocaust. All of them have different stories to tell and describe. However, they did survive despite everything they had been through and it will inspire those who read their stories.

Melinikoff, Pamela, and Jewish Publication Society of America. (2001). Prisoner in Time. Jewish Publication Society.

Jan is 12 and in hiding from the Nazis. He eventually finds an amulet that takes him back in time to the 16th century where helps a famous Rabbi solve problems involving other Jews in the 16th century.

Polak, Monique. (2008). What World is Left. New york: Orca Inc.
In Holland, Anneke’s life changes when the Nazis invade. She and her family are taken to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp. Here the conditions are harsh and the story tells of her struggles in this camp.

These are seriously just a few non-fiction and fiction books that I added to my text set. Some of my plans for implementing them next year are to assign each student a book of his or her choice and have them read it and add to the reading log.

I would also like to start literature circles. However, that might not be for a while due to a lot of budget cuts and an over all lack of money...but I plan to find a way to do it!

The possibilities are really endless when it comes to this set of texts. I am truly glad this was one of our projects! It is going to be so useful for my students and for myself!

Freedom Wrters Diary : Junior and Senior Year!

Oh my goodness...where do I even begin?! Again, there are so many insightful and heartfelt testimonies in this diary. It truly is amazing how Erin Gruwell helped these teenagers who no one thought would make anything of themselves due to their environment, families, life styles, and stereotypes.

One part of this section of the book that I have to touch on is from Diary 57, p. 119-120. This student describes a "pep talk" Erin gave him after he had given himself an "F" in her class. She is pretty upset with this student and decided to tell him what it actually stands for. We all know what she said it stood for. I was pretty shocked that she said these exact words to the student, but I have to remember that each student is different and I have never walked in her shoes and tried to teach students who are living in the situations presented in this diary. However, that is not even the part that is interesting to me; the part that was truly interesting to me was the student's reaction. He starts out his diary by saying:

"Today I finally grasped the true meaning of self-reliance." After he has described what Erin told him he says, "No one in my life has ever given me facts so boldly. I never had a "pep talk" quite like this...what she showed me today is that a truly self reliant person takes action, leaving nothing to chance and everything to themselves. She showed me that excuses will not bring me about success and that adversity is not something you walk with, but something you leap over. The only obstacles are the ones you allow...I want to be a self-reliant person now and forever."

I was completely amazed by his reaction and what he learned from Erin. Although I can't see myself ever saying such words quite like she did to this student, it does inspire me to really make connections with my students and be real with them. This is what Erin did and she did get through to him. She told him what he needed to hear!

Another part that I must comment on is from Diary 85, p. 169-170. This part describes what a student saw and heard at the Holocaust Museum. As all of you know I do a unit on the Holocaust in my room and I think I am going to have to use this quote that the student had seen and wrote in the diary:

"They came for the trade unions, but I was not a trade unionist, so I didn't respond. Then they came for the Socialist, but I was not a Socialist, so I didn't respond. Then they came for the Jews and since I was not a Jew, I didn't respond. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."

I teach every year that maybe a lot of the Holocaust could have been stopped if only people would have spoke up and refused to be silent. This quote really ties in with that! In fact, I could even share what this student said after reading this quote on a wall.

She says, "On our way back to the hotel, I saw Swastikas that we had covered. Before, if I saw something bad happen, I probably wouldn't have done anything. I used to think, 'If it doesn't affect me, why bother?' With the covering of the swastikas, and everything that happened today, I now know that there is not a day that will go by, when if I believe something is wrong, I won't do anything about it. It is better to take a chance and make a change, than it is to pass and pity."

Oh how I wish I had a chance for my students to go the Holocaust Museum. But, maybe I should look into it...Erin Gruwell probably would. ;) But, how unbelievably inspired is this student due to what she has read, seen, and heard?!

There are so many testimonies that I could touch on, but I think that it is essential that we do realize that these students did make the decision on their own to graduate in the end and that Erin was truly the inspiring instrument that they needed as guidance along the way. This book was fabulous, inspiring, and very motivational for teachers. I think that it could be very inspirational to other students as well. However, I would be careful about recommending it to certain age groups due to language, sexual references, and violence. I really wouldn't hesitate recommending it to high school students, but I would caution with some 8th grade students.

Fabulous! Fabulous Book!

Visualizing

After reading Chapter 8 in our text book, I realize I really do not do a whole lot of visualizing activities in my classroom.

As I have mentioned before I am doing a unit on poetry for the rest of the school year: Does anyone have any suggestions for a poem that I could use in my classroom to help with visualizing?

As far as trying to get our young readers to use their imaginations and visualize, I think that using an excerpt from Harry Potter or a book of that type where you must use your imagination in a make believe world might get their attention! Any other ideas on this matter? Any other recommended books?

Science Fiction and Fantasy...Why are they so popular??

Okay...I am going to admit it...please don't judge me or hold this against me...but I did read the entire Twilight Series in a week and a half!! I know...you probably think I am crazy right about now... It was even in the middle of last school year. I honestly couldn't put it down! The way that Stephanie Meyers writes her stories is intriguing and you want to keep reading...it was very hard to put the books down. And, not only is it intriguing because of the forbidden love story, but it also involves vampires! And who isn't a little bit curious about vampires?? :)

I think our young adolescents love this genre because it is an escape from reality. At least, I know for me it is. In this genre everything is possible and there are no limits. In a world where there are so many rules and regulations and so forth, it is always nice to be able to venture out and just pretend sometimes without anybody telling you that something isn't possible and your imagination is allowed to run wild! When it comes down to it: It's just fun! :)

What do you all think??

P.S. Twilight - loved the books, hated the movies. I walked out of the theater in the middle of the first movie! The books were so much better; they usaully are better!

Freedom Writers Diary: Thoughts up to Junior Year!

I knew this book was going to be amazing.

There are so many parts I could talk about and discuss!. The whole time I am reading this with teacher eyes and my heart just cries for these students; they are all so young and have been through so many things that I have and probably never will go through in life.

A story that sticks out to me still is about the young 14/15 year old girl who was joining a sorority in high school. The things these girls would be put through so that they felt they would "fit in" with others, was unbelievable. It is so tragic that young people will do almost anything to fit in, even if they know it is not right. The collection of diaries are from the 90's, but it has not changed today. The need to fit in in every where and very real for preteens and teens today.

I absolutely loved the poem, "Moment" by Vincent Guilliano. It says so much about life and truly living. I really want to share this with my 8th grade class (we're in the middle of a poetry unit right now) and I think many of my students will really appreciate it.

Just like this poem that Erin Gruwell shared with her classes, she had so many fantastic ideas when it came to teaching in her classroom. It is really inspiring to me to bring apple cider into the classroom and make a toast for change or for inspiring goals at the end of each year! I also loved hearing how she would dress up. So many of us that teacher the middle/upper level forget that students still appreciate little things like that! Right now I am thinking, What could I dress up like this week? She also always found novels/books/literature that her class could relate with. This is so very important when teaching reluctant readers and teenage students; they always enjoy reading books that reminds them about things they know in each of their own lives.

I also definitely am interested in reading Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo. I have not read it, but I have a feeling students could really relate to this diary. I will have to read it and find out!