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.

A lesson plan for grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Sabrina Lewandowski

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Related pages

• 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.
• 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, English language learners, Martin Luther King Jr., United States, academically gifted, activists, civil rights, history, project-based learning, social studies, and wax museums.

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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. Students will present their speeches (at a parents’ night event, if desired) by becoming their subjects and speaking in the first person.

Learning outcomes

Students will learn about what life was like for African Americans in the Unites States after the abolition of slavery. Students should develop a comprehensive understanding of the struggles, hardships, inequalities, and challenges African Americans faced after the Civil War.

By researching specific Civil Rights activists of their choice, students will gain enough knowledge of their subjects that they “become one” with them and tell their stories in the first person.

Teacher preparation

Allow students two weeks of regular classroom time to complete their research in school. This will allow all students to have time in the media center, time on classroom computers or in the computer lab, and time to conference with you. Allow an additional week for the students to write speeches and create costumes and props. I allot time from social studies and language arts classes, and on certain days the two subjects would be combined to allow time for research.

Materials needed

• computers with internet access, CD/DVD players, and Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (or similar applications)
• printer(s)
• overhead projector
• dictionaries and thesauruses
• encyclopedias
• paper
• pencils
• index cards
• highlighters
• clipboards
• paperclips, staplers
• research folders

In addition, you’ll want to make the following arrangements:

• Ask your media specialists to pull resources to help the students conduct this specific research. These may include biographies, novels, plays, and so on. (Note that while the books will already be pulled in February, your kids may have easier access to them during other times of the year!) Let the media specialists know that your students will be doing independent research, and arrange for their help when your students are in the media center. Arrange for media center passes, if necessary.
• Schedule time in the computer lab for whole group or small group research. Arrange for computer headsets if students need to listen to an audio presentation.
• Post information about useful websites around yor classroom and/or in the computer lab.
• You may wish to find parent volunteers for the night of the presentations.

Pre-activities

Students will begin by exploring the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

1. As homework, they will gather all the information the can about him, from parents, books, personal knowledge, and the internet.
2. As a class, have the students share their knowledge. Create a KWL chart, filling in the “know” and “want to know” columns.
3. Have students read a biography of Dr. King; I use this biography by Brooks Widmaier of Kings Park Elementary in Springfield, Virginia. Then, play them a video of his “I Have a Dream” speech.
4. Share ideas and discuss. Fill out the “learned” part of your KWL chart.
5. As a class, create a timeline for Dr. King’s life, focusing on the period between 1950 and 1960.
6. Create a Civil Rights Word Wall by having students define key vocabulary and posting them on the bulletin board. (See Critical Vocabulary, below.)

Activities

For students’ research and presentations, I have selected a core group of African Americans prominent during the Civil Rights movement from which students may choose. I allow the students to have a choice, but I ensure that they will be able to find sufficient information on the activists they choose.

• Bob Moses
• Hank Aaron
• Ella Baker
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Fannie Lou Hamer
• John Lewis
• Rosa Parks
• Jackie Robinson
• Stokely Carmichael

1. Each student will locate at least four (nonfiction) sources on the civil rights activist he or she has chosen. I require a minimum of four sources each. Students will use these sources to collect information concerning their subject’s date of birth, family, education, adult life, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, reasons why he or she became famous, and how he or she died.
2. Each student will make a timeline of the subject’s life from the information he or she have gathered.
3. Next, the students will develop speeches using their research and timelines. Speeches are to be written in the first person and in the voice of the subject. The speech should have an introduction, information about the subject, and a conclusion explaining why the subject is remembered by people today.
4. Students will dress in costume to portray their subjects and memorize the speech they have written. The costume, like the speech, should convey accurate information about the time period in which the subject lived.
5. Each student will be a figure in a wax museum, wearing a “press here” button and giving his or her speech when the button is pressed. Once finished students will strike a pose and freeze.
6. Arrange a “Museum Opening” for a parent’s night and invite parents to view the wax figures and hear about their lives. If you can’t invite parents, you could also invite classes of younger students from the school.

Notes on classroom management

Projects in the classroom and areas of the school can get confusing at times. I offer the advice of keeping things organized. Have the groups of students leaving the room for use of the media center and computer lab posted, so they know what days and times they leave the room. A system using clothespins with names on them to identify where students are could be helpful. They can move their clips if they are in the Computer Lab. Make sure supplies, books, and other items being used collectively by the class are neat and in order come the end of period for working. Students cannot use materials if they are lost or misplaced.

Remind the class about cooperating with one another. Resources may need to be shared. Having a small timer may work as well to offer fair time to those in the room using computers as opposed to other materials.

Most importantly, provide folders with which the students can keep their work handy and organized. You can be sure a lost day’s work will evoke a sense of frustration. Your job as a teacher should be that of a facilitator during this project. By having things running in an orderly, organized way will free you up from being a “trouble-shooter” to being able to offer assistance and guidance to your students!

Assessment

Historical Wax Museum Rubric

Category	4	3	2	1
Historical Role Play	Clearly explains several ways in which his subject “saw” things differently than other people during that era and can clearly explain why.	Can clearly explain several ways in which his subject “saw” things differently than other people from that era.	Can clearly explain one way in which his subject “saw” things differently than other people during that era.	Cannot explain one way in which his subject “saw” things differently than other people during that era.
Timeline	Facts are highly detailed, developed and accurate on timeline. Spelling and grammar have been checked to perfection.	Facts are accurate for almost all events on the timeline. Spelling and grammar is mostly correct.	Facts are about 75% accurate on the timeline, and tend to lack detail. Spelling and grammar errors exist.	Facts on the timeline are mostly inaccurate and/or lacking. There are many errors in spelling and grammar.
Research	Four or more sources for reference have been used, and accurately documented in the desired format.	Four sources were used as reference materials, most are documented in the desired format.	Less than four reference sources were used, and there are errors in the documentation format.	Resources used were minimal, and not documented in the desired format.
Oral Presentation	Student was completely prepared, and “became” his or her subject by speaking in first person. It is obvious the student rehearsed an adequate amount.	Student was moderately prepared, but could have used more rehearsal. Student became their subject, and presented the speech in first person.	Student prepared but clearly lacked rehearsal time. Inconsistent use of first person delivery when speaking.	Student does not seem at all prepared, and does not become their subject. The oral presentation of the speech is not delivered in first person.

Modifications

English language learners

There are several ways to address the needs of Language Minority Learners in the classroom with this assignment:

• simplify instructions
• provide word banks
• have a teacher simplified research form
• simplify complex tasks
• give extra time to do work/complete projects
• ignore spelling & grammar errors

They may benefit from having the help of a peer, parent, or the teacher.

Alternative assessments

English language learners and other students with language difficulties can be assessed in the following ways:

• Creating a written product, such as a poster, mural, diorama, diagram, etc.
• Using a teacher-created research form that has been modified as necessary.
• Simply learning new vocabulary words, directly related to the topic of study. Creating a “Civil Rights Dictionary” may be a way to show a level of growth and understanding.

Gifted and talented students

I would encourage gifted and talented students to do more thoughtful and analytical work, using higher-level thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). You may want to assign them more complicated or obscure figures to research and represent.

Alternative assessments

While you cannot give them more work, you should expect them to take the assigned tasks above and beyond that of the average student. Encourage the use of their higher level thinking skills. Expect to see them using many different reference materials. Look for ways in which they have taken “ownership” over their learning and the final product they produce.

Supplemental information

I like to have many resources available to students so they can let their creativity shine. I would suggest having many pieces of poster board, construction paper, markers, pens, paint, etc. around for any ideas students may have. Some may want to make posters, additional props, newspaper articles/headlines, or magazine covers to help bring their subject alive.

Also, have additional content related materials in the room for those students who are not conducting research in the media center and or on the computer. Available resources will vary from school to school.

I check out a set of dictionaries and thesauruses and would have websites posted around the room for students to go to. In fact, bookmarking a few great websites is a great way to ensure that the computers are properly being used. You may even have an area in the room where students can practice coming to life as their subjects.

I have personal books from my own collection that I put out as well. My First Book of Biographies: Great Men & Women Every Child Should Know by Jean Marzollo (New York: Scholastic, 1994) is one I rely on. I also have collected over the years the Mini-Page from local newspapers and articles from Time for Kids publications, and I have these readily available for the kids to use. I also have several books on Harriet Tubman.

I like to make it clear that extra credit can be awarded, but do not assign such a thing. It is better to see where their creative minds want to go with an extra credit idea!

Critical vocabulary

As mentioned previously in the “Pre-Activities” section of this lesson, I suggested having a Civil Rights Word Wall, with definitions of terms students will need to know in order to meet the learning outcomes for this unit.
As the research process is underway, I would encourage students to add to the word wall as the encounter new and relevant vocabulary. Keep index cards and a stapler handy so that adding words is easy and a student-driven activity.

• Civil Rights
• Ku Klux Klan
• NAACP
• Supreme Court
• oppressive
• racism
• segregation
• slavery
• unrest
• rally
• rage
• constitutional
• unconstitutional
• lynching
• abolitionists
• equality
• marchers
• desegregation
• militant
• affirmative
• demonstration
• racial