Selma-Conclusions/Portfolio

At the end of our viewing of the powerful film Selma, we'll do some brainstorming writing about our impressions of the film and the history it represented.  Students are encouraged to think about the following ideas and people as they brainstorm:

• power -- its various forms and complexity
• politics -- the ways politics are used, limitations, and necessity
• courage -- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and political
• activism -- means and ends
• Martin Luther King, Jr. 
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• Jimmy Lee Jackson
• John Lewis
• George Wallace
• Jim Clark

After the initial brainstorming, the portfolio entry for the film is an open response, but students are encouraged to think about the title of the unit (Citizens test the Constitution) and the central question of our year (What does it mean to be an American) in composing a response.  Think of this a 1/2 to one page, single spaced. Turn in both the brainstorming and the full response with your portfolio.

Letter From Birmingham

After our look on Friday at the Sit-In movement and the children's marches in Birmingham, today we went over your responses to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham City Jail in order to understand the blueprint for protest that he provides. We then discussed the impact of the Birmingham movement and the violent uprisings that followed as we watched the next part of the Birmingham video (through John Lewis' speech). This section also sets up your homework for tonight.

Brown v. Board of Ed., Lynching and Emmett Till

Today, we'll start with a quick review of the Brown decision that you prepared for homework. We'll discuss the holding and the reasoning and then identify the importance of the Brown II decision.
We'll then segue into the topic of lynching by looking at Without Sanctuary, a short film with images of lynchings put to the music of Billie Holliday as she sings Strange Fruit.  A different version of the images can be found HERE (although it has narration rather than the music) Click on the "Movie" tab after going to the site. The song can be found HERE.
We'll respond to these questions about the film (this will become an entry in your portfolio):

• First response/reaction.
• Narrow your focus, what images or lyrics stay with you and why?
• What are these images? Why do they exist?
• How does seeing this connect to your thinking about Brown? About Dubois or Washington?

We'll then take a look at the story of Emmett Till, a lynching that takes place after the Brown decision. We'll use this notetaking guide over the next several days as another addition to our portfolios.

NAACP Legal Strategy

Mr. Kramer guided us through how the NAACP embarked on a strategy to change the "separate but equal" standard from Plessy by using the presentation linked below. Students will take notes during the presentation.
Students will read and answer questions about the Brown decision for homework.

Reviewing the Test and Working with Jim Crow

Today we went over the Civil War/Antebellum Test.  Students are encouraged to do test corrections for half credit back by following these directions. Students have until winter break to finish and may do it in small increments if that's helpful.
During the rest of the period, students will finish the Jim Crow Web Activity.

The Jim Crow Era

Today in class we'll discuss the Plessy decision and its implications. We'll see what kind of society it helped create by learning about Jim Crow while we complete sections 1A and 2 from this WEB ACTIVITY.

Reconstruction Continued

First, we went over the new assignment sheet and the Portfolio Assignment, which will be the assessment for this unit.   Readings and portfolio assignment for the next unit are all posted on the assignment sheet. 

Then we went over the adjustments to the Lincoln Essay assignment. 

• Not a full essay.
• Full thesis statement (this might be multiple sentences given the question)
• Full paragraphs for TWO of the three sections -- this is the crux of the assignment
• The remaining "paragraph" will be simply a topic sentence and a list (in order) of the evidence that would have been used. 
• The body sections should be in chronological order.  This means that the "outlined" section may be first, second, or third. 
• No conclusion. 

After all of this business, we got down to business and looked at the work on Reconstruction students had done with their web activity.  In small groups, students focused on the social, political, and economic impact of Reconstruction and tried to make a judgment as to the success or failure of Reconstruction.