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.