A living timeline of civil rights

This fifth grade lesson plan is one piece of a civil rights unit. This particular lesson is an opportunity for students to demonstrate knowledge of a specific person or event that occurred during the civil rights movement. The students will share their research with others as they take on the role of a museum artifact.

A lesson plan for grade 5 Social Studies

By Laurie Lietz

Learn more

• Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore Harry T. Moore paved the way for the ’60s civil rights movement by championing equal pay for black teachers, organizing the black vote, and publicly condemning racist attitudes and actions of local, state and national officials. Learn more about this compelling, but relatively unknown, civil rights activist.
• The March on Washington, 1963 Video from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom includes Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Seattle Times Newspaper's school outreach site focused on Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights Movement. Information on the site is featured in black and white. Historical speeches, images, timeline, and educational material are included in the collection.

Related pages

• Civil rights wax museum project: In this lesson plan, students will choose African Americans prominent in the Civil Rights Movement and research aspects of their lives. They will create timelines of their subjects' lives and a speech about their subjects, emphasizing why they are remembered today.
• Freedom songs of the civil rights movement: Students will listen to freedom songs recorded during the civil rights movement, 1960–1965. Students will write about personal reactions to the music and lyrics. Through reading and pictures, students will briefly explore historical events where these songs were sung. Listening again, students will analyze and describe — musically — particular song(s).
• Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have A Dream” speech: Students will display their understanding of the symbolism and references that Dr. King used to enrich his famous speech on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by constructing a “jackdaw,” a collection of documents and objects.

Related topics

• Learn more about African American history, African Americans, American history, United States, civil rights, culture, history, social studies, and timelines.

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Introduction

This fifth grade lesson plan is one piece of a civil rights unit. This particular lesson is an opportunity for students to demonstrate knowledge of a specific person or event that occurred during the civil rights movement. The students will share their research with others as they take on the role of a museum artifact. It would be ideal if this could be presented to their parents during an evening activity or to other classes in the school. If this is not possible then have the students present individually in the order of the events. The goal of this activity is to represent how one event shaped another as they create a living timeline. Their oral presentations will be the assessment for the activity. This activity is designed to be done individually, but it can be modified for small groups.

Learning objectives

The students will be able to:

• describe the how racial and cultural differences impacted the United States during the 1960s
• describe specific events and how these events shaped the society
• make comparisons to life in 1960 and 2007
• explain specific results of Supreme Court Decisions

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

This lesson is one part of a thematic unit. The presentation of the timeline should take 1 hour. Research is expected to take 2–3 hours, typing of summary is expected to take 1–2 hours, and design of project should take roughly 1 hour. This is based on the assumption that students are familiar with conducting research papers and know how to take notes. If this is not the case, extra time will be necessary.

Materials/Resources

• Pencil
• Note cards
• Computer with internet access (1 per student) and Microsoft Word
• Printer
• Computer paper
• Art supplies (markers, colored pencils, crayons, glue, glitter, tape, stencils, etc.)
• Poster board
• String
• Hole puncher
• Assortment of books on the civil rights movement
• A location where students can line up in the order that events took place. A gym or library would be best, but moving desks out of the way or lining up outside or in the hallways will work.

Pre-Activities

• Prior lessons on specific events in the civil rights movement
• Prior lessons on specific people instrumental to the civil rights movement
• Prior research paper and note taking activities
• Understanding of how timelines work

Activities

1. As a class, brainstorm people and events related to the civil rights movement. Keep a list on the board where everyone can see.
2. Each student will select one person or event to research in detail. They should submit their choices to the teacher for approval and to ensure that no one is doing the same person or event. Have available additional names and events in case students cannot think of one on their own.
3. Students will spend time at the computers researching the internet on their topics. Teachers should provide a list of suggested websites or have students search from the Best of the Web on LEARN NC. They should take notes on their note cards and save any interesting pictures. It may be beneficial to insist that they research their topic using a minimum of 3 sources. Proper documentation of each source is important. Remind students to keep track of their sources for both the information and the pictures. (You can work this into the assessment criteria if you wish.)
4. Students will type a brief summary of their person/event using Microsoft Word. The summary should include:
• Name of person/event
• Background information
• Dates related to the civil rights movement
• Importance of event/history
• Print summary
• Print picture(s) showing specific details related to the movement
5. Students will create a poster board of event/person. They should be encouraged to be as creative as possible. (Assessment criteria can be created if desired). They should glue the summary to the front of the board.
6. Punch holes in top of poster board and loop string through the 2 holes. Ensure that the string is long enough to go over the speaker’s head and hang at chest level. This becomes the museum artifact.
7. Hand out copies of the grading rubric (included under Assessment) for presentations. Review each item with the students to ensure clarity.
8. Practice presentations with each student individually. The students should memorize the important details that they wrote in the summary. They will be teaching others about the event or person.
9. Determine the order of events and line students up in order. Hang the museum artifact over their heads (poster board).
10. Have parents or other students tour the “living museum.” As each student is approached, they will tell about their person or event. The students should wait until a person approaches them to begin talking and stay quiet between sessions. (The students pretend that they are exhibits in a museum that tell a story once the button on the machine is pushed.)

Assessment

The individual presentation should be used as a means of assessment. See this rubric for more details.

Modifications

• Enlarged print for visually impaired students
• Headphones and specific-read aloud technology for students who need assistance in reading
• Working in groups of 2 or more instead of individual assignments
• Any specific requirements based on the students’ Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Alternative assessments

• Poster of specific people/events instead of oral presentation
• Dioramas of the person’s life or specifics of the event
• Collage of pictures
• Graphic organizers of comparisons between events/people or time frames

Supplemental information

Here is a small list of additional resources that may be used for background information.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington by Francis E. Ruffin
• Let’s Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. by Peter and Connie Roop
• Abby Takes a Stand by Patricia C. McKissack
• Rosa Parks: Freedom Rider by Keith Brandt and Joanne Mattern
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles