Example Theme Unit:

Name: Ms. Wilson

Theme:Slavery & Civil Rights (Bravery & Oppression)

Grade Level: 4th grade

Table of Contents

PART I Essential QuestionTopical QuestionOverview/Goals …………………………………………………………..2Common Core & Essential Standards…………………………………….3Text Set (Primary & Additional) ………………………………………..4-5

PART IITeacher-directed ActivitiesBefore Reading……………………………………………………………6During Reading……………………………………………………………7After reading ……………………………………………………………...8

Multigenre #1 &Rationale: Family tree………….……………………….8Multigenre #2 & Rationale : Brochure & Map Underground Railroad…..9Multigenre #3 & Rationale: MLK Found Poem…………………..….…..10Multigenre #4 & Rationale: Recipe & History…………..……………….11Multigenre #5 & Rationale: Harriet Tubman Facebook Page………...…..12Multigenre #6 & Rationale: Journal Entry …………………………….…13

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PART I

Essential Question:What does it mean to be free?

Topical Questions:Who were the major players in the Civil Rights Movement?What were the most significant events during the Civil Rights movement? Where did they take place?How does the Civil Rights movement affect us today?What acts of bravery led to the “success” of the civil rights movement?

Overview/goals for the theme (one paragraph):Why did you choose this theme? The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is one of the major influences on equality and freedom in the United States. In fact, it was so important that it still effects us on a daily basis. The reason we chose this unit is threefold: 1) many of the major events that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement happened in North Carolina and are important to our history (ex. Greensboro Sit-Ins), 2) by studying the Civil Rights Movement, we can learn about people, geography, an era in time, and legislation, and 3) many of the current political and legislative topics today deal with freedom and in order to understand our own freedom, it is important to know about some of the major events that influenced freedom in the US. I will use stories from the period to give students a sense of the injustices which led up to the movement. These texts offer different perspectives which I believe will serve as a mural for students to understand the bravery of the famous and everyday heroes who fought systems of oppression. I expect to have conversations concerning whether or not injustice and oppression were eradicated by the civil rights movement. I also plan to juxtapose this historical movement with conversations about what is currently happening in the United States using our knowledge of the past to think about our present.

What do you want your students to get out of this unit of study? We want our students to be able to understand the major events/people/places of the Civil Rights Movement. We also want them to have a good understanding of how thinking about freedom was affecting by geographical location. The final important understanding is to relate this event to current issues about freedom, both locally, and worldwide.

What are the purposes of the activities you chose? The activities we chose allow students to think about freedom in multiple ways, including what freedom meant for slaves during the time of slavery and what it meant during the Civil Rights Movement. More detail about rationale of choosing activities is explained below.

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CCSS & Essential Standards: Include standards from Reading/Language Arts and at least one other area of the curriculum for your specific grade level.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.6Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.9Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.10By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Essential Standard 4.H.1.3 Explain how people, events and developments brought about changes to communities in various regions of N.C.

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Text Set (Title, Author, Grade Level, Summary):Primary TextHistorical Fiction: *Curtis, C.P. (2007). Elijah of Buxton. New York: Scholastic Press.  Reading Level: 6th(but will be used as a read aloud)Interest Level: 3-7Summary: Elijah of Buxton is a story set in 1859. Although this story occurs a decade before the civil rights movement, it lays groundwork for what the slaves endured and how difficult it was to attain freedom. It is about a young boy, Elijah, who is the first free-born slave in Buxton, Canada. The book tells all about the settlement created in Buxton. Elijah has to go on a dangerous journey to America, where he might possibly be captured and put into slavery. This story is a powerful narrative about discrimination and offers an interesting perspective from a young boy learning about the injustices in society during slavery. 

Additional Texts:Informational Graphic Novel:*Poe, Marshall (2008). The Little Rock Nine (Turning Points)Reading level: N/AInterest level: 3 and upSummary: This graphic novel examines what happened in the summer of 1957 in Little Rock, AK, as two kids, one black and one white, witness desegregation. This story describes the events leading up to the first nine African American students to start school at Little Rock Central High School.

Historical Fiction*Scattergood, A. (2012). Glory Be. New York: Scholastic Press.Reading level: 4.2Interest level: 3-7Summary: This book tells the story from Glory’s point of view, a young girl who experiences the world during the Civil Rights Movement. The story talks about friendship, hatred, and life in Mississippi in 1964.

*Weatherford, C.B. (2007). Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. New York: Puffin.Reading level: 3.2 (early 3rd) Interest level: 3rd-5th Summary: In this book about the Greensboro Sit-ins, Connie witnesses four young men at the infamous Woolworth counter in Greenboro, NC. She notices the inequality in her town as things start to change.

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Speech*King Jr, MLK. I Have a Dream. Reading level: N/AInterest level: AllSummary: Although this speech needs no introduction, it is the great speech that MLK gave during the Civil Rights Movement about freedom and equality.

Informational Picture Books*Davis Pinkney, A. (2010). Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. New York: Little, Brown and Company.Reading level: 3.7 (late 3rd) Interest level: K-2 Summary: This is a picture book that informs the reader about the sit-ins in Greensboro, NC. Similar to Freedom on the Menu, it is an informational text that depicts these events.

Biography*Norwich, G. I Am Harriet Tubman. Reading level: 5Interest level: 2-5 Summary: This is a biography about the woman who shaped the civil rights movement and led slaves in the Underground Railroad.

*King Farris, C. (2008). March On!: The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World. New York: Scholastic Press.Reading level: 5.6 Interest level: 3-7 Summary: This book, a biographical picture book, describes MLK Jr’s influence on the Civil Rights Movement. The book incorporates Martin’s speech and explores what he experienced as he wrote the speech.

Other:*Podcast: http://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/how-the-civil-rights-movement-worked/

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PART II: Teacher-directed Activities:

BEFORE READING:1. Hook: Interactive Read Aloud with Children's Book: ____________

2. Prior knowledge: KWHL Strategy To introduce the unit, I will complete a KWHL with the entire class. Discussion will help activate and begin to build background knowledge to see what students already know about slavery and the civil rights unit.

K (Know) W (Want to know) H (How to find out) L (Learned)

 

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DURING READING (Learning Activities):1. Internet WorkshopOur primary text will be Elijah of Buxton.After the students get into the first few chapters of the book, I will conduct an internet workshop so that students have a richer sense of the cultural and political landscape during the Civil Rights Movement. In this activity, students will develop background knowledge as well as specific content knowledge.

This Internet Workshop will introduce you to The Civil Rights Movement in The United States. You are invited to explore information on the Internet. Take notes in your Writing Notebook. Come prepared to share your information at our workshop session.

Please answer the following questions:

1. Visit the website: http://www.kidskonnect.com/subjectindex/16-educational/history/410-civil-rights-movement.html

2. Read through the Fast Facts. Are you familiar with any of the events listed? If you are, include them in the K section of your KWHL. You can also begin filling in the L section if you come across information that answers our questions.

3. Now navigate to: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html4. As you read through the timeline to 1968, fill in the Data Retrieval Chart below:

List 2 examples of nonviolent protest. 1.2.

List 2 examples of violence from the timeline. 1.2.

In your opinion, which is more effective, violence or nonviolence? Please justify your response. Use examples from the timeline as well as your own thoughts.

What do you believe is the greatest achievement of The Civil Rights Movement? Why do you think so?

 

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AFTER READING (Culminating Activities/Genre Writing): (Name of multi genre piece, Example, Lens & Rationale for using it)

Multigenre writing #1:Research and Create a Family Tree

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Lens and Rationale: Storytelling/Interesting People/Research/Historical Connections . As we explore the transition from slavery to Civil Rights to beyond, I want my students to think about connections they may or may not have known existed between people living in the present and slavery. Although Civil Rights seems like a fight from long ago, it’s not. For this project, students will research someone a person of their choosing and see if they can connect that person to slavery to Civil Rights. This activity shows that the slavery and Civil Rights continue to shape the people we are today.

Text Connection: All texts.

Reference: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/07/30/genealogists-shock-claim-obama-is-likely-a-decedent-of-the-first-american-slave-through-his-mother/

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Multigenre writing #2: Brochure and Map of Underground Railroad 

Lens and Rationale: Geography- As a complement to Elijah of Buxton, which took place in Canada, students will research where the Underground Railroad took place. They

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will create a map and brochure for visiting the Underground Railroad. During the research process, students will learn about the many steps it took to use the Underground Railroad to transport to the North. They will also discover how it wasn't a Railroad at all, and in fact, it took a lot of money to save up in order to even have a chance of escaping. 

Text Connection: Elijah of Buxton mentions the Underground Railroad in addition to the Underground Railroad text.

Reference: https://samiam85.wikispaces.com/file/view/Underground+Railroad+Brochure.pdf

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Multigenre writing #3: Found Poem using MLK Speech

Freedom of the People

 In a sense, we are not free.

We live on a lonely island of poverty,

in a vast ocean of prosperity.

For one hundred years,

we have been an exile in our own land.

We have been seared in the flames,

but now is the time.

Now is the time to make the crooked places straight.

We need to satisfy the thirst of these unalienable rights,

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

With this momentous decree,

it will come as a beacon light of hope.

We must honor the sacred obligation of dignity and discipline,

while to demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

When justice rolls down from every mountainside

we will rise up and be equal.

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It is true that we will struggle together, to go to jail together,

but we will speed up to that day where everyone will join hands

at the table of brotherhood together

and free at last.

Lens and Rationale: Social mores & values/politics/Race & Ethnicity- This project- having students use the MLK speech to create their own found poem will allow students to choose pieces of MLK Jr's words and make them their own. This piece of multigenre writing is expressive and allows individuals to pull out whatever they want, addressing issues of politics, race, social values, etc. 

Text Connection: This project relates to the reading of MLK's I Have a Dream speech as well as the March On! book. By getting background on MLK through March On! and then reading his speech, students will have a deeper understanding of where Martin was coming from and will be able to use the found poem to portray his struggle and what they think is important. 

Reference: (from http://www.sjsdblogs.com/megans/2013/01/22/freedom-of-the-people-found-poem-from-mlks-i-have-a-dream/) 

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Multigenre writing #4: Recipe and History

Lens and Rationale: History/Customs/Traditions: This activity allows students to research what it felt like in the restaurant. What was the climate like, both before and after the sit-ins? While the students were sitting on the counter, what were they eating? What were the smells? This project allows a deeper, multi sensory extension to a well-

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known local story. It would also allow students to gain some ideas about local history. They could research what is now in the location where the sit-ins once were. Students might even research additional components and write a descriptive story, including such things as what a student was wearing and what music was playing in the restaurant. 

Text Connection: This activity extends from Freedom on the Menu and Greensboro Sit-Ins. That picture book is all about the Greensboro Sit-ins. 

Reference: http://lifeinaskillet.com/2012/07/1957-woolworths-lunch-menu/

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Multigenre writing #5: Harriet Tubman Facebook account

Lens and Rationale: Interesting People. This activity allows students to put a story and a community to someone they have only read about. Students will be creating present Facebook pages of leaders in the Slavery/Civil Rights movement, and then write on each other's walls from their perspective. 

Text Connection: Underground Railroad Text.

Reference: http://www.slideshare.net/jessicajundef/facebook-harriet-tubman

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Multigenre writing #6: Journal Entry- Elijah 

Dear Journal, 1860 April 2It’s me. Elijah. Elijah of Buxton, not the other Elijah. You know, I been thinkin’ about all those growed-up things ma keeps telli’ me I ain’t ready for. And you know what, I think she wrong. Me and Cooter were playin’ the other day, and we seen the Preacher come into the settlement. We watched him and we sat real quiet-like, as if we were some kind of owl or somethin’. We saw him walkin’, creepin’ almost, and peerin’ into other folkses windows. Now, why would a man do a thing like that? I tell you! I look at Cooter and knew he was thinkin’ the same thing. To me, this is some growed-up knowledge. Preachers walkin’ around and doin’ some peerins’ into other people’s property.

There’s even more growed up things I been thinkin’ bout. When I was talkin’ to Mr.Leroy the other day, he kept on talkin’ back his wife and his kin back in America. Says he gotta earn the money to buy ‘em back. Now, what he mean be confusin’ me. Theys in America, how’s he gonna get ‘em here? And how’s he gonna buy him? I knows Mr.Leroy be mighty upset here without his kin, but I just don’t see hows that’s gonna work isself out.

Whos got the right to own nobody nohow? I was the first free born kid here in Buxton, and that’s somethin’ to be proud of. But I tell you, I don’t see why it can’t be that way for e’rybody. I sure hope Mr.Leroy finds some way to buy his kin. Lens and Rationale: Storytelling. In this activity, students will be able to write from Elijah's (or any other character in Elijah of Buxton) perspective. Elijah is one of the few characters who is able to read and write. This opportunity provides students to emulate Elijah's style of writing and extend what he is feeling and thinking in the text. 

Text Connection:  Elijah of Buxton. Character extension.

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