Advisory Lesson #3: Racism
Context: Students have been introduced to the isms unit and are familiar with key terms.
Objective: Students will learn what happened in Los Angeles in the early 1990s and understand the implications on the city, our nation, and society as a whole.
Class Goals:
Students will look at a series of photos and attempt to interpret what is happening in each
of them.
Students will be able to read/interpret/analyze an article.
Students will learn about how the L.A. riots affected different people of different races.
Students will be able to form opinions on what happened in Los Angeles in 1992.
Students will be able to think about future implications of racism in America.
Lesson Duration: 40 minutes
Materials: Images from the L.A. riots, “Los Angeles riot still echoes a decade later” article, article questions
Aim: “Can we all get along?”--Rodney King
10 minutes: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Reveal each picture one at a time. Either pass the photos around the room or put them on the ELMO. Have students write down their thoughts on what they think is going on in the photo.
**WARNING: some of the pictures are extremely graphic. Use your best
judgment and use only the photos that you feel comfortable sharing.
10 minutes: Candid Camera
As a class, have students share out what they think is happening in each picture. After everyone has shared, briefly explain that all of these images are from 1992 during the Los Angeles riots.
10 minutes: Crowd Control
As a class, read the CNN article “Los Angeles riot still echoes a decade later”. Encourage students to highlight/underline anything that stands out as they are reading.
5 minutes: Now What?
Give students a few minutes to answer the questions that go along with the article.
5 minutes: Imma Let You Finish (ummm okay Mr. West)
As a class, go over the answers together, paying special attention to the last two questions:
5. In your opinion has America made significant strides in the war on racism since 1992?
Why or why not?
6. What can be done to prevent something like this from happening again?
1 minute: Later Skaters
Explain to students that we will continue to learn about the topic of racism in the following lesson.