Summative Assessment & Taking Informed Action

About this Activity

This inquiry includes two types of culminating activities: a Summative Performance Task and Taking Informed Action. The Summative Performance Task asks students to answer the compelling question in a format of their choice. Taking Informed Action invites students to civically engage with the content through three exercises: 1) Understand, 2) Assess, and 3) Act.

Instructions

Summative Performance Task 

Argument 

What can the history of the Delano grape strike and boycott teach us about what it takes to build solidarity in a movement for change? In a format of your choice (e.g., digital presentation, poster, essay), craft an argument in response to this compelling question. 

Framing the Taking Informed Action Project

Summarizing The Outcome of the Delano Grape Strike

Before introducing the Taking Informed Action, deliver a brief mini-lecture that summarizes the outcome of the Delano grape strike and boycott by sharing the following information:

• In 1970, as a result of the Delano grape strike and boycott, 26 Delano grape growers agreed to recognize the United Farm Workers Association, negotiate labor contracts to increase wages, and improve workplace conditions. 
• On July 29, the growers signed labor contracts with the UFWA, ending the five-year strike and boycott. But the farm worker movement extends to today and includes a long history of additional strikes and boycotts, some of which were successful and some of which were not.

Then share with students the following quotes by Larry Itliong and Cesar Chavez, co-founders of the National Farm Workers Association along with Dolores Huerta and Philip Vera Cruz.

“As the pilgrimage was not the end, so will the strike not be an end. Some will choose to settle for a wage increase and settle for a better working condition. Others will never be content with that. They will then be the responsible ones to have other Delanos, other pilgrimages, so that the spirit continues.” 

—Chesar Chavez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, 1966

“In the Constitution, it said that everybody has equal rights and justice. You’ve got to make that come about. They are not going to give it to you.”

—Larry Itliong, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, 1976

Ask students to discuss the following questions with a neighbor in a Think-Pair-Share:

1. What are some movements for change that exist today?
2. How are these similar to and different from the farm worker movement you’ve learned about in this inquiry?
3. What is the importance of having “other Delanos”? How would Chavez and Itliong answer this question? How would you answer it?

Then explain to students that, to close the inquiry, they will complete a Taking Informed Action project that explores contemporary movements for change led by young people.

Taking Informed Action

Understand

Building on students’ exploration of the farm worker movement and the strategies used to advocate for change, students will examine how young people have led contemporary movements for change in their own communities. Teachers are encouraged to curate a collection of articles about local movements to share with their students. See Teaching Note 2: Curating a Collection of Articles for the Taking Informed Action Project for additional guidance. Alternatively, teachers may share the set of articles listed below. 

Have students review the titles, topics, and descriptions of the article collection. Then instruct them to choose and read one article that resonates with them personally or that addresses issues relevant to their community. Two videos are also included as options for students. 

Article: Memphis Students Unite Their Community 100 Years After a Lynching
Topic: Historical Memory & Racial Justice 
Description: Learn how a group of high school students came together to confront the history of a racial lynching.

Article: High School Students, Frustrated by Lack of Climate Education, Press for Change
Topic: Environmental Justice
Description: Learn how​ high school students in Minnesota are trying to integrate climate change into the state’s curriculum.

Article: When the Biggest Student Mental Health Advocates Are the Students 
Topic: Young People’s Mental Health & Well-Being
Description: Learn how students are advocating for mental health and well-being in schools.

Article: Bullying at School
Topic: Bullying at School
Description: Learn how students at different schools have responded to bullying.

Article: How the Parkland Students Pulled Off a Massive National Protest in Only 5 Weeks
Topic: Gun Violence
Description: Learn about the movement to end gun violence launched by Parkland students after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Article: From Climate Strikes to the Union Hall
Topic: Climate Change
Description: Learn how young people are pushing labor unions to take action on climate change.

Article: How Gen Z Baristas Are Spreading the Starbucks Unionization Effort
Topic: Labor Organizing
Description: Learn how Gen Z baristas are organizing their workplaces and leading a growing movement to unionize Starbucks stores across the country.

Video: Meet Trinity Colón
Topic: Improving Community Health Near Industrial Centers
Description: Learn how one student is improving the health and well-being of her community located near an industrial center.

Video: Project Feed the Hood
Topic: Food Justice in Low-Income Communities
Description: Learn how Project Feed the Hood, founded in 2009 by college students in New Mexico, is addressing the problem of food deserts, or communities where fresh produce is not available. 

Next, give each student a copy of the handout Comparing Movements Venn Diagram Exercise and read aloud the instructions. Students will complete a Venn diagram for the movement they explored by answering the following guiding questions: 

1. What similarities do you see between the farm worker movement and this contemporary movement? What differences do you see? 
2. How did the members of each movement build solidarity among themselves?
3. What strategies did they use to sustain their movement over time?
4. How did they gain support from others?
5. How did they get others involved?
6. What symbols and/or stories does the movement use? 

Assess 

Share with students that in the next phase of the project, they will be selecting a contemporary social movement that they would like to support by advancing its cause. Tell students that they can either choose the social movement they read about in the prior activity or select another social movement that they are passionate about. See Teaching Note 3: Selecting a Contemporary Movement for the Taking Informed Action Project for additional guidance. 

Explain to students that before they pick a movement to support, they should first determine to what extent the movement in question will have a positive impact on society and democracy. You might want to start the conversation by acknowledging that not all social movements are causes to be celebrated. For example, the Nazi Party in Germany during the Weimar Republic garnered popular support by promoting the superiority of one group while stoking violence and stripping away the rights and freedoms of others. Share with students the following framework to help them evaluate their chosen movement’s impact:

1. Advancing fairness and equity: 
   • To what degree does the movement advocate for everyone to be treated without discrimination and have their needs met?
2. Ensuring freedom and democracy: 
   • To what degree does the movement promote the idea that all should be able to 
     • act, speak, think, and live without restraint; 
     • make their own choices for their lives, communities, and future; and
     • be equal participants in a government by and for the people?
3. Eliminating unjust oppression and hegemony: 
   • To what degree does the movement work toward a society where groups or individuals
     • do not face unjust control or treatment, and 
     • are not forced by dominant groups to sacrifice any part of their identity (cultural, linguistic, political, etc.) in order to blend into society? ¹

Model how to respond to these questions by using the farm worker movement as an example. Pass out the handout Framework to Evaluate Your Chosen Movement. Go through each question as a class, and solicit responses from students based on what they have learned about the farm worker movement from the inquiry. 

We have provided some notes below to help you guide your students through this exercise; however, this list is not exhaustive, and there are many additional examples that students could use as evidence. 

• Advancing Fairness and Equity: While the Delano grape strike strived to improve working conditions for farm workers, Filipino farm workers felt sidelined by the union. 
• Ensuring Freedom and Democracy: The farm worker pilgrimage to Sacramento in 1966 drew national attention and encouraged others to support and participate in the farm workers’ cause. The solidarity they built with other groups strengthened democracy by demonstrating the power of collective action and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.
• Eliminating Unjust Oppression and Hegemony: The Delano grape strike led to farm workers gaining protection through formal labor contracts. These contracts safeguarded workers from unfair treatment and unjust firings while also securing higher wages and improved working conditions.

Then have students complete their assessment of their chosen movement. Pass out the handout Framework to Evaluate Your Chosen Movement and have students complete it independently. Tell them that if their chosen movement doesn’t sufficiently meet the above criteria, they should select a different movement before transitioning to the “Act” phase. 

Act

In the final phase of the Taking Informed Action project, students will translate their learning into a creative product that supports their chosen social movement. Explain to students that they will create a visual design—such as a back-pin button, T-shirt, or poster—that promotes their chosen contemporary movement’s message and contributes to its goals. Instruct students to complete the handout Taking Informed Action: Brainstorming Design Ideas to help them generate ideas. 

In addition to their design, students will write a reflection in response to the following prompt: 

Write a one-page reflection explaining how your design supports the goals of the contemporary movement you chose. In your response, describe how your creation is designed to inform, inspire, or persuade a specific audience to take action or think differently. Be sure to name your intended audience and explain why reaching them matters.

• 1Framework adapted from Christopher C. Martell and Kaylene M. Stevens, “Teaching Movements in History: Understanding Collective Action, Intersectionality, and Justice in the Past,” The History Teacher 56, no. 3 (May 2023): 353–54.