Civil Rights, Day 1 - Class Recap

Emmett Till was raised in Chicago, Illinois, before taking a fateful trip to Mississippi one summer. This is the famous Chicago Theatre sign, in 2011. 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for checking in on the blog during your long weekend! We are finally getting into some new content in learning about Civil Rights in America. Read on to check out what we did today!

Learning Targets Addressed:

SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake. Selected because of the ongoing crisis in Crimea, Ukraine, and because it was raining out today. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/6/14:
News Brief
Literacy Test
Lynchings
Emmett Till

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Tiffany M.

News Brief: Kayla had the news brief today and selected this (super lengthy titled) article to talk about: DailyMail.co.uk - 'Our mommy's trying to kill us': Police interviewed and released pregnant mom just HOURS before she drove her three children into the ocean, prompting dramatic rescue. I actually had a CNN alert on my phone during class that said the mother was being charged with three attempted murder counts. Thanks, Kayla!

Literacy Test: After the news brief, I passed out a test and said there were only ten minutes to complete it, with every answer being correct in order to pass it. This was supposed to be impossible, by design! Here's a link to a page with the blank test on it:

Slate.com - Take the Impossible “Literacy” Test Louisiana Gave Black Voters in the 1960s

It is somewhat difficult to ascertain with certainty if this actual test was used, but it does appear to be one from the State of Louisiana, used to deny people of color the right to vote. These tests were given to anyone that election officials wanted - which was typically only people of color, not whites. If you are interested in seeing the "answers" (many of which were pretty subjective) again, here they are:

Google Drive: "Answers" to the Louisiana Literacy Test for Voting

I hope this was an interesting activity to start out with! I also hope the point was driven home that having some sort of standard or qualification for voting rights aside from age is discriminatory.

Lynchings: For this section, I talked about the importance of not ignoring, or sweeping under the rug, the horrific and brutal history in the United States when it comes to lynchings. The article I read aloud to the class, as everyone was taking Cornell Notes, was from this website:

CrimeLibrary.com - Carnival of Death: Lynching in America (Page 2)

I also showed some statistics compiled about people lynched in the United States from 1889-1918, which can be found here:

Google Drive: Lynching Data Set, 1889-1918

At the end of reading the article, I gave the class a bit of time to try and wrap up taking notes using the Cornell format, then we moved on to:

Emmett Till: This is one of the more famous lynchings in United States history. The documentary we started watching in class is called The Murder of Emmett Till. If you missed class and wanted to catch up (we will watch the rest next class), it is here:

We made it about 25 minutes in today.

Thank you for your focus and hard work! Enjoy your long weekend!

Forced Choice, Day 2 - Class Recap

This is the room inside Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Constitution of the United States was debated and signed. Picture taken in 2008.

Dear class,

Thank you so much for another great day of talking, listening, and debating! I hope that you found it as interesting and enlightening as I did. Here's what happened today:

Learning Targets Addressed:

SS.HS.KN.ALT.17: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place or region.
SS.HS.KN.ALT.19: I can explain the role and impacts of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley. Selected for today because you were standing up for what you believe in, and it relates to civil rights! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/5/14:
News Brief
Finish Forced Choice
Reflection

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Kayla.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Aleighsha. She chose this article to talk about: CNN.com - 10-year-old suspended for making fingers into shape of gun. This is interesting, especially considering our discussion about civil rights. Did the student have a right to free speech violated? Or was this way too much punishment for such an act?

I also talked for a while about the ongoing situation in Ukraine, where the U.S. government is trying to help ensure that Russia does not take over.

Finish Forced Choice: I was actually thinking we would be able to wrap this up in plenty of time to start the next bit, but the opinions and discussions were just so good that I decided to hold off until next class. The three questions we talked about today were:

5. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?

Reflection: At the end of class, I had everyone write a reflection based on the following prompt:

Write a one page reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of civil rights?

This was due in class, and will help me determine how much you took away from this two day long activity. Let me know in the comments if you have any further questions or, ahem, comments!

Forced Choice, Day 1 - Class Recap

Fireworks over Niagara Falls, in 2009. Turning in your historical investigation today is worthy of some fireworks!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to a day blissfully free of work on your historical investigation, I hope! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
SS.HS.RE.ALT.04: I can use evidence from my research to effectively address the research topic.
SS.HS.CO.ALT.01: I can organize ideas in a logically sequenced manner and in a way that is appropriate to the content area.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.04: I can evaluate information and explanations within a given context and develop a relevant conclusion.
SS.HS.RE.ALT.02: I can access relevant information from multiple and varied sources.
SS.HS.CR.ALT.05: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: “We Like To Party!” by Vengaboys. Selected for today because, again, you should feel like having a party with your historical investigation done! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 3/3/14:
News Brief
Share Time
Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Aleighsha.

News Brief: Today's article was brought in by Daniel, who selected this story (and posted about it in the comments on the blog - thanks!): AP.org - Disney ends funding to Boy Scouts over gay policy. This was especially timely, because we talked today in class about discrimination a bit when it comes to same-sex marriage.

Share Time: Next, I split up the class into about groups of 3, and had students just check in with each other for a few minutes about how the historical investigation went, the research question and answer, and just generally how things are.

Forced Choice: The rest of class was spent doing a forced choice debate, which I always enjoy. These were the questions I asked students to answer with a Yes or No, with no in between. We talked about the first four - we won't do all of the rest next class, but we will probably do some, then write a reflection.

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
2. The Second Amendment (A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.) means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.
3. Same-sex marriage should be allowed everywhere.
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
6. It bothers me that the National Security Administration/federal government can see whatever we do online.
7. The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. People in power are always corrupt in some way.
10. Democracy is always the best form of government for anywhere in the world.

Thank you for your active participation here! I also really appreciate the respect and open minds displayed. I hope that you enjoyed this activity as much as I do. Next class, we will talk a little bit more about this, then really get into the Civil Rights unit. See you on Wednesday!