Choices in Little Rock Assessment 4

Activity 

Clarify Thinking

Throughout the unit, students have been exploring the essential question, “How do the choices people make, individually and collectively, strengthen or weaken democracy?” After they complete the final lesson of the historical case study section of the unit, and before they dig deeper into the Taking Informed Action project, it is an appropriate time for students to reflect on how their thinking about this question has changed or deepened over the course of their learning. This thinking will prepare them to complete the argumentative essay at the conclusion of the unit. As outlined on the unit introduction page (Teaching Note 4), students are asked to respond to the following prompt in an argumentative essay: 

Over the course of this unit, you have examined the history of efforts to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. You have also looked closely at how choices—made by community members, high school students, journalists, and elected leaders, to name just a few—play a major role in either strengthening or weakening democracy. For the culminating unit assessment, you will construct a written argument that you support with examples from the unit in response to the essential question: “How do the choices people make, individually and collectively, strengthen or weaken democracy?” 

To prepare students to complete a reflection about the unit as a whole, have them complete one or more of the following activities to review what they have learned:

• Share a timeline that summarizes key events from the unit. Pass out the handout Timeline of Events Relevant to Little Rock School Desegregation and ask students to read and annotate the timeline by writing “S” next to choices that strengthened democracy and “W” next to choices that weakened democracy.
• Instruct students to review the choices made by individuals, groups, and institutions by revisiting the chart they created in their journals for assessment steps 2 through 4. Ask students to focus their attention on the last column of the chart, which asks: “How did the choice strengthen or weaken democracy?”
• Ask students to return to their handout Progress and Setbacks After 1957 and circle the individuals, groups, or institutions that influenced school integration. Then have them discuss with a neighbor the impact of their choices. 

Then have students return to the essential question by sharing the following prompt:

How do the choices people make, individually and collectively, strengthen or weaken democracy? 

In response to this question, I used to think _________________________, and now I think _________________________, because _________________________.

Students may have changed their thinking entirely in response to the question, or their response may be largely the same as it was in the beginning, but their reasoning for it may have deepened. Tell them that all of these possibilities are acceptable. The most important part is for them to explain the reasons why their thinking changed or deepened. Tell them that their response in the blank after “because” should include at least two pieces of evidence—documents, images, input from classmates, etc.—that impacted their thinking.

After students have completed this reflection, give them the opportunity to share their responses with multiple classmates, perhaps using the Two-Minute Interview strategy.