Journey to Freedom

Journey to Freedom

The Civil Rights Movement

Guiding Questions:

Unit Introduction:
This unit is based on the life of a young boy growing up during the Civil Rights Movement.This unit will present concepts such as racism (both the obvious and the not so obvious), prejudices, discrimination, family support and healing during times of trauma and loss.As an introductory activity, students will be introduced to several key vocabulary words that will be used throughout the course of the unit.Students will then read Oh, Freedom!, a nonfiction text.This text is told in a series of interviews told by people who grew up and lived during the Civil Rights Movement.The text also has pictures that help to tell the story of the racial struggles felt by everyone during this time in history.Over the course of the unit, students will read fiction and nonfiction texts, and watch films that will broaden their understandings of the civil rights era.The core text will be, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.This novel will help students experience the civil rights movement through the eyes of a young African American boy, Kenny Watson.

Rationale and Educational Goals:

This unit is part of the fifth grade standard course of study. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights and social movements throughout United States history that reflect the struggle for equality and constitutional rights for all citizens. During this unit, students will become aware of the life and struggles of many African American children during the Civil Rights Movement. This unit will explore the culture and themes related to the 1960’s.

During the Unit Students will:

*Explain how people of the United States adapt to, modify, and use their physical environment. (SS 1.06)

*Analyze the past movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among the United States. (SS 1.07)

* Locate and describe people of diverse ethnic and religious cultures, past and present, in the United States. (SS 3.01)

* Examine how changes in the movement of people, goods, and ideas have affected ways of living in the United States. (SS3.02)

* Describe the contributions of people of diverse cultures throughout the history of the United States. (SS 4.03)

* Evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights and social movements throughout United States' history that reflect the struggle for equality and constitutional rights for all citizens. (SS 4.06)