Monmouth Comprehensive School National Grid for Learning USA

Lesson number and title : Lesson 8 How did life for black people vary in America, before World War Two?

Aims and objectives: Pupils will understand the differences in segregation, working and living conditions for black people in America, focusing on the differences between North and South.

Historical skills: Knowledge and Understanding

Key skills: ICT

Resources: PowerPoint slideshow and interactive map. Option to use a suite of computers if teachers wish to conduct the lesson in a way that develops pupils ICT skills.

ISM: Series of images that denote some of the key features of segregation and discrimination of coloured people in America in the 1930s. A new key word is introduced with every image that pupils and teachers can define.

Interactive map though a hyperlink that pupils can use to find out where the majority of lynchings took place and why.

Activity 1: Using the map of America in the 1930s, pupils look at improvements and what did not improve for coloured people, the political, social and economic differences between black people in the North and South.

If your school has a suite of computers the PowerPoint presentation could be made available on the network and pupils can then use this and create their own summary diagram on the conditions for Black people before World War Two. Alternatively pupils can Pupils can label their findings on their own map in their exercise books. This map is on a publisher document.

Activity 2: In pairs pupils are encouraged to think about the key questions that are on the penultimate slide. They should then write a brief synopsis of their findings.

Activity 3: Or Possible Homework Write a letter from the point of view of a black worker who has moved to the North. They are writing home to their family in the south. Write about what has improved / not improved for you.

Plenary:

Consolidation exercise: definition bingo! The students are given bingo cards (see Word document “Definitions bingo”, or students can make their own) with the different words associated with the Civil Rights Movement before WWII. Various definitions of words are read out, and the students have to cross off the word that matches to the definition being read out. When all the words are crossed out, the student shouts “Bingo!”