Unit 1
In Word and Deed: South African Apartheid
Author: Chris Watson
Grades: 11-12 AP
Lesson Plan Type: 4-Week Critical Literacy Unit
Estimated Time: 20 50-minute sessions
OVERVIEW
This unit centers on having students engage with four texts, all of which focus specifically on apartheid in South Africa. The first, Nancy Clark & William H. Worger’s historical nonfiction work South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, will provide necessary historical background for the unit. Next, students will watch the 2009 science fiction film District 9, an alternate-reality reimagining of the forced removal of African residents from their homes in Johannesburg’s District 6. The third and fourth texts are each key novels from the early 1980s written by South African Nobel Laureates: Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People and J.M. Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K. The unit will culminate in a series of research presentations given by student groups on relevant historical topics such as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the Sharpesville Massacre. After giving their presentation, each group will lead the class in a critical discussion.
FEATURED RESOURCES (for crucial teacher supplementary research prior)
Frontline: The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela Website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/)
An excellent source for supplementary information and multimedia on general apartheid history.
The Essential Gesture (Nadine Gordimer) and J.M. Coetzee: Doubling the Point
The former is the most famous anthology of Gordimer’s political and critical writings, while the latter is the longest and substantial collection of both interviews with and criticism by Coetzee.
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp Interview, Nadine Gordimer – The Idea of Gardening, Nadine Gordimer – Nobel Lecture, Nadine Gordimer – Living in the Interregnum, J.M. Coetzee – Nobel Lecture
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Shor, I. (1996). When students have power: Negotiating authority in a critical pedagogy. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
*Making students feel that they are “being listened to” and that they therefore “count in the rhetorical setting” (p. 49): As Shor says, a teacher must do everything they can (for him, it was taking notes on student comments, which teachers of this unit should also do) in order to make students feel that their participation is both meaningful and welcomed. This has the obvious consequence of students feeling more encouraged to participate, which is crucial for such a discussion-centric unit to be truly successful.
*“[F]rontloading student discourse and backloading the teacher’s commentary” (pp. 40-41). The idea seems obvious enough, but is too often infrequently or ineffectively practiced. hooks offers a comparable recommendation which I cite in point 2 below, but Shor describes at length in this excerpt how he actually put into practice, and my unit attempts to mirror his at least in part (though I am somewhat (emphasis on somewhat) constrained given that this is a high school rather than a college course.) As I say below, by setting an example of an equality-driven democratic classroom early on, the teacher can better prepare students for the presentations in the unit’s final week.
*Following Shor’s example of integrating Freire and Faundez’s concept of a “pedagogy of questions” (p. 42). This is reflected in the lack of purely explanatory lectures in which the teacher “fills” students’ “empty heads” with “correct and objective knowledge.” Such an approach ignores a central function of democratic group inquiry: discussing and working through problems, which the teacher encourages via questions.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York, NY: Routledge.
*Emphasizing camaraderie over competition and thus resisting dominant cultural tendencies: By having students work for an extended period in groups towards a large goal that no one student can complete on their own, the unit seeks to break up the traditional structures of “every man for himself” assessment methods.
*Allowing for and encouraging the expression of varying viewpoints, even (and perhaps especially) when they are emotional charged: The intense political charge of the chosen content will undoubtedly result in students having deep and heated discussions on race. Rather than discouraging students from expressing their personal opinions emotionally, the teacher will encourage students to speak their mind without fear and thus engage in constructive dialogue with one another on this vital and perennial social justice issue.
*Conversation as the “central location of pedagogy”: The vast majority of this unit is spent discussing the texts. While the teacher can and should strive to let students “run” the discussions early on, they will undoubtedly do so in the final week of the unit in which they will actually lead the discussions themselves. The teacher must therefore work to set an example of what a truly democratic discussion-based classroom is like in order to prepare students to do the same once the reigns are handed to them entirely.
Berhman, E.H. (2006). Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of classroom practices that support critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(6), 490-498.
*Reading multiple texts: Different texts on the same topic are used in order for students to be made aware and to experience the ways different authors can interpret and represent the same events, thus reinforcing that all authorship is necessarily situated.
*Reading supplementary texts: By incorporating a nonfiction historical text, students will have baseline knowledge to assist in interpreting the diverse artistic representations of the implications and realities of the long and complex implementation of apartheid.
*Reading from a resistant perspective: The teacher will inject and reinforce the idea that all texts situate the reader in varying ways, and that different readers will respond to this positioning differently due in part to socioeconomic, racial, and other positions. Students will therefore be encouraged to explain how their position(s) impact reading.
Unit 2
Music and Lyrics: The Soundtracks of Our Lives
Author: Alana Smith
Grades: 6-8
Lesson Plan Type: 4-Week Critical Literacy Unit
Estimated Time: Twenty-one 50-minute sessions
OVERVIEW
Music plays a large role in our students’ lives, and in this unit students will explore music in a variety of ways. Students will:
• Discuss music as an influence in our lives
• Explore music as literature/poetry
• Critically analyze lyrics and read them from various perspectives
• Personally reflect on music as an expression of life milestones
• Creating and sharing a personal Soundtrack of Life
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Beck, A. (2005). A place for critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(5),
392-400.
*Students need to understand how texts work, what they intend to do in the world, and how social relations can be critiqued and reconstructed
*Students should be exposed to supplementary texts outside of the canon.
*Students should practice reading from a resistant perspective.
Clarke, L. W. (2005). “A stereotype is something you listen to music on”: Navigating a critical
curriculum. Language Arts, 83(2), 147-157.
*Teachers should place students and their experiences and interests at the center of instruction
*Teachers should make opportunities to learn from their students.
*Students should read texts that challenge stereotypes and help build a sense of personal identity.
Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using
a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132
141.
*Teachers should value students’ “funds of knowledge” and incorporate them into instruction.
*Teachers should get to know students’ political, historical, and personal situations.
Unit 3
South Bronx Renaissance
Author: Tenir Gumbs
Grades 7th-8th grade
Lesson Plan Type 5-Week Critical Literacy Unit
Estimated Time Twenty-five 50-minute sessions
OVERVIEW
This unit, which follows the Harlem Renaissance unit, allows students to critique the contemporary cultural movement for African Americans, the hip-hop revolution. The hip-hop movement, which I termed “The South Bronx Renaissance” due to its origination in South Bronx, began as a an expression of the oppressed peoples living in the ghetto and sought to get te community involved political and social matters; however, hip hop music has recently taken the form of promoting a thug lifestyle, drug culture, misogyny and degradation of women, and materialism. Although much of hip-hop involves adult themes, the youth are the main consumers of the hip hop industry. Therefore, the purpose of this unit is to teach students to critically evaluate their consumption and consider how music and media influences them.
FEATURED RESOURCES
Hip Hop v. America blog: age-appropriate articles will be selected from a hip-hop web blog that addresses current issues in Hip Hop.
CNN Black In America Special: clips will feature issues affecting the African American community, including colorism, “acting white,” and controversies surrounding the hip hop culture
Shades of Black America (Colorism within African American Community)
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Morrell, E. (2008). Critical literacy and urban youth: Pedagogies of access, dissent, and
liberation. New York: Routledge.
• Students will identify the messages and themes intended for its target audience, as well as how it appeals to young people’s desire to be cool and to desire to be desired.
• Students will examine the “the lack of representation” of minorities in traditional academic culture in the CNN special and analyze how hip hop represents African Americans.
• The writing workshop format of this unit and the absence of tests and quizzes will eliminate the “drill and kill” pedagogy of the typical skills worksheet and pressure of standardized tests. Instead, students will gain writing skills and critical thinking skills through authentic writing experiences.
Moll, L. Amanti, C. Neff, D., & Gonzales, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching:
Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into practice,
31 (2), 132-141.
*It is important to draw from students “funds of knowledge” to know where to start with the hip hop lesson and encourage students to contribute their knowledge and experiences regarding the issues within hip hop.
*Students will conduct interviews with parents, peers, and other adults to investigate family histories and point of view.
Clarke, L. W. (2005). A stereotype is something you listen to music on: Navigating a critical
curriculum. Language Arts, 83(2), 147-157.
*Students will examine how their identities are formed in respect to gender. the stereotypes
*Students will identify stereotypes that are projected through song and videos.
Shor, I. (1996). Sharing power, democratizing authority, and mediating resistance. In
Negotiating authority in a critical pedagogy (pp. 29-60). Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press.
*To some degree, students will select the texts (or songs) for discussion of issues regarding hip hop by choosing songs they are currently exposed to or consume. However, due to the nature of the content, students will be able to have full authority to determine the extent to which inappropriate songs will be discussed in class.
*Students will be given the power to lead the discussions, while I, the teacher, will have minimal involvement in leading discussions. I, the teacher, will only be a moderator.
*To show that I am listening, questions will be formed based on student responses instead of preset questions.
Unit 4
Critical Media Literacy
Author: Justin Cloud
Grades: 10-11
Lesson Plan Type: 4-Week Critical Literacy Unit
Estimated Time: Twenty 55 minute lessons
OVERVIEW
This unit is designed to introduce students to using a critical approach to explore the media and themselves. During the unit, students will look at ways in which the media uses advertising to control individuals and influence their self perceptions. Students will also take a critical approach to the news, and we will explore what types of stories the news chooses to present and how this affects our worldviews. Students will also be exposed to a number of self exploration activities aimed at helping them develop a positive identity. As a whole, students should learn to take a critical approach to the media while producing counter texts of their own to be displayed on the new media of a blog.
We will create a whole class blog that will serve as a intro to blogging and as a tool for future lessons. Additionally, students will create a blog of their own in response to a young adult novel. Students will be given choice in the literature they read, and they will be placed into literature groups in which a few students read the same text. We will use literature circles as a foundation for critical literacy. By the end of this unit, students should have a foundation in the critical approach to literature and to the media, and students will have explored their own identities by producing their own countertexts which will take the form of alternative new media to be displayed on a class blog as well as individual group blogs.
FEATURED RESOURCES
This I Believe Essay- This allows students to explore their own personal identity through writing about their deeply held beliefs.
Literature Circles- Literature circles allow students to exercise choice in that circles can be grouped according to literature selection. Also, this activity allows students to discuss a text freely without any teacher discourse.
Lit Circle Blog- Students will post their work to a blog producing counter texts within a new media platform.
From Theory to Practice
Morrell, E. (2008). Critical literacy and urban youth: Pedagogies of access, dissent, and liberation. New York: Routeledge.
*For today’s youth, media are the primary cultural influence surpassing both family and school and students are in need of instruction that both exposes them to the dangers and possibilities of media.
*Producing counter knowledge through the manipulation of media tools is essential to critical pedagogy and Morrell suggests having students create counter knowledge through the use of new media.
*Morrell states that critical pedagogy can “play a role in the care for the self,” and emphasizes the use of activities that promote “self healing” and “self awareness.”
Behrman, E.H. (2006). Teaching about language, power, and text: a review of the classroom practices that support critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 6, 490-96.
*Young adult novels can be used to stimulate discussions of societal conflicts and teen problems.
*The production of counter texts can “serve to validate the thoughts, observations, and feelings of students and other underrepresented groups” (494), and these counter texts can be a personal narrative, personal response, or a journal entry.
*Students should be allowed choice in their writing topics and should be allowed to research topics of interest to them.
Shor, Ira. (1996). Sharing power, democratizing authority, and mediating resistance. When students have power: negotiating authority in a critical pedagogy (pp.29-61). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*The creation of students only groups which exclude teacher talk can develop student discourse relatively distant from the teacher’s idiom and value.
*Shor notes that to establish the learning process as a cultural forum or public sphere for the negotiation of meaning students’ thoughts and feelings must be put out in the open as soon as possible.
*Shor discusses how authority can create a “faux discourse” in the classroom and highlights the importance of speaking with restraint in the classroom. Allowing students to guide discussion in central to this unit.
Unit 5
Racial Issues in Literacy
| Grades | 9-10 |
| Lesson Plan Type | 4-Week Critical Literacy Unit |
| Estimated Time | Twenty 55 minute lessons |
| Lesson Authors | Jake Huggins |
OVERVIEW
| This unit is designed in a way that students will be able to examine and analyze the way different cultures are portrayed in literature. Students will then also be able to look at the world as well as themselves and examine the different issues that face the various cultures in our country. Students will create many reflective blogs on blogspot.com as well as critique and comment on one another’s thoughts. Students will then be given an opportunity to observe the ways in which many of the people rose up to become heroes during our history and stand up for the oppressed. After doing so, students will be encouraged to look at the world we live in and suggest methods in which we, as individuals, can make our country a more peaceful place. |
FEATURED RESOURCES
| Reflective blogs: Students will have several opportunities to reflect, through blogging, on the literature we have read and how it relates to them as well as the issues our country now faces. Students will also be encouraged to comment on one another’s blogs.Heroes Essay: Students will also have time in the computer lab to research the various heroes that lived during different movements, select one that stands out, write a research paper on that hero, and present their findings to the class.Poem Presentation: Students will research the various poets who wrote about issues dealing with inequality and read one of their poems to the class. |
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Hooks, B. (2003). Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope. New York: Routledge.
| Students shouldn’t be educated only on simple things, such as grammar and arithmetic but should also be shown how the things they learn can be applied to the outside world and its many conflicts. |
| Students should be taught how to engage in critical thinking. |
| We, as teachers, should find diverse ways to show students how knowledge can be used to change the world. |
Powell, R. (2001). Saving Black Mountain: the promise of critical literacy in a multicultural democracy. The Reading Teacher, 54(8), 772-780.
| Students should learn the effectiveness of their choices and how such choices can effect the world for good. |
| Many teachers put such a heavy emphasis on sticking to mandated standards and insuring that their students understand the basics of the core subject but fail to show students how these tools can be used to effect the world outside the classroom. |
| Teaching this message is not something that should start at high school. It is obvious that even those in elementary grades have the power to accomplish amazing things if they are guided by teachers who are willing to lead in such a way that inspires critical thinking. |
Bigelow, B. (2001). The Recruitment Minefield. Rethinking Schools, 42-49.
| Students should be given the tools that enable them to think critically. |
| If teachers are willing to put aside traditional methods of teaching and use literature, instead, to educate students on the lies often told by the media, military, etc., then students will be better equipped to make educated decisions as adults. |
| Students should be taught how to analyze the data given to them in the world rather than believing everything blindly. |
Standards
NCTE/IRA
- 1.) Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- 3.) Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
- 5.) Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- 6.) Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
- 7.) Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- 9.) Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
- 11.) Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
Resources & Preparation
MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
- Computer lab
- A classroom computer and digital projector
- copies of all assignments
- various links to youtube.com
- several copies of To Kill a Mockingbird
- On dvd, the last season of Seinfeld
- On dvd, the movie Hairspray
- On dvd, the movie Remember the Titans
PRINTOUTS
- A select portion from the book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
- A copy of Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech
- Newspaper assignment guidelines
- Hero essay guidelines
- Movie question sheet
- Poem assignment guidelines
WEBSITES
- Blogspot.com
- Bama Girl trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orNv5RAbdi8
- A montage of clips from various superhero movies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21oe5HtJCI4
- MLK’s “I have a dream” speech: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
- Excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2718
PREPARATION
- Reserve sessions in the school’s computer lab
- Make enough copies of handouts
- Have in your possession a classroom computer and digital projector
- Make sure you have a TV in the classroom
- Have your own blogger account and be able to explain how it works to students
- Have access to newspaper
- Know about the history behind issues taught
- Be familiar with several of the poets and their work
- Make sure you own the last season of Seinfeld and the movies, Hairspray and Remember the Titans on dvd
Instructional Plan
STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students will:
- Recognize the racial injustices that revolve around them on a daily basis
- Become more aware of how they perceive races other than their own
- Critically analyze various literary texts
- Answer questions dealing with how they and the world around them perceives other cultures
- Write essays about those who fought for racial freedom
SESSION 1
| 1. | I will introduce this unit by showing my students the trailer for the documentary, Bama Girl. This is a documentary about a black girl running for homecoming queen in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the University of Alabama and how such attempts do not usually end in victory due to the predominantly white fraternity group known as “The Machine”. |
| 2. | I will then write the question, “Why do we let people suffer?” on the board, allowing a few seconds for the question to sink into the students’ brains. We will then make a journey to the school’s computer lab where I will guide them through making an account of blogspot.com. |
| 3. | Students will then be responsible for posting a blog answering the previous mentioned question with at least one, well-thought paragraph. Students will also be paired with another student and be responsible for posting at least one thoughtful comment on their partner’s blog. |
SESSION 2
| 1. | Students will be asked to take out a sheet of paper upon entering the classroom and asked to partake in an activity where I will call out a race and they will write down the first thing that comes to mind. |
| 2. | If done honestly, many students will be shocked to find what they have written. We will then have an open discussion where we will discuss why it is that we have these perceptions of other cultures. Is it because of what we hear other says. Is it because of how these cultures are portrayed in the media? |
SESSION 3
| 1. | I will begin this class by writing, “What do you know about slavery?” on the board. Students will then be given five minutes to write down their answers to this question on their own sheet of paper. |
| 2. | After students share what they have written down, I will give students a brief history of the beginning of slavery in the United States. |
| 3. | We will then read aloud, as a class, a section from the book, The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America. I will then ask the question, “Why do you think white men thought it was okay to treat black men the way they did? How did they justify such awful actions?” students will get into designated groups, be given time to discuss their thoughts, then be asked to share their answers with the class. |
SESSIONS 4
| 1. | In addition to what we’ve been discussing but also as a break from the weight of the content, students will watch a scene, on dvd, from the last season of Seinfeld. It will be the scene from the very last episode of the series, where Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and George watch a large man getting robbed and, instead of intervening, stand there and laugh. |
| 2. | Students will then participate in a two-part blog, where they will answer two questions with at least five sentences each. |
| 3. | These questions will be as follows:
What would you do if you witnessed someone getting treated unfairly because of their race? |
SESSION 5
Homework before Session 5: Students will be asked to bring a copy of the new local newspaper to class.
| 1. | I will begin class by having students take out a pencil and a sheet of paper and having them write down the name of their favorite TV show and why it is their favorite TV show. |
| 2. | We will then discuss these aloud and whether or not each student’s TV show portrays diversity. For instance, I will bring student’s attention to how scarce other races are represented in Disney’s TV shows as well as Nickelodeon’s. We will discuss why this may be. I will be asking thought-provoking questions, like “Do you think TV producers allow this to happen intentionally?” |
| 3. | Students will then be asked to take out the newspaper they’ve brought to class and give it a thorough reading. They will be asked to make no assumptions, regarding the assignment they will soon complete. In other words, they will be asked not to assume that they newspaper will shed a positive or negative light on different cultures but simply read it for what it is. After reading their newspaper, they will be given a worksheet and be asked to answer the following questions:
|
SESSION 6
| 1. | In an open forum, I will ask the students if any of them know of any other race that has been treated unfairly in America’s history. I will then give them a brief history on Native Americans, possibly shocking them with the awful information of how our ancestors killed so many of them in order to take over their country. |
| 2. | After giving them this brief history lesson, I will ask them, “How can our country’s leaders and, more importantly, our country’s founders claim to stand for freedom and equal opportunity when our country’s history says the exact opposite?” |
| 3. | After discussing their answers aloud, students will create a blog entry, answering the following questions:
|
SESSION 7
| 1. | Class will begin with students watching a montage of scenes from various superhero movies on youtube.com. These scenes will consist mainly of the parts from these movies where the hero is saving a person or a group of people. |
| 2. | Knowing that these movies speak to the heroic side of most of these students, especially the guys, I will then ask the questions, “So what is the difference between what these heroes stand for and ones who stand up for racial injustice?” We will also open a discussion with the question, “What does it take to be a hero?” |
| 3. | Students will then be asked to create a superhero that would combat racial injustice. This will be an assignment with few guidelines. I will simply have students take out a sheet of paper and ask them to describe their superhero and the super powers and skills they would possess to end racial injustice. |
SESSION 8
| 1. | We will, again, begin class by watching a youtube video of superheroes. This time, however, the clips will not be of superheroes saving others but of the adversity they have to face because of the heroes that they are. |
| 2. | We will then discuss the various real-life heroes of racial injustice, opening the discussion by having students suggest heroes they already know about, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, etc. |
| 3. | Students will then read a section from the book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Students will then be taken to the computer lab and be given time to research many of these heroes and what they stood for. This will be the beginning of an assignment they will work on for the next few days. |
SESSION 9-11
| 1. | Students will be given a handout that will explain the guidelines for an essay that they will write about the hero they researched online in the previous session. |
| 2. | These questions will guide their research and essay:
|
| 3. | Students will be asked to relax and work on only a rough draft of their essay, while I walk around the room and observe their progress. |
| 4. | Students will then paired up with another student and be asked to type their rough draft on their blog. Each student’s partner will then edit their partner’s essay and copy and paste it onto their own blog. |
| 5. | After reviewing the peer-edited version of their essay, students will then be given time to work on their final copy of the essay, submitting it to me for review. |
SESSION 12-14
| Before beginning on another project and in order to give the students a break before beginning their poem project, they will watch two movies that deal with racial issues: Hairspray and Remember the Titans. | |
However, in order to keep students thinking about the issues we’ve been discussing, they will answer the following questions with thorough and thoughtful responses for both movies:
|
SESSION 15-18
| 1. | After reading the poem, I too sing America and discussing its meaning as well as the life of Langston Hughes, students will be given a handout detailing the guidelines for a poem project they will be asked to complete. The assignment will not call for students to hand-in any sort of written information. They will simply need to research their chosen poet and poem and be prepared to read the poem and describe it to the class. |
| 2. | Presenting their poet and poem, students will be asked to tell the class:
|
| 3. | Students will then be given time to research a variety of poets on the computer and time to select one that speaks to them the most. |
| 4. | They will then be given time to explore their poet and poem and time to think of how they will present their poet and poem to the class. |
| 5. | Students will then come to the front of the classroom, one at a time, read their poem in a loud and clear voice, explain to the class why they chose this poet and poem, and the answers to the questions detailed in the project guidelines. |
SESSION 19
| 1. | Students will be asked to conduct an interview. This assignment will have the students select an older relative and ask them questions about what it was like living during the 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s. |
| 2. | Students will first write down the name of the relative they plan to interview. Then, beneath that, they will begin brainstorming and writing down the questions they plan to ask in their interview. These questions will need to revolve around the issue of race and the conflict that existed among different races in past decades. They will then offer to read some of these questions aloud, which will help other students to create their questions. They will then turn their questions in to me for review. I will give them a small grade, then hand their questions back, so that they may conduct their interviews before the next sessions. |
SESSION 20
| 1. | When students return, they will read the highlights of their interview aloud to the class. Extra credit will be given to those who record their interview and are able to play parts of it for the class. |
| 2. | Students will then be asked to take out a sheet of paper. On the board, I will write the question, “So what now?” This will not only be a question in relation to their interview of their relatives but a question that relates to the entire unit, the entire past twenty sessions. Students will be asked to write at least entire page, answering the question. |
| 3. | Further guiding their reflection, I will explain to them that it is great if we learn a valuable lesson from these past sessions but that they mean nothing if we do not put what we have learned into practice. I will ask them to give me suggestions in their paper as to what we can do with our new information. |
EXTENSIONS
| Students could also read the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, which would provide a variety of topics to discuss as well as many activities that students could participate in.The teacher could also focus students’ attention on the many racial issues that also exist in other countries, showing them how our country’s racial issues are no less detrimental than theirs as well as asking the students to write a comparison paper on, comparing the issues between two different countries. |
STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS
Blog Entries
Superhero Assignment
Hero Essay
Movie Response Sheet
Poem Assignment
Relative Interview
|
REFERENCES
| Lee, H. (2006). To Kill a mockingbird. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.Wade, W.C,. (1998). The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America. New York: Oxford University Press.Douglas, F. (n.d.). Selected excerpts from Frederick Douglass slave narrative. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2718King, M.L. (n.d.).I have a dream speech. Retrieved from http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=40 |
An Excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Chapter X.
Mr. Covey was at the house, about one hundred yards from the treading-yard where we were fanning. On hearing the fan stop, he left immediately, and came to the spot where we were. He hastily inquired what the matter was. Bill answered that I was sick, and there was no one to bring wheat to the fan. I had by this time crawled away under the side of the post and rail-fence by which the yard was enclosed, hoping to find relief by getting out of the sun. He then asked where I was. He was told by one of the hands. He came to the spot, and, after looking at me awhile, asked me what was the matter.
I told him as well as I could, for I scarce had strength to speak. He then gave me a savage kick in the side, and told me to get up. I tried to do so, but fell back in the attempt. He gave me another kick, and again told me to rise. I again tried, and succeeded in gaining my feet; but, stooping to get the tub with which I was feeding the fan, I again staggered and fell. While down in this situation, Mr. Covey took up the hickory slat with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushel measure, and with it gave me a heavy blow upon the head, making a large wound, and the blood ran freely; and with this again told me to get up.
I made no effort to comply, having now made up my mind to let him do his worst. In a short time after receiving this blow, my head grew better. Mr. Covey had now left me to my fate. At this moment I resolved, for the first time, to go to my master, enter a complaint, and ask his protection. In order to this, I must that afternoon walk seven miles; and this, under the circumstances, was truly a severe undertaking. I was exceedingly feeble; made so as much by the kicks and blows which I received, as by the severe fit of sickness to which I had been subjected. I, however, watched my chance, while Covey was looking in an opposite direction, and started for St. Michael’s.
I succeeded in getting a considerable distance on my way to the woods, when Covey discovered me, and called after me to come back, threatening what he would do if I did not come. I, disregarded both his calls and his threats, and made my way to the woods as fast as my feeble state would allow; and thinking I might be overhauled by him if I kept the road, I walked through the woods, keeping far enough from the road to avoid detection, and near enough to prevent losing my way. I had not gone far before my little strength again failed me. I could go no farther. I fell down, and lay for a considerable time. The blood was yet oozing from the wound on my head.
For a time I thought I should bleed to death; and think now that I should have done so, but that the blood so matted my hair as to stop the wound. After lying there about three quarters of an hour, I nerved myself up again, and started on my way, through bogs and briers, barefooted and bareheaded, tearing my feet sometimes at nearly every step; and after a journey of about seven miles, occupying some five hours to perform it, I arrived at master’s store. I then presented an appearance enough to affect any but a heart of iron. From the crown of my head to my feet, I was covered with blood.
My hair was all clotted with dust and blood; my shirt was stiff with blood. My legs and feet were torn in sundry places with briers and thorns, and were also covered with blood. I suppose I looked like a man who had escaped a den of wild beasts, and barely escaped them. In this state I appeared before my master, humbly entreating him to interpose his authority for my protection. I told him all the circumstances as well as I could, and it seemed, as I spoke, at times to affect him.
He would then walk the floor, and seek to justify Covey by saying he expected I deserved it. He asked me what I wanted. I told him, to let me get a new home; that as sure as I lived with Mr. Covey again, I should live with but to die with him; that Covey would surely kill me; he was in a fair way for it. Master Thomas ridiculed the idea that there was any danger of Mr. Covey’s killing me, and said that he knew Mr. Covey; that he was a good man, and that he could not think of taking me from him; that, should he do so, he would lose the whole year’s wages; that I belonged to Mr. Covey for one year, and that I must go back to him, come what might; and that I must not trouble him with any more stories, or that he would himself get hold of me.
After threatening me thus, he gave me a very large dose of salts, telling me that I might remain in St. Michael’s that night, (it being quite late,) but that I must be off back to Mr. Covey’s early in the morning; and that if I did not, he would get hold of me, which meant that he would whip me. I remained all night, and, according to his orders, I started off to Covey’s in the morning, (Saturday morning,) wearied in body and broken in spirit. I got no supper that night, or breakfast that morning.
I reached Covey’s about nine o’clock; and just as I was getting over the fence that divided Mrs. Kemp’s fields from ours, out ran Covey with his cowskin, to give me another whipping. Before he could reach me, I succeeded in getting to the cornfield; and as the corn was very high, it afforded me the means of hiding. He seemed very angry, and searched for me a long time. My behavior was altogether unaccountable. He finally gave up the chase, thinking, I suppose, that I must come home for something to eat; he would give himself no further trouble in looking for me. I spent that day mostly in the woods, having the alternative before me,–to go home and be whipped to death, or stay in the woods and be starved to death.
That night, I fell in with Sandy Jenkins, a slave with whom I was somewhat acquainted. Sandy had a free wife who lived about four miles from Mr. Covey’s; and it being Saturday, he was on his way to see her. I told him my circumstances, and he very kindly invited me to go home with him. I went home with him, and talked this whole matter over, and got his advice as to what course it was best for me to pursue. I found Sandy an old adviser.
He told me, with great solemnity, I must go back to Covey; but that before I went, I must go with him into another part of the woods, where there was a certain root, which, if I would take some of it with me, carrying it always on my right side, would render it impossible for Mr. Covey, or any other white man, to whip me. He said he had carried it for years; and since he had done so, he had never received a blow, and never expected to while he carried it.
I at first rejected the idea, that the simple carrying of a root in my pocket would have any such effect as he had said, and was not disposed to take it; but Sandy impressed the necessity with much earnestness, telling me it could do no harm, if it did no good. To please him, I at length took the root, and, according to his direction, carried it upon my right side. This was Sunday morning.
I immediately started for home; and upon entering the yard gate, out came Mr. Covey on his way to meeting. He spoke, to me very kindly, bade me drive the pigs from a lot near by, and passed on towards the church. Now, this singular conduct of Mr. Covey really made me begin to think that there was something in the root which Sandy, had given me; and had it been on any other day than Sunday, I could have attributed the conduct to no other cause than the influence of that root, and as it was, I was half inclined to think the root to be something more than I at first had taken it to be.
All went well till Monday morning. On this morning, the virtue of the root was fully tested. Long before daylight I was called to go and rub, curry, and feed, the horses. I obeyed, and was glad to obey. But whilst thus engaged, whilst in the act of throwing down some blades from the loft, Mr. Covey entered the stable with a long rope; and just as I was half out of the loft, he caught hold of my legs, and was about tying me. As soon as I found what he was up to, I gave a sudden spring, and as I did so, he holding to my legs, I was brought sprawling on the stable floor. Mr. Covey seemed now to think he had me, and could do what he pleased; but at this moment–from whence came the spirit I don’t know–I resolved to fight; and, suiting my action to the resolution, I seized Covey hard by the throat; and, as I did so, I rose.
He held onto me, and I to him. My resistance was so entirely unexpected, that Covey seemed taken all aback. He trembled like a leaf. This gave me assurance, and I held him uneasy, causing the blood to run where I touched him with the ends of my fingers. Mr. Covey soon called out to Hughes for help. Hughes came, and, while Covey held me, attempted to tie my right hand. While he was in the act of doing so, I watched my chance, and gave him a heavy kick close under the ribs. This kick fairly sickened Hughes, so that he left me in the hands of Mr. Covey. This kick had the effect of not only weakening Hughes, but Covey also.
When he saw Hughes bending over with pain, his courage quailed. He asked me if I meant to persist in my resistance. I told him I did, come what might; that he had used me like a brute for six months, and that I was determined to be used so no longer. With that, he strove to drag me to a stick that was lying just out of the stable door. He meant to knock me down. But just as he was leaning over to get the stick, I seized him with both hands by his collar, and brought him by a sudden snatch to the ground. By this time, Bill came. Covey called upon him for assistance. Bill wanted to know what he could do.
Covey said, “Take hold of him, take hold of him!” Bill said his master hired him out to work, and not to help to whip me; so he left Covey and myself to fight our own battle out. We were at it for nearly two hours. Covey at length let me go, puffing and blowing at a great rate, saying that if I had not resisted, he would not have whipped me half so much. The truth was, that he had not whipped me at all.
I considered him as getting entirely the worst end of the bargain; for he had drawn no blood from me, but I had from him. The whole six months afterwards, that I spent with Mr. Covey, he never laid the weight of his finger upon me in anger. He would occasionally say, he didn’t want to get hold of me again. “No,” thought I, “you need not; for you will come off worse than you did before.”
This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free. The gratification afforded by the triumph was a full compensation for whatever else might follow, even death itself. He only can understand the deep satisfaction which I experienced, who has himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me.
From this time I was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained a slave four years afterwards. I had several fights, but was never whipped.
It was for a long time a matter of surprise to me why Mr. Covey did not immediately have me taken by the constable to the whipping-post, and there regularly whipped for the crime of raising my hand against a white man in defence of myself. And the only explanation I can now think of does not entirely satisfy me; but such as it is, I will give it. Mr. Covey enjoyed the most unbounded reputation for being a first-rate overseer and negro-breaker. It was of considerable importance to him. That reputation was at stake; and had he sent me–a boy about sixteen years old–to the public whipping-post, his reputation would have been lost; so, to save his reputation, he suffered me to go unpunished.
Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation�s Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.
This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all God�s children.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro�s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrong deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro�s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day out on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat and injustice of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor�s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God�s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country �tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim�s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God�s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
Newspaper Assignment Guidelines and Questions to be Answered
Name_________________________________________________________
Directions: Making no assumptions, I simply want you to select a newspaper from the stack and scan the articles, recording anything interesting about the way different races are portrayed in this facet of the media. Then, answer all of the questions below with a thoughtful and thorough answer.
- What kind of articles have you found in your paper? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Do any of the articles in your paper deal with races other than Caucasian? _____________________
- If so, where are they placed in the paper? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Explain, in detail, what these articles are about. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- If so, how do they compare with the majority of the articles focusing on Caucasians? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Do they shed a positive or negative light on the people they are written about? Explain your answer. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hero Essay Guidelines
Name_________________________________________________________
Directions: After a thorough research on the Internet, select a hero of a movement that speaks to you. Then, write a paper that answers the following questions:
- What made your hero so powerful?
- What was their message?
- What made people want to follow your hero?
- What instances in their life inspired them?
- What could they have done better?
You will first write a rough draft, then type it on your blog. Your partner will then read, critique, and post their edited version of your paper on their own blog. You will then write your final draft.
Movie Questions
Name_________________________________________________________
Directions: While watching these two movies, answer the following questions with thorough and thoughtful responses.
- What age are the characters who are fighting racism? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Are any of the characters reluctant to trust the other race or join the cause at first? If so, why? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- What makes these characters decide to change? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Why can’t those who are still reluctant see what the others see? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- What sort of obstacles do the characters have to face? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- How do they overcome these obstacles? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Poem Assignment Guidelines
Name_________________________________________________________
Directions: Pick a poem that deals with someone from a certain race speaking out against the injustices they face. You will then read this poem before the class and answer the following questions allowed. You will NOT have to write your answers down, but you certainly may if it helps you.
Tell us:
- Why you chose this poet and poem.
- What kind of difficulties you think this person had to face.
- What kind of issues this person was speaking out against.
- Why this poem is so powerful.
- If you think it was effective.
- How it makes you feel.
- If you were a racist in the time this poem was written, what you would have thought after reading this poem.
- What sort of impact you think it had on the race in which it was written for.
Unit 6
The American Dream in the Real World of Nonfiction
Author: Joan F. Mitchell
| Grades: | 11-12 |
| Lesson Plan Type: | 4-week Critical Literacy Unit |
| Estimate Time: | 20 50-minute sessions |
| Author e-mail: | jfmitchell@crimson.ua.edu |
OVERVIEW
| “Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.” –Barry SwitzerThis unit grew out of a class discussion that I had several years ago with my AP seniors about social responsibility. When asked what responsibility we had to others in our society, one girl said, “I can only be expected to keep my side of the street clean.” Despite my shock at this statement, I found that many students agreed with her, and comments about the laziness of the poor and the injustice of having to give money away to those who don’t deserve it came spewing out from all sides of the room. Although we attempted a small social responsibility project as a result of this conversation, I didn’t scratch the surface of challenging their ingrained ideologies about their own entitlement and their misconceptions about those of different classes. This critical literacy unit is an effort to expose students to a variety of perspectives related to the tenets of the American Dream. While most American Dream units focus on classic texts such as The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman, or The Grapes of Wrath, this unit analyzes the American Dream through nonfiction texts that have to do with issues of the injustice of minimum wage, poverty, homelessness, and inequitable funding in schools. Because students do not typically encounter much nonfiction in their high school experience, this unit serves to introduce them to the genre and teach them to analyze and apply persuasive techniques. My intention is not to brainwash these students into having a “liberal” or “conservative” perspective on society, but I want them to be exposed to texts that challenge their perceptions and force them to look at the world from a different angle. These texts were instrumental in challenging my own perceptions as a college student, so I hope that they will do the same for my students. I intentionally did not include detailed study questions with this unit because I want the discussions to arise primarily from my students’ questions, reflections, and reactions. These texts will certainly provoke them. The social responsibility project at the end is intended to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones, apply what they learned, and improve the community that surrounds them. |
FEATURED RESOURCES (Resources for Teacher Research Prior to Unit)
| Children in America’s Schools with Bill Moyers – Documentary released in 1998 based upon Jonathan Kozol’s book Savage InequalitiesThe National Coalition for the Homeless website –[ http://www.nationalhomeless.org ] Great resources for examining the issues related to homelessness as well as reading the stories of homeless people in AmericaThe Life You Can Save website – [http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com ] Peter Singer’s social action website which includes interesting videos about how to solve world poverty and encourages people to take action. |
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
| Freire, P. (1993/2000) Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. | |
| Freire critiques the hegemonic belief of those who “have” that those who “have not” are responsible for their own failure due to laziness. He suggests that for the oppressors, “having more is an inalienable right, a right they acquired through their own ‘effort,’ with their ‘courage to take risks.’”(p. 59). In contrast, they believe that “if others do not have more, it is because they are incompetent and lazy, and worst of all is their unjustifiable ingratitude toward the ‘generous gestures’ of the dominant class” (p. 59). Many students that I have encountered in suburban schools seem to share this perspective of these “others” that they have never met. By blaming the poor for their own condition, students don’t have to grapple with their own social responsibility for this failure. They can maintain an indifferent attitude thinking (as one of my previous students suggested) that their only responsibility is to keep “(their) side of the street clean.” Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickeled and Dimed and Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities are specifically intended to challenge these often deep-seated beliefs and complicate students’ perceptions of those that “have not.” | |
| Charity is not the solution to poverty. While this may seem revolutionary to students who believe that working at soup kitchens and taking gifts to homeless shelters at Christmas is the ultimate form of human kindness, Freire challenges this notion saying, “True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity… True generosity lies in striving so that these hands – whether of individuals or of entire peoples – need to be extended less and less in supplication, so that more and more they become human hands which work and, working, transform the world” (p. 45). In thinking of their own social responsibility to other humans, students must be pushed to see beyond the “band-aid” of charity toward large-scale solutions that address the origin of the poverty issue: dehumanization of the poor. | |
| As he shifts his focus from the world at large to education specifically, Freire points out that students often become “listening objects” in the classroom who are filled with “deposits” of knowledge by expert teachers who act as “Subjects” (pp. 71-72). The irony of this shift is that many suburban students who have inherited the position of the “oppressors” are in this case repositioned as the “oppressed” who are passive recipients of others’ ideologies, beliefs, and thoughts. Freire presents the consequences of students who are subject to the “banking concept of education:” “The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world” (p. 73). The counterargument to the “banking” metaphor of education is the notion that students must be liberated through “praxis” which he defines as “the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (p. 79). This new form of education should be based upon encouraging “acts of cognition” and students acting as “critical co-investigators” rather than “docile listeners” (pp. 80-81). As Freire advocates, this unit encourages students to examine the world around them through a variety of lenses and then determine whether or not they have a responsibility to change anything. They will be encouraged to ask “Why” things are the way they are and then empowered to come up with their own solutions. During seminars, the teacher will serve as a facilitator rather than a lecturer, and students will be guided toward leading each discussion with little teacher input. | |
| Shor, I. (1996). Sharing power, democratizing authority, and mediating resistance. In Negotiating authority in a critical pedagogy (pp. 29-60). Chicago: The University Press. | |
| Because Shor is focused on “sharing power” with one’s students in the classroom, he begins by asserting that the teacher can set the stage for this power sharing by “(inviting) students to take the most active role while the teacher restrains his or her verbal profile” (p. 30). The purpose of the initial Socratic Seminar about students’ perceptions of the American Dream is to do just that. Although I will give them the initial instructions, their own drawings and commentary will dominate the majority of class time. | |
| My primary focus in this unit is to encourage students to think critically about the world around them as well as their own perceptions about themselves and others. Shor speaks of a “context-based…student-centered” classroom in which he defines critical thinking as “a literate social performance enabled in an experientially and linguistically meaningful context, enacted in the language students possess, inside a purposeful, negotiated process which encourages them to question the cultural assumptions of society and to imagine alternatives to the status quo” (p. 40). Because the students will be grappling with the ideology of the American Dream and how it impacts their own lives as well as the lives of others, the context is both real and relevant to their lives. Through the sociological nonfiction pieces they will read, I hope that they will be challenged to rethink their assumptions about society, and specifically about those invisible, impoverished people in society who seem to have ‘failed’ to achieve the American Dream. | |
| An additional part of his “power-sharing” pedagogy is Shor’s belief in the need for the teacher to learn from the students as well as students learning from the teacher. He reports taking notes on what his students say in class which has the dual purpose of “focus(ing) (his) concentration on what is happening in the dialogue” and “send(ing) a signal to the students of (his) attentiveness and interest” (p. 48). During each of the Socratic seminars throughout the unit, I will be taking notes on what my students contribute, and I will encourage them to take notes on what their peers say as well. In this way, we will create a collaborative community in which the learning happens collectively rather than along a narrow path between one teacher and one student. | |
| Behrman, E.H. (2006). Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of classroom practices that support critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(6), 490-498. | |
| In his review of the prevalent strategies for critical literacy, Behrman discusses the need for students to read texts to supplement traditional classroom texts. These texts include “other works of fiction, nonfiction, film, or popular culture” (p. 492). He bases this strategy on the assumption that “traditional or canonical texts are somehow deficient in helping students focus on social issues, and that supplementary texts may allow students to confront social issues glossed over or avoided in traditional texts” (p. 492). While I believe that traditional texts can be very useful in helping students address and challenge social issues, this particular unit focuses wholly on these types of supplementary texts. Because units on “The American Dream” traditionally revolve around works of fiction such as The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, or Death of a Salesman, this unit intends to use nonfiction (Nickeled and Dimed and Savage Inequalities), film (The Pursuit of Happyness), and popular culture (advertisements, songs, political cartoons, etc.) to explore the issue from several different angles. While students may find it easy to distance themselves from texts written about bygone eras, it will be more difficult for them to remain indifferent when they encounter modern texts that deal with issues relevant to their everyday lives. | |
| Behrman also points out the propensity of critical literacy teachers to encourage students to read a text from a resistant perspective. Using this strategy, students can “’peel’ different layers of meaning from a text and… explore how the same reader might approach a text from different identities based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, language, sexuality, and religion” (p. 493). In this unit, students will be instructed to view the movie The Pursuit of Happyness from a variety of perspectives different from their own based primarily on gender, race, and class. I hope to encourage “critical viewing” so that students do not merely accept the message of the movie without interpreting how the movie might be viewed by marginalized individuals. In the fishbowl discussion that follows this viewing, students will take this a step further by taking on the persona of that particular marginalized individual in the discussion. | |
| A third characteristic of critical literacy that Behrman discusses is the use of social action projects to “move students’ real-life concerns beyond classroom walls” (p. 495). He argues that these projects are necessary because “critical literacy instruction should not be limited to the promotion of personalized or internalized reconceptualizations of language, power, and text” (p. 495). At the conclusion of this unit, students will present “Social Responsibility Research Projects” that are intended to create tangible solutions to the problems of poverty and inequality in our community. After the projects have been presented, the class will vote on which project they would like to tackle based upon the power of the idea and the feasibility of whole-class involvement. Thus the lessons of the unit will continue throughout the remainder of the school year and hopefully beyond into students’ lives. | |
Unit 5
Lesson Plan
Title: Youth Votes- Making Good Choices
Author: Tina Benson
| Grades | 6-12 |
| Lesson Plan Type | 4-Week Critical Literacy Unit |
| Estimated Time | Twenty 50-minute sessions |
| Author’s email | russandtinabenson@yahoo.com |
OVERVIEW
| Even though the 2008 presidential election had an increase in youth voters, youth voters (ages 18-29) still average the lowest percentage of voters in the country. This demographic has just over 40% voter participation rates. The turnout rate for young voters in Alabama during the 2008 primaries was 19% making up only 13% of the overall vote. In this lesson students will examine the history of voting and decide if it is a right or responsibility. Using social networking sites, informational websites, video, and articles on youth voting they will determine why youth have a low participation rate and determine ways to increase the youth vote for the 2010 Alabama Gubernatorial Election as well as create a website informing youth about the importance of voting, giving suggestions for choosing a candidate, and providing information about the two candidates for Governor. To conclude this unit, students will design an internet website encouraging youth voters as well as informing them about the candidates, film and publish to the World Wide Web a viral video on how to choose a candidate, and create a threefold display for the County Fair that will present the information gathered to a broad audience. |
FEATURED RESOURCES
| Charters of Freedom: Online archive for the Declaration of Independence and US ConstitutionMuseum of the Moving Image: This site contains election campaign ads from 1956-2008 in a variety of formats.
Election Websites: Use these resources as a starting point for researching elections. e-How: This site provides easy steps for creating ads, websites, as well as provides videos on voting trends and statistics. Youth Vote: Provides information on the history and statistics of youth voting as well as links to other youth voting resources. |
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
| Edward H. Behrman: Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of classroom practices that support critical literacy (2006) | |
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| Bill Bigelow: The Recruitment Minefield- Critical literacy activities can protect students against predatory military recruiting (2005) | |
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| Ernest Morrell: Critical Literacy and Urban Youth-Pedagogies of Access, Dissent, and Liberation (2008) | |
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| Powell, Cantrell, and Adams: Saving Black Mountain (2001) | |
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Standards
NCTE/IRA, Critical Literacy, Globalization, 21st Century, ALEX Standards
NCTE
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Critical Literacy
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Globalization
Examples: Web pages, videos, multimedia presentations |
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21st CenturyStudents use the technology and tools of the 21st century to research and create materials based on that research by being:
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ALEX
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Resources & Preparation
MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
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PRINTOUTS
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WEBSITES
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PREPARATION
| 1. | Computer lab time will need to be reserved for sessions 2-3, 4-7, 9-10, 12, 15-18 |
| 2. | Familiarize yourself with Microsoft Office FrontPage http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/frontpage-help/ or another easy website building program. |
| 3. | Familiarize yourself with movie making software such as Movie Maker 2 or the software that comes with a digital video camera such as PowerCinema NE for Everio |
| 4. | Collect Brochures and Pamphlets from candidates running for office. These will be needed for session 5 |
| 5. | Obtain a copy of the rules for exhibit booths at the county fair and familiarize yourself with them. Fill out an office supply form for any materials needed if required by administration. |
| 6. | Make copies of any handouts as well as introductory letter for parents. Introductory letter should contain a section giving students permission to access Facebook as well as traveling to fairgrounds to set up exhibit. Introductory letter should be sent out at least two days before beginning of unit. |
| 7. | Research voting and election statistics as it pertains to the youth vote. |
| 8. | Research Viral Ads: What they are and how they are made and published to the Internet. |
Instructional Plan
STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students will
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SESSION 1
Note:
| 1. | Explain to students that one of the foundations of the constitution was the right of the citizen to vote because this is the first step in running a democratic government. |
| 2. | Distribute the right to Vote worksheet along with a copy of Amendments 11-27 of the US Constitution. Remind the students that the Constitution is a living document that has been amended numerous times in order to establish new voting rules which would allow more people to vote. |
| 3. | Discuss who had the power to vote under the original constitution. Students will fill complete parts I and II of the worksheet. Review answers when finished. |
Homework (due at the beginning of Session 2) Remind students to bring back parent letters if they have not already done so.
SESSION 2
| 1. | Have the following questions on the board: Is voting a right or a responsibility? Why do people vote or not vote? Give students about 10 minutes to write their response on notebook paper. Share student responses. |
| 2. | Watch video on e-how What % of Americans Vote. Have students take notes on the facts given. |
| 3. | Look at the handout from e-how on youth voting (About Youth Voting in Election by Lesley Barker) Compare these statistics to the facts from the video. What comparisons can be made from the two sets of statistics? |
| 4. | Have students log onto their Facebook page. (if they do not have one help them to set one up) Students will create a post explaining that this posting is part of a classroom assignment and ask the following questions: Will you vote in the upcoming Alabama Election for Governor? Why or Why not? What age group do you belong to? 1) Under 18, 2)18-29, or 3) 30-? How do you get information about the candidates? |
Homework (due at the beginning of Session 3): Create a chart to record your Facebook responses
SESSION 3
| 1. | Log unto your Facebook account and begin to record responses from your posts into your chart. Give students about 15 minutes for this activity. |
| 2. | Divide into groups of 3- 4 students and compare your responses. Using a sheet of poster board create a Venn Diagram to display your groups responses. |
| 3. | As you work think about these three questions, you will discuss them as a class.1. How do you think the source of information might effect the way people vote?
2. What do you think is the most effective source of information for the candidates? 3. What is the most useful source for the voters? Write your thoughts in your composition notebook. |
Homework: Have students begin looking for news articles in local papers on the candidates. These need to be cut out and brought into school for session 8
SESSIONS 4
| 1. | Each group will share their poster created in lesson 3. What responses were the same? What responses were different? |
| 2. | Count the number of responses in each group and determine what percentage fall into each of the three age groups. What percentage will vote? What percentage will not vote? How does this compare with the percentages with the voting facts from lesson 2? |
| 3. | Discuss with students that one of the most important voting groups is the youth vote (ages 18-29). Pose the question: Why is it important that this group make good choices about who they vote for? Put answers on board. |
| 4. | Watch the video from e-how: “How To Get Young People To Vote”. Discuss the tips given in the video then brainstorm other ways to encourage young people to vote. Pass out copies of the USA Today article on youth voting.http://www.usatoday.com/educate/election04/article10.htm
Give students a few minutes to read. Have students answer the following question in their notebook: Do you think the tips in the e-how video will work on the youth of today? Why or why not? Share responses. |
| 5. | Inform students that they will work as a class to create a website to help encourage youth voting. For the remainder of class students will do research on the internet of ways to encourage the youth vote. Remind them to pay close attention to how the websites are arranged and make notes of any ideas they might want to use on the class website. Show the students the sites Youth Vote USA and Youth Rocks the Vote to start with. Students will make notes in their composition notebooks and find other sites if necessary. |
SESSIONS 5
| 1. | Students will use the information gathered in session 4 as well as campaign brochures to develop a web page that will help inform and encourage youth voters to vote in the upcoming election. Students can use FrontPage or another easy webpage builder. |
| 2. | As a group brainstorm what components need to be included on the website. Decide who will be responsible for each area of the designing and writing of information.As the students brainstorm visit with each group to hear their ideas and give suggestions if needed. Remind students about their target audience if necessary. |
| 3. | Students will spend the rest of class working on their web page assignments. Students are to put their work on their Flashdrives so that in order to complete any unfinished work at home. |
Homework: Work on individual sections of webpage if needed.
SESSION 6
| 1. | Students will continue work on and finish the web page from session 5 |
| 2. | Students will login to their Facebook account and place a post on their page giving the link to the web page and a message asking their friends to visit the site and post a comment or click about the site. |
| 3. | Students will keep a log of any comments or suggestions in their composition notebooks for the next two days. |
SESSION 7
| 1. | Pass out Jackson County Fair Guidelines and Judging requirements for a class 9 School exhibit. Explain to students that they will be creating a booth for the County Fair that will help educate youth (and others) about the upcoming Alabama Gubernatorial election. |
| 2. | Have students divide into two groups and brainstorm ideas for a tri-section display that will share information about the candidates and encourage voting. Students are to make notes in their composition notebooks. After about 15 minutes have the two groups share their ideas. |
| 3. | Using the Smart Board display each of the two candidates’ websites. Students are to make notes in their composition notebooks about the issues each candidate thinks is important. Are there any issues that might have a direct impact on youth? Are there any youth issues that are not addressed on the two websites? |
| 4. | For the remainder of class students will divide into their groups and examine the two sites. Create a matrix of the major issues and the candidates responses to them. |
Homework: Students are to compile a list of at least ten interview questions for the two candidates on issues that relate to youth.
SESSIONS 8
| 1. | Go over steps to writing a business letter with students. |
| 2. | Students are to write a letter to each of the two candidates. In their letters they will introduce themselves, give a brief explanation of the project, ask for campaign materials, and close by thanking them for help in the project. Students will share their letters with the members of their group for editing, then type or write a final copy with their typed questions enclosed. |
| 3. | *Students will make or save a copy of their final letter and questions before sealing the envelope. |
SESSION 9
| 1. | Give students an opportunity to share any comments from their FaceBook posts. Allow time if needed to make any changes in their website plans based on those comments. |
| 2. | Explain to students that in order to make a good decision regarding a candidate one must read all articles, books and biographies of the Politician, whose morals and objectives are of interest to you. Give students time to brainstorm information that would be important to share with voters who come to their fair booth. |
| 3. | Students are to divide into their two groups. Each group will take one of the candidates and using the internet research their candidate. Each group can work together as a team or they may assign each member a task. All members will record their information in their composition notebooks. Remind students that they are not choosing a candidate that they want to support but only gathering basic information about that person. |
| 4. | Give students the last fifteen minutes of class to use to share information they have found. Students will discuss the information gathered and give suggestions for further research on their candidates |
SESSION 10
| 1. | Students will share comments and suggestions from their Facebook posts about their websites and evaluate if any changes can or need to be made to the website. |
| 2. | Students are to begin work on adding their candidates’ information to the website along with making any changes necessary to the site. Remind students that the information put on the website will also be used on their booth display. Assign some students to begin working on creating the display information using the fair guidelines as well as the plans from lesson 7 brainstorming session. |
SESSION 11
| 1. | Write the following sentence on the board: “An election is…” Have students offer 4 or 5 possible endings and write each one on the board. Then write the following ending (if it has not been suggested) “a media event.”Explain that the news media has a major impact on shaping our perceptions and opinions of the candidates. Pass out transcripts of recent news segments from the local TV stations as well as the articles students have been collecting. |
| 2. | Students are to sort the articles and transcripts into groups according to their topics. Make copies if needed so that each student has at least one set of articles or transcripts to analyze. Pass out the handout Elections and the Media. |
| 3. | Do part I as a group. Students will complete part II on their own. Allow the last twenty minutes of class to discuss their answers |
SESSION 12
| 1. | Pass out the handout Political Advertising Techniques from Media Awareness Network and go over the different methods used when creating political advertisements. Go over the four types of ads:
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| 2. | Watch the three campaign videos from previous elections and after each one discuss the types of advertising technique being used, which type of ad is it, and what the target audience is for each video. Students are to take notes on the class discussions in their composition notebooks.
Point out that President Eisenhower during his 1952 election campaign was the first president to use the new media of TV to run campaign ads. The ads ran during the broadcast of I Love Lucy because of the popularity of the show. Why is the youth vote being targeted in the 1972 campaign? (answer- Amendment 26 passed in 1971)
What media is being used in videos 4 and 5? Why? Explain to students what a viral ad is and ask why they feel it would be effective in helping youth voters make decisions. |
| 3. | Pass out the Campaign Ad Analysis worksheet. Using class discussion notes for reference, students are to pull up online videos of the two candidates for governor and analyze the ads for their political techniques, target audience, and effectiveness. Students will record their responses on their worksheets. |
SESSION 13
| 1. | Give students time to finish their ad analysis if needed. |
| 2. | Students will share their ads with the class by pulling up the ad on the classroom computer or Promethean Board if available and presenting their findings. Encourage students to offer their opinions on the ad presented. |
| 3. | Pose the question-If you were going to make an viral ad to encourage and inform youth voters of how to make decisions on a candidate in the upcoming election, what would be some elements that would need to be included? Give students a few minutes to think and then write ideas on the board. |
| 4. | Inform students that they are now going to create a 3-4 minute viral ad that will be uploaded to TeacherTube based on their suggestions as well as using material from their website. Students will spend the rest of class preparing a rough outline of a script for the video. |
SESSION 14
| 1. | Students will finalize and rehearse the script for the video. Make a list of any props needed and prepare for filming the video during the next session. |
| 2. | Once students are prepared for the next session’s filming they can use any remaining time to continue working on their presentation material for the fair booth. |
SESSION 15
| 1. | Students will do a rehearsal of their video and then film the actual video. |
| 2. | Using the video camera software (or Movie Maker 2 software) students will edit and proof their video making any changes if needed. Once editing is finished students will upload their video to TeacherTube and YouTube as well as posting a link to these sites on their Facebook wall. |
| 3. | Assign two students to send an email to each of the Gubernatorial candidates telling them about the video and sending them a link. |
SESSION 16-18
| 1. | Students will use this session as a work day on completing their video from session 15 if needed or to work on their presentation materials for the fair booth. |
| 2. | Students will also make any changes to the candidates’ information based on any returned questionnaires from session 8. |
| 2. | Extension Projects can be put into these sessions if they can be arranged. |
SESSION 19
| 1. | Students will finish any remaining sections of their booth and set up a mock example of the final arraignment. |
| 2. | Determine if there are any adjustments or additions that need to be made and make them. |
| 3. | Pack up the booth components and any materials needed for setup the next day. |
SESSION 20
| 1. | Students will travel to the fairgrounds and set up their booth. |
EXTENSIONS
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STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS
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REFERENCES
| See Website resources |
Don’t forget to attach your printouts.
Dear Parent or Guardian:
Your child will be taking part in a unit studying youth voter participation and the upcoming gubernatorial election, which includes lessons and activities at school, and the opportunity to build a booth at the Jackson County Fair in September. This program teaches children about the value of voting as well as the requirements and procedures for voting, and develops critical thinking and decision-making skills.
As part of the program, your child will study the candidates and issues of this campaign. Please
plan to spend some time with your child discussing the candidates and issues and gathering
information from television, newspapers and magazines. Your involvement will enhance your
child’s participation in this unit.
Students will also be creating a questionnaire that will be posted to their FaceBook page, if your child does not have a FaceBook account one will be set up for them. Your child will also be creating a website as well as a commercial that will be uploaded to the Internet. Students will need to bring back a signed form giving them permission to access the Internet and FaceBook. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at (phone number) and I will be glad to answer them.
Sincerely,
My child ____________________ has my permission to do the following:
- Access the Internet
- Access (and/or set up) their FaceBook account
- Participate in filming a commercial and publishing it to the Internet
- Traveling to the Jackson County Fair Grounds to set up the class exhibit booth
___________________________ ________________
Parent or Guardian Signature Date
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| The Constitution: Amendments 11-27Constitutional Amendments 1-10 make up what is known as The Bill of Rights. Amendments 11-27 are listed below. AMENDMENT XIPassed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795. Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11. The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. AMENDMENT XIIPassed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804. Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment. The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; — the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; — The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. –]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. *Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment. AMENDMENT XIIIPassed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865. Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment. Section 1. Section 2. AMENDMENT XIVPassed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868. Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment. Section 1. Section 2. Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. *Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment. AMENDMENT XVPassed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870. Section 1. Section 2. AMENDMENT XVIPassed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913. Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. AMENDMENT XVIIPassed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913. Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th amendment. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. AMENDMENT XVIIIPassed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Repealed by amendment 21. Section 1. Section 2. Section 3. AMENDMENT XIXPassed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. AMENDMENT XXPassed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933. Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3. Section 1. Section 2. Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. Section 6. AMENDMENT XXIPassed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 1933. Section 1. Section 2. Section 3. AMENDMENT XXIIPassed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 1951. Section 1. Section 2. AMENDMENT XXIIIPassed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961. Section 1. A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. Section 2. AMENDMENT XXIVPassed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964. Section 1. Section 2. AMENDMENT XXVPassed by Congress July 6, 1965. Ratified February 10, 1967. Note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment. Section 1. Section 2. Section 3. Section 4. Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office. AMENDMENT XXVIPassed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971. Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment. Section 1. Section 2. AMENDMENT XXVIIOriginally proposed Sept. 25, 1789. Ratified May 7, 1992. No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened. |
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| U.S. National Archives & Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001, • 1-86-NARA-NARA • 1-866-272-6272 |
Campaign Ad Analysis Worksheet
Candidate _______________________ Website URL __________________________________
Candidate _______________________ Website URL __________________________________
- What is the target audience of the ads?
- Which of the four types of ads are they examples of?
- List the types of propaganda techniques used in the ads.
- What are the key messages communicated in each advertisement?
- Which type of ad was more memorable? Why?
- Which do you think would be most effective in convincing viewers to vote for (or against) a candidate? Why?
- Did you learn from the ads? Did they help you to decide which candidate to support?
- What do all types have in common? Do they provide factual information or do they evoke an emotional response?
- During which programs do the ads play? What time of the day do you see the most ads?
- What are the limitations of a 30 second commercial?
- How important is a candidate’s look in these ads? What type of image are they trying to create?
- If you were the campaign manager for a candidate for congress in your district, what type of ad would you try to create?
Group Work Grading Rubric : Youth Vote Alabama 2010
Student Name: ________________________________________ Total Points ____________
| CATEGORY | Beginning-1 | Developing-2 | Accomplished-3 | Exemplary-4 | Score |
| Group Cooperation | They copied other members work and did not contribute any other their own thoughts. They did not help others at all. | They worked together some of the time, helping only a few times. | They worked together most of the time. They were willing to help others when needed. | Worked together with rest of group based on there own abilities and knowledge to make the group work come together. | |
| Distribution of Group Tasks | Did not complete any of the work. Did not follow job description at all. | Followed part of their job, but did really keep on what their job was. | Did their jobs to a satisfactory rating. | Was awesome at both of their jobs. Went above and beyond what was necessary for them. | |
| Communication among group members | Did not communicate with any other group members. | Only talked when needed, didn’t contribute to group discussion. | Was willing to ask for help/ask if help was needed. | Communicated thoughts, questions and explanations clearly. | |
| Individual participation | Never tried any of own work. Copied what other group members had. | Did some of own work, sometimes participated. | Participated most of the time. Gave own ideas and worked well with rest of group. | Did a great job with group. I would like to work with this person again. | |
| Assistance | Contributions were insignificant or nonexistent. | Contributed some toward group work and project. | Contributed significantly but other members contributed more. | Completed and equal share of the work and strived to maintain equity throughout project. | |
| Showing respect | Was not courteous and didn’t value others opinions. | Was somewhat courteous and valued some opinions. | Was courteous most of the time and valued what others were saying. | Was courteous and valued each member of our group all the time. | |
| Effectiveness | Work performed was ineffective and mostly useless toward the final project. | Work performed was incomplete and contributions were less than expected. | Work performed was useful and contributed to the final project. | Work performed was very useful and contributed significantly to the final project. | |
| Attitude | Rarely had a positive attitude toward the group and group work. | Usually had a positive attitude toward the group and group work. | Often had a positive attitude toward the group and group work. | Always had a positive attitude toward the group and group work. | |
| Focus on the task | Rarely focused on the task and what needed to be done. Let others do the work. | Focused on the task and what needed to be done some of the time. Other members sometimes has to nag, prod, and remind to keep with member on task. | Focused on the task and what needed to be done most of the time. Other group members could count on this person most of the time. | Consistently stayed focused on the task and what needed to be done. Other group members could count on this person all of the time. | |
| Individual Time | Was a constant bother to other group members during individual work time. | Bothered other members lots of times during individual work time. | Occasionally bothered other members during individual work time. | Very rarely bothered other members during individual work time. |
Political Advertising Techniques
- Patriotism: The ad stresses the candidate’s love of and service to his/her country.
- Gender: The ad presents the candidate as appropriately “manly” (or feminine) to make viewers trust him/her.
- Family: The ad uses images of ideal families to give you a positive image of the candidate.
- Excitement: The ad tries to create a sense of energy and excitement around the candidate.
- Star Power: A celebrity is telling you that they support the candidate.
- Bandwagon: The ad tries to create the impression that everybody already supports the candidate.
- Put Downs: The ad insults the candidate’s opponent.
- Facts and Figures: The ad uses facts and statistics to support the candidate’s policies.
- Just Folks: The ad portrays the candidate as a “regular guy” (or girl).
- Heart Strings: The ad tells a story that makes you feel good.
- Sounds Good: The ad uses music (with or without lyrics) to be memorable, entertaining and exciting.
- Cartoons and Animals: The ad makes its point with cartoon characters or (usually symbolic) animals.
- Weasel Words: The ad includes promises that sound good but lack details.
- Integrity: The ad tries to convince you that the candidate is honest and trustworthy.
- Fear: The ad tries to frighten you into voting for the candidate (or at least not voting for his/her opponent).
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| CATEGORY | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Score |
| Teamwork | Students meet and discuss regularly. All students contribute to the discussion and all are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work. | Students meet and discuss regularly. Most students contribute to the discussion and are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work. | A couple of team meetings are held. Most students contribute to the discussion and are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work. | Meetings are not held AND/OR some team members do not contribute a fair share of the work. | |
| Concept | Team has a clear picture of what they are trying to achieve. Each member can describe what they are trying to do and generally how his/her work will contribute to the final product. | Team has a fairly clear picture of what they are trying to achieve. Each member can describe what they are trying to do overall but has trouble describing how his/her work will contribute to the final product. | Team has brainstormed their concept, but no clear focus has emerged for the team. Team members may describe the goals/final product differently. | Team has spent little effort on brainstorming and refining a concept. Team members are unclear on the goals and how their contributions will help them reach the goal. | |
| Storyboard | Storyboard is complete with sketches for each scene, detailed notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects outstanding planning and organization for the visuals in the video. | Storyboard is relatively complete with sketches for most scenes, and notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects effective planning and organization for the visuals in the video. | Storyboard has glaring omissions in scene planning. There are some sketches, and notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects attempts at planning and organization for the visuals in the video. | Storyboard is not done or is so incomplete that it could not be used even as a general guide. Storyboard reflects very little planning of the visuals. | |
| Script | Script is complete and it is clear what each actor will say and do. Entries and exits are scripted as are important movements. Script is quite professional. | Script is mostly complete. It is clear what each actor will say and do. Script is shows planning. | Script has a few major flaws. It is not always clear what the actors are to say and do. Script shows an attempt at planning, but seems incomplete. | There is no script. Actors are expected to invent what they say and do as they go along. | |
| Equipment Preparation | All necessary equipment/supplies are located and scheduled well in advance. All equipment (sound, light, video) is checked the day before the shoot to ensure it is operational. A backup plan is developed to cover possible problems with power, light, etc. | All necessary equipment/supplies are located and scheduled a few days in advance. All equipment (sound, light, video) are checked the day before the shoot to ensure they are operational. A backup plan is developed. | On the day of the shoot, all necessary equipment/supplies are located and checked to ensure they are operational. There may or may not be a backup plan. | Needed supplies/equipment are missing OR were not checked before the shoot. |
Web Site Design : Youth Vote Alabama 2010
Student Name: ________________________________________ Total Points ____________
| CATEGORY | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Points |
| Layout | The Web site has an exceptionally attractive and usable layout. It is easy to locate all important elements. White space, graphic elements and/or alignment are used effectively to organize material. | The Web pages have an attractive and usable layout. It is easy to locate all important elements. | The Web pages have a usable layout, but may appear busy or boring. It is easy to locate most of the important elements. | The Web pages are cluttered looking or confusing. It is often difficult to locate important elements. | |
| Navigation | Links for navigation are clearly labeled, consistently placed, allow the reader to easily move from a page to related pages (forward and back), and take the reader where s/he expects to go. A user does not become lost. | Links for navigation are clearly labeled, allow the reader to easily move from a page to related pages (forward and back), and internal links take the reader where s/he expects to go. A user rarely becomes lost. | Links for navigation take the reader where s/he expects to go, but some needed links seem to be missing. A user sometimes gets lost. | Some links do not take the reader to the sites described. A user typically feels lost. | |
| Graphics | Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, are thoughtfully cropped, are of high quality and enhance reader interest or understanding. | Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, are of good quality and enhance reader interest or understanding. | Graphics are related to the theme/purpose of the site, and are of good quality. | Graphics seem randomly chosen, are of low quality, OR distract the reader. | |
| Background | Background is exceptionally attractive, consistent across pages, adds to the theme or purpose of the site, and does not detract from readability. | Background is attractive, consistent across pages, adds to the theme or purpose of the site, and does not detract from readability. | Background is consistent across pages and does not detract from readability. | Background detracts from the readability of the site. | |
| Work Ethic | Student always uses classroom project time well. Conversations are primarily focused on the project and things needed to get the work done and are held in a manner that typically does not disrupt others. | Student usually uses classroom project time well. Most conversations are focused on the project and things needed to get the work done and are held in a manner that typically does not disrupt others. | Student usually uses classroom project time well, but occasionally distracts others from their work. | Student does not use classroom project time well OR typically is disruptive to the work of others. | |
| Organization | Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings. | Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs. | Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed. | The information appears to be disorganized. 8) | |
| Amount of Information | All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. | All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. | All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1 sentence about each. | One or more topics were not addressed. | |
| Sources | All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. | All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. | All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. | Some sources are not accurately documented. | |
| Paragraph Construction | All paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence. | Most paragraphs include introductory sentence, explanations or details, and concluding sentence. | Paragraphs included related information but were typically not constructed well. | Paragraphing structure was not clear and sentences were not typically related within the paragraphs. | |
| Mechanics | No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. | Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors | A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. | Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. |
Judging on the fair booth will be based on the following score card:
- Power to attract attention-20% The Exhibit should have an interesting, catchy title, and theme.
- Power to arouse and hold interest of viewer-20%. Educational message should be easily recognized in a few seconds.
- Main idea of exhibits is worthwhile, distinctive, and significant-20%
- Extent to which exhibit creates interest in idea, project or practice portrayed or recommended-20%
- Success in relating exhibit to activities in Jackson County 10% However, items in exhibit do not have to be made by group members sponsoring the exhibit.
- General appearance -10% Attractiveness. Consider color and eye appeal. Neatness. Shouldn’t be cluttered arrangement
kspector
Subversive English Teacher 
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