Lesson one: Introduction to civil rights
Opening Activity
As students walk in, have students randomly pick red or blue stickers out of a jar. Have morning meeting at carpet and tell students with blue stickers they have to sit in the back. Have students with red stickers sit in the front. (If class sits in a circle for morning meeting, have blue students sit outside the circle and red students sit normally in the circle). When having morning meeting, only call on red students. When assigning jobs, give the "good jobs" to red students and the "bad jobs" to students. Students in red don't have to do the morning work.
Debrief:
During Social Studies, debrief the morning meeting and discuss how students felt when they were left out (or when their friends were being left out). Was it fair? Why not? Why were certain people being left out? Was because of something they could control? Explain that people are sometimes left out and treated unfairly because of things they can't control, like the color of their skin, their religion, their sex. Introduce the idea of civil rights. Ask if there is anything in the government that protects people's civil rights.
Anchor Chart:
As a class think about what civil rights are. What are civil rights that all citizens should have?
Ex: treat everyone with respect, Right to vote, free speech, freedom of religion, equal pay, equal treatment, right to marry, etc.
Differentiation: Visual learners and ESOL learners will benefit from an anchor chart
As students walk in, have students randomly pick red or blue stickers out of a jar. Have morning meeting at carpet and tell students with blue stickers they have to sit in the back. Have students with red stickers sit in the front. (If class sits in a circle for morning meeting, have blue students sit outside the circle and red students sit normally in the circle). When having morning meeting, only call on red students. When assigning jobs, give the "good jobs" to red students and the "bad jobs" to students. Students in red don't have to do the morning work.
Debrief:
During Social Studies, debrief the morning meeting and discuss how students felt when they were left out (or when their friends were being left out). Was it fair? Why not? Why were certain people being left out? Was because of something they could control? Explain that people are sometimes left out and treated unfairly because of things they can't control, like the color of their skin, their religion, their sex. Introduce the idea of civil rights. Ask if there is anything in the government that protects people's civil rights.
Anchor Chart:
As a class think about what civil rights are. What are civil rights that all citizens should have?
Ex: treat everyone with respect, Right to vote, free speech, freedom of religion, equal pay, equal treatment, right to marry, etc.
Differentiation: Visual learners and ESOL learners will benefit from an anchor chart
Introduce Bill of Rights:
Introduce the Bill of Rights
Introduce the Bill of Rights
- Who wrote it
- Thomas Jefferson
- Why it was written
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Virginia Bill of Rights vs. US Bill of Rights
- Virginia Declarations of Rights (written by George Mason)
- US Bill of Rights (written by Thomas Jefferson)
- Have students make Bill of Rights Foldable
- Have students answer questions in the foldable
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