This lesson introduces students to Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow laws. In this activity, students will work on reading comprehension and targeted reading by focusing on summarization and reading for specific content topics.
Essential questions
Why do we treat people differently?
Outcomes and objectives
After the lesson students will…
Understand the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson and its impact on racial segregation in the United States.
Identify key features of the Jim Crow era and how it affected Black people.
Create a timeline of important events related to segregation leading up to Brown v. Board of Education.
Preparing to teach
Make sure students have some conception of the Reconstruction era and both the advancements and steps back America made post-Civil War.
Scaffolds and accommodations to support learners
Reading support
The lesson has a few supports built in that are easily adjusted. Reading in groups and out loud occurs to help with lower-level readers, and the out-loud reading also has check-in moments for comprehension. The second reading has targeted reading goals to help narrow students' focus on a single aspect of the reading to help direct understanding.
Differentiation
One element of differentiation could be more difficult or comprehensive readings. Another could be to expand upon the expectations for both the Plessy reading and the Jim Crow laws project, adding more goals for students.
Adjusting for high school grades
See differentiation to suggestions to scale to high schoolers.
Instructional activities sequence
To begin the lesson, have a quick review assessment of Reconstruction and/or the Civil War to prime student thinking and provide an opportunity to see how much students remember. Following this brief review give students the excerpt from the National Archives:
During the era of Reconstruction, Black Americans’ political rights were affirmed by three constitutional amendments and numerous laws passed by Congress. Racial discrimination was attacked on a particularly broad front by the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This legislation made it a crime for an individual to deny “the full and equal enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color.”
Beginning with passage of an 1887 Florida law, states began to require that railroads furnish separate accommodations for each race. These measures were unpopular with the railway companies that bore the expense of adding Jim Crow cars. Segregation of the railroads was even more objectionable to Black citizens, who saw it as a further step toward the total repudiation of three constitutional amendments. When such a bill was proposed before the Louisiana legislature in 1890, the Black community of New Orleans protested vigorously. Nonetheless, despite the presence of 16 Black legislators in the state assembly, the law was passed. It required either separate passenger coaches or partitioned coaches to provide segregated accommodations for each race. Passengers were required to sit in the appropriate areas or face a $25 fine or a 20-day jail sentence. Black nurses attending white children were permitted to ride in white compartments, however.
This reading should be done out loud by the teacher with students following along. After finishing each paragraph, have the students write one to two sentences summarizing what was read and comparing with a partner. After reading the entire passage together, come up with a class summary of Plessy and what it established.
Once the class has a group understanding of Plessy, share with students the link to HISTORY. Divide students into groups and have them research the following elements of Jim Crow segregation, with each group examining one of the topics:
Transportation
Education
Public Spaces
Housing
Students should start their research with HISTORY, but can use other internet sources if needed. Each group should come up with a poster presentation of what Jim Crow laws did and what that looked like for their specific topic. These will be “presented” at the end of the class with a gallery walk, where students can walk around and see what others have discovered about Jim Crow segregation and what it looked like in different facets of Black people’s lives.
Assessment
The assessment of this lesson will be the presentations at the end of class and should be formative assessments. What you will be looking for is basic understanding of Jim Crow and how it played out in the context of each group's theme. Teachers will also assess student understanding of Plessy during the summary creation activity.
Materials needed and additional resources for enrichment