Three Visions for Achieving Equal Rights

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Warm Up Journal Response

Tell students that in this lesson that they will be learning about some of the obstacles Black Americans faced in the early 1960s and the visions for freedom and democracy held by three different civil rights leaders. Before learning more about the leaders and their contributions to the civil rights movement, ask students to reflect in their journals on their own ideas about the best way to create change in their communities, our nation, and our world:

• What are some things that you would like to see changed in your school community, neighborhood, country, or world?
• Make a list of possible strategies for creating the change you would like to see.

Depending on time, students might Think-Pair-Share with a partner or you might ask for volunteers to share their ideas in a brief class discussion.

Activity 2: Examine Three Visions for Civil Rights and Freedom

• Tell students that Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Stokely Carmichael, three civil rights leaders, each had his own vision for the path towards freedom and democracy during the tumultuous period in the early and mid-1960s. In this activity, groups of students will focus on one of the leaders to learn more about the obstacles he faced, as well as his vision and strategy for achieving civil rights for Black Americans.
• Ask students to move into their groups, pass out the three readings from the Eyes on the Prize Study Guide (Black Nationalism, Malcolm and Martin, Black Power) and the handout “The Time Has Come” Civil Rights Leaders Chart, and explain the Read Aloud strategy that you would like students to use for this activity.
  • Reading: Black Nationalism (p. 105)
  • Reading: Malcolm and Martin (p. 107)
  • Reading: Black Power (p. 113)
  • Handout: “The Time Has Come” Civil Rights Leaders Chart
• Instruct students to keep track of their understanding by annotating their readings using the following key:
  • Write an exclamation mark (!) in the margin alongside information that surprises you.
  • Write a question mark (?) in the margin alongside passages in which the author assumes you know or understand something that you don’t.
  • Write a “C” in the margin alongside information that challenges your thinking.
• After students have finished reading and annotating, ask each group to work together to complete a handout for their reading’s leader.
• Jigsaw the students by asking them to move from their “expert” groups to new “teaching” groups. Instruct each student to briefly summarize their reading before sharing the information they recorded on their handouts with their new group members. Other students in the group can add this information to their own handouts before sharing the ideas from their own readings and handouts.

Activity 3: Lead a Class Discussion

After students have finished sharing the information from their “expert” groups, have a class discussion in which you ask students to respond to one or more of the following questions about the readings:

1. What are the similarities in how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael described the obstacles Black Americans faced in their pursuit of freedom?
2. What are the differences in how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael described the obstacles Black Americans faced in their pursuit of freedom?
3. What role did each leader’s voice play in the civil rights movement?
4. What do you think are the possible benefits and shortcomings of each leader’s approach and strategy to bringing about social change during the civil rights movement? Explain your reasoning by citing examples from the readings and other social movements that you have learned about or participated in.
5. Based on what you learned from readings, what makes social movements work? Support your answer with examples from the three readings.
6. How can we determine the most effective way to enact change in our neighborhoods, our nation, and the world? Which strategies are best for bringing about the changes we want to see?

Activity 4: Use Exit Tickets

To capture your students’ understanding of the content of today’s lesson, ask them to respond to the following questions on an Exit Ticket that you collect at the end of the period.

• Reread your response to this lesson’s initial journal prompt.
  • Based on what you learned from today’s readings about Malcolm X, Dr. King, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael, what strategies for creating change might you add to your list?
  • Are there any strategies that you might take off of your list and why?
  • How can you apply what you learned today about what makes movements work to your own life and vision for change?