Lesson Plan Template

Name: Anna Erickson

Class/Subject: Social Studies

Date: 2/24/2011

Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

• Students will engage in discussion about the importance of civil rights, and be
able to tie the concept into the civil rights movement into the context of Black
History month.
• Students will be prepared to display their newfound knowledge by the creation of
civil rights petition signs.

Content Standards:
16.D.2c (US)
Describe the influence of key individuals and groups, including Susan B. Anthony/suffrage and
Martin Luther King, Jr./civil rights, in the historical eras of Illinois and the United States.
14.C.3 Compare historical issues involving rights, roles and status of individuals in relation to
municipalities, states and the nation

Materials/Resources/Technology:
Black/ white board
Markers/chalk
Handouts
four project boards
markers

Teacher’s Goals:
• For students to gain a clear understanding of civil rights, and how Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. fought to gain civil rights.
• For students to display their newfound understanding of civil rights in the creation
of picket signs.

Time
8:00 Start of Class:
I will start the class by posing a question. I will ask my students if they
know what month it is. If none know I will tell them that it February is
Black History Month.

I will then proceed to overview the objectives which I will have written on
the board.

8:05 Introduction of Lesson:

Introduction of diversity and civil rights through
the discussion of definitions. I will write each word on the board and ask
for ideas on what each word means. I will write down the answers on the
board under each word, and at the conclusion of the discussion of each
word I will give the students the definition of each word, to make sure
the meaning is understood. Words include:
civil rights
Definition: Rights that a nation's inhabitants enjoy by law
discrimination Definition: Treatment or consideration based on class or
category rather than individual merit; partiality or
equal Definition: Having the same quantity, measure, or value as another
racism Definition: The belief that race accounts for differences in human
character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others;
discrimination or prejudice based on race
segregation Definition: The policy or practice of separating people of
different races, classes, or ethnic groups in schools, housing, and public or
commercial
facilities, especially as a form of discrimination
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Is an American clergyman, activist, and
prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He was an
individual that focused on the advancement of civil rights in the United States
and around the world, using nonviolent methods

8:15 Lesson Instruction:

I will divide the class into groups of four by having student’s count off by
fours row by row. I will designate four different areas for each group to meet
together. I will then pass out a brief reading to each student that I put together,
and instruct each student to read the document silently.

8:30 Assessments/Checks for Understanding:

Each group will be assigned to create one picket sign per group using the
materials provided. They will have to pretend that they were a part of the
March on Washington, 1963, and their sign is to contain demands as if they
were a peaceful protestor who just witnessed Dr King’s I have a Dream
Speech.

8:45 Closure/Wrap-Up/Review:
I will have each group choose a representative to present their picket sign to
the class, and allow for any questions.

Self-Assessment:
I will look over the signs to check for understanding.
The 1963 March on Washington
The 1963 March on Washington attracted an estimated 250,000 people for a peaceful
demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans.
Participants walked down Constitution and Independence avenues, then — 100 years
after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed — gathered before the Lincoln
Monument for speeches, songs, and prayer. Televised live to an audience of millions, the
march provided dramatic moments, most memorably the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I
Have a Dream" speech.

Here is an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech:

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor
having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right
there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little
white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall
be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made
straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will
be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be
able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of
brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to
struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that
we will be free one day.

The protestors, people of diverse ethnicities, had many demands, but included these
seven:

(1) Passage of meaningful civil rights legislation

(2) An immediate end to all school segregation

(3) Protection for all civil rights protestors against police brutality

(4) A major public works program for all unemployed

(5) A federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in the workplace

(6) A $2 minimum wage

(7) Self Government for the District of Columbia