College of Education

Lesson Plan Template

Teacher Candidate: Nastasha Green Date and Time of Lesson: October 9, !"#$ ""
a$m$
%chool: 9& Elementar' %ub(ect)Grade Le*el: %ocial %tudies
Description of Lesson: Students will learn about the Jim Crow laws and how it affected African
Americans during the 1800s. The students will also take part in readers theatre based on the
less! ". #erguson case.
Lesson Title or Essential +uestion that guides the lesson: less! ". #erguson
Curriculum %tandards ,ddressed:
National %tandard-s.:
Speaking and Listening 5.1: $ngage effecti"el! in a range of collaborati"e discussions
%one&on&one' in groups' and teacher& led( with di"erse partners on grade ) topics and
te*ts' building on others ideas and e*pressing their own clearl!.
a. Come to discussions prepared ha"ing read or studied re+uired
material, e*plicitl! draw on that preparation and other information
known about the topic to e*plore ideas under discussion.
%C Curriculum %tandard-s.:
Standard )&-. The student will demonstrate an understanding of ma/or domestic and
foreign de"elopments that contributed to the 0nited States becoming a world power.
%C ,cademic /ndicator-s.:
)&-.1. $*plain the practice of discrimination and the passage of discriminator! laws in the
0nited States and their impact on the rights of African Americans' including the Jim
Crow laws and the ruling in less! ". #erguson.
Other:
EEDA Standard(s)
Students will look at the career clusters dealing with law, governent and
pu!lic adinistration.
SS"A Eleent(s)
Students are to respect one another#s $eelings and opinions. Students
should not place his or hands on each other.
Lesson Ob(ecti*e-s.: ,ssessment-s. of the Ob(ecti*es:
Students will !e a!le to de$ine discriination with %&'
accurac(.
)e$ore the lesson, * will separate the
students in two wa(s, one !( gender
Revised 9.03.14
Students will !e a!le to anal(+e and discuss their
$eelings a!out the results o$ the ,less( v. -erguson case
using supportive details $ro the readers# theatre with
%&' accurac(.
and the other !( color. .he students
will then descri!e what * did and tr(
to coe up with a word that e/plains
it. .he word * will !e looking $or is
discriination.
During the lesson, * will !e o!serving
the students as the( take part in the
readers# theatre. * will look to see i$
the students are $ollowing along and
i$ the( understand what is happening
throughout the script.
After the lesson' the students will
pla! four corners. 2uring this acti"it!'
3 will ask students +uestions about the
case that the! ha"e to answer using
the choices of strongl! agree' agree'
strong disagree' and disagree. The
students must also e*plain their
reasoning for choosing one of the
following.
0aterials)1esources: Chairs' desks' paper' pencils' stick! notes that will represent nametags for
each character' posters that ha"e the answer choices it' re4i that e*plains less! ". #erguson
case' romethean board, and a 5hiteboard.
Prere2uisites -Prior 3no4ledge.:
Students need to understand what discrimination is and how it affected people back in the
da!' while participating in a group acti"it! that allows each student to e*press
themsel"es. The students need to respect each others opinion and work together to come
up with a reason for their answer choice. The students also need to be able to walk to the
assigned answer' and trul! put themsel"es in the 1800s and become 6omer less!.
Procedures:
1. 3 am about to gi"e !ou all some directions. 3 want !ou to do what 3 sa! +uietl!. There
should be no talking or touching one another.
1. 3 want the bo!s to sit on the left side of the classroom and the girls to sit on the right.
7ow 3 want these students to mo"e to the left side of the classroom %call the African
American students( and the rest of !ou go to the right side.
-. 3 start to pass out paper. 3 hand the Caucasian students a clean white piece of paper. 5hen
3 get to the African American students' 3 crumple their sheets of paper up and put it on
their desk.
8. 9ook around and think in !our head what is happening. $"er!one is separated and !ou all
do not ha"e the same sheet of paper.
). 3 want !ou to turn to and tell the person ne*t to !ou what !ou belie"e is happening.
:. 5hat are some ideas or e*planations !ou ha"e for what 3 /ust did;
Revised 9.03.14
a. 5hat words can !ou use to describe it;
<. =ou all ha"e great inferences. The word 3 am looking for is discrimination.
2iscrimination is a group of people that are treated unfairl! based on their age' gender'
and race.
a. 5hat wa! did 3 use discrimination;
8. 2iscrimination pla!ed a ma/or part in the 1800s and because of that Jim Crow laws were
created.
a. 5ho knows what Jim Crow laws are;
b. Jim Crow laws were created in 18<: and it represented separate but e+ual. The
laws were named after a Caucasian man who painted himself black during his
performances. The Jim Crow laws allowed African Americans to go to
restaurants' mo"ie theaters' and the! were able ride on trains' but the! had to sit in
a separate part awa! from e"er!one else.
>. Although man! Caucasian thought this was fair' the African Americans did not. The!
were tired of getting the old seats' and broken chairs. The! wanted the same thing as the
Caucasians.
a. 6ow would !ou all feel if half of !ou were able to sit in a seat and the others were
on the floor all da!' e"er! da!;
b. 6ow would !ou feel if 3 /ust let some of !ou go to recess and the others sta! in the
classroom to learn;
10. ?ne person' who reall! got tired of these laws' was a man 6omer less! who li"ed in
9ouisiana. less! was a -0 !ear old man' who had 1@8 of African American in him. $"en
though he looked Caucasian' he was still considered African American. less! got
arrested for breaking the law and then took his case to the Supreme Court.
11. Toda!' !ou are going to learn more about less! and his case through readers theatre.
Aeaders theatre is an acti"it! where !ou are able to become a character and read scripts
aloud.
11. 3 will hand the script out.
1-. There are 1: characters in this readers theatre. 5hen 3 call out a characters name' 3 want
!ou to raise !our hand if !ou would like to read the parts for that character.
a. 6omer less!
b. #riend 1
c. #riend 1
d. #riend -
e. olice ?fficer
f. Judge #erguson
g. Supreme Court Judge
h. < Justice %2ecided if #erguson was innocent or guilt!(
i. Justice Brown
18. =ou all did a great /ob readingC 7ow 3 want !ou to walk to a partner and summari4e what
happened.
a. Someone gi"e me a summar!.
1). 7ow 3 am going to tell !ou four statements. =ou ha"e to decide if !ou strongl! agree'
agree' strongl! disagree' and disagree with these statements. 5hen !ou come up with
!our answer' 3 want !ou to walk to it. 5hen e"er!one gets to their answer' 3 want !ou all
to work together and come up with a reason for wh! !ou chose that answer and make
sure !ou include e"idence from what !ou ha"e learned toda! to support it.
a. 3t was good for 9ouisiana to create a Separate Car Act.
b. less! should ha"e been arrested.
Revised 9.03.14
c. #erguson was wrong for sentencing less! to /ail.
d. #erguson should ha"e been found guilt! in the Supreme Court.
,cti*it' ,nal'sis %should show use of T5S 1 data(
1. The first acti"it! that the students will be participating in will teach students how
to define discrimination through different situations the! are placed in. The
students will be separated b! gender and then color. 5hen the! are separated b!
color' 3 will gi"e one group a clean white piece of paper and the other crimpled
paper. The students will see that the! are in different group and then work together
to figure out what 3 /ust did. The students will be able to mo"e around and
communicate because the! all are "er! boisterous. There will not be an!
technolog! during this acti"it! because the students are using what the! see to
describe what is happening.
1. The second acti"it! that the students will take part in' is readers theatre. 3n this
acti"it!' the students will read a script that is based off of the less! ". #erguson
case. The students will be asked to "olunteer for different characters throughout the
script. The students are able to place themsel"es in the 1800s' and e*perience what
6omer less! went through because he was 1@8 black. The students are able to
show emotion and gi"e their opinions about the case. Technolog! will be used
before the readers theatre to gi"e students some background information on the
less! ". #erguson case.
-. The third acti"it! that the students will partake in is four corners. 6ere students
will be asked four +uestions and the! will ha"e to decide if the! strongl! agree'
agree' strongl! disagree or disagree. ?nce the! made their decision' the! must
e*plain wh! the! chose that answer. This acti"it! allows the students to share their
opinions' be acti"e' and hear different point of "iews that the! ma! ha"e not
thought about. There will not be technolog! in this acti"it! because the students
are discussing their ideas.
Differentiation) ,ccommodations) 0odifications) /ncreases in 1igor %should show use of
T5S 1 data(
3n this class' 3 ha"e some students that are below the fifth grade reading le"el or some
who struggle with comprehension. Although' 3 tried to make the script for readers theatre simple
!et informational, 3 gi"e the students the choice of reading or listening. 3 did this because 3 did
not want to put an!one on the spot or embarrassed an!one. 3f the students were not reading' the!
were able to follow the script with the cop! 3 handed them. After the script was read' the class
and 3 went o"er what happened to make sure e"er!one comprehended the material.
1eferences: Nastasha Green
Revised 9.03.14
Pless' *$ 5erguson 1eaders6 Theatre
Characters List
Narrator: Welcome to the 1800s, where the Jim Crow laws stirred up a lot of
trouble. !m "oi#" to ta$e %ou bac$ to 189&, where a ma# b% the #ame of 'omer
(less% a#d some frie#ds "ot tired of followi#" the rules so the% too$ actio#.
Homer Plessy: was alread% tired of all these laws separati#" ever%o#e, but #ow
this )eparate Car *ct+ ,he% ca#!t be serious+
Friend 1: $#ow, this is o#e of the dumbest laws have ever heard. -our feeli#"
me, have to sit i# a separate trai# from the whites+
Friend 2: We #eed to put our foot dow#+ ,he state ca#!t $eep "etti#" awa% with
this. We #eed to ma$e a stateme#t+
Friend 1: a"ree, but what should we do.
Friend 3: have a "reat idea, but/ (less% we would #eed %ou to pla% a hu"e role.
Homer Plessy: Well, what is it.
Friend 3: was thi#$i#", si#ce %ou almost loo$ white, %ou could bu% a tic$et for the
white trai#. -ou would ride that trai# bac$ i#to tow#.
Friend 2: Would#!t he "et i# a lot of trouble.
Homer Plessy: -es would, but this is a "reat idea+ We ca# 0#all% sta#d up a"ai#st
these laws+
Revised 9.03.14
7arrator olice ?fficer
6omer less! Judge #erguson
#riend 1 Supreme Court Judge
#riend 1 < Justice %Jur!(
#riend - Justice Brown
Narrator: (less% a#d his frie#ds pla##ed out ever% detail a#d were read% to sta#d
up for their ri"hts. * few da%s later, (less% we#t to bu% his tic$et. 1#ce he "ot his
tic$et, he "ot o# the white trai#.
Homer Plessy: wa#t %ou to $#ow that am 128 blac$ a#d am #ot "etti#" o3 this
trai#+
Narrator: 1#ce (less% said this, a# o4cer came up to him.
Ofcer: -ou #eed to "et o3 of this trai# #ow+ -ou belo#" o# the blac$!s o#l% trai#.
Homer Plessy: am #ot leavi#" sir+ should be able to sit where ever wa#t.
Ofcer: -ou are #ow u#der arrest+
Narrator: (less% was arrested a#d ta$e# to court. ,he 5ud"e was Joh# 6er"uso#.
Judge Ferguson: heard %ou were brea$i#" the law sir. What ma$es %ou believe
%ou ca# do that.
Homer Plessy: am a citi7e# 5ust li$e ever%o#e else, so deserve the same
treatme#t as others+
Judge Ferguson: We have laws so there will be #o trouble. )i#ce %ou do#!t $#ow
how to follow them, %ou are "oi#" to 5ail+
Narrator: (less% we#t to 5ail a#d started thi#$i#". 'e wa#ted to 0"ht this case, so
he decided to ta$e his case to the )upreme Court.
Supreme Court Judge: We have the case of (less% a"ai#st 6er"uso#. (less%
believes he should #ot have "o#e to 5ail because of the 13
th
a#d 14
th
*me#dme#t.
Homer Plessy: Correct %our ho#or+ should be protected b% the 13
th
a#d 14
th

*me#dme#t, because the 13
th
*me#dme#t states that ca##ot be co#trolled as
slave or someo#e more powerful. ,he 14
th
*me#dme#t states that ever%o#e should
be treated e8uall%+
Supreme Court Judge: 6er"uso#, what is %our poi#t.
Judge Ferguson: (less% was i#deed brea$i#" a law, so he had to be pu#ished+
Narrator: (less% a#d 6er"uso# were able to ma$e more poi#ts to the 5ud"e, a#d
the# it was the 8 Justices tur# to decide if 6er"uso# was "uilt% for se#di#" (less% to
5ail.
Justice Bron: ,he votes are i# a#d 9 out of the 8 have ruled 6er"uso# as #ot
"uilt%+ 'e is #ot "uilt% because the 13
th
a#d 14
th
*me#dme#ts do #ot state a#%thi#"
about race. ,hese laws o#l% tal$ about e8ualit% a#d the trai#s are e8ual to both the
whites a#d blac$s. 'owever, (less% did brea$ the law a#d has served the correct
time.
Revised 9.03.14
Narrator: ,he (less% a#d 6er"uso# case was dismissed a#d (less% we#t home.
*lmost 10 %ears later, the se"re"atio# acts were dropped+ :ver%o#e was able to sit
a#d eat wherever the% wa#ted+
7astasha Dreen
9esson 1 Aeflection
less! ". #erguson
E! second lesson that 3 taught was a social studies lesson on the less! "ersus #erguson
case. The students had two lesson ob/ecti"es that needed to be met. #irst' students should be able
to define discrimination then the! should be able to anal!4e and discuss their feelings about the
less! ". #erguson case using supporti"e details from the readers theatre. All of the students
were able to define discrimination and gi"e e*amples of how 3 used discrimination when 3
separated them b! race. 3 asked students to describe how the! would feel if 3 onl! allowed certain
people to go to recess because 3 like them better' or because of their skin color. Students were
able to answer the +uestion and reali4e that it would not be fair to them. Ea/orit! of the students
were also able to meet the second lesson ob/ecti"e' but e"er!one did not use supporti"e detail
from the readers theatre. All of the students ga"e great e*planations for wh! the! chose a certain
answer' but some students chose that answer based off what the! belie"e was right.
Revised 9.03.14
3 knew that social studies is the least fa"orite sub/ect of the class' but 3 wanted to create a
lesson plan that would be fun and interesting for the students. Before 3 started m! lesson' 3 gi"e
rules to the students to follow. 3 stated that e"er!one is mature and respectful and should act like
fifth graders. 3 first approached this lesson' b! placing the students in the 1800s where
discrimination pla!ed a huge part in societ!. 3 allowed the students to e*perience what it was like
to be treated unfairl! and 3 introduced them to 6omer less!' a man who stood up for what he
belie"ed in. 3 also allowed the students to become a part of the 6omer less! case b! acting out a
readers theatre script. 3n the clip below' students were able to be different characters and act out
what happened during the less! ". #erguson case. The students were able to use e*pression to
trul! get into their character from the 1800s. 3n this clip' !ou are able to see one student acting
out 6omer less!. =ou can see him gi"ing the police officer attitude when he told less! to get
off of the train.
After readers theatre' the students were able to e*press their opinion using supporti"e
detail of wh! the! felt a certain wa! about a statement 3 read. At first e"er!thing was going great'
but soon the students started interrupting what e"er!one had to sa!. Although 3 re"iewed the
rules and told the students to respect each others opinions' man! of the students wanted to talk
o"er one another to get their point across. 3n this clip' !ou can see that these two students both
wanted to speak' but were not pa!ing attention to who had their hand raised. 3f 3 were to do this
lesson o"er' 3 would incorporate a timer so that e"er!one would ha"e time to speak. 3 belie"e this
would allow the students to get their opinions across and allow others to add one. 3 belie"e this
lesson went great and the students reali4ed that social studies does not ha"e to be boring.
Revised 9.03.14