This lesson allows students to explore ideas of social grouping and racism, using a primary source document from the creation of the NAACP.
This lesson introduces students to an analysis of social grouping by explaining the start of the NAACP.
Essential questions
How are people grouped and evaluated in American society?
How does racism exist in America?
Where did the NAACP come from?
Outcomes and objectives
After the lesson students will…
Summarize the early ideas of the NAACP.
Discuss the realities of racial injustice in 1909.
Consider the relationship between race and social experiences.
Preparing to teach
Students should have a foundational understanding of social grouping, race and segregation, and racial injustice.
Teachers should
Print copies of the attached document for each student.
Scaffolds and accommodations to support learners
Reading support
Teachers can aid students in reading the included document by providing helpful vocabulary definitions, modern translations, direct partner supports, or other reading scaffolds.
Differentiation
Teachers can adjust class groupings, discussion expectations, or types of group activities depending on the needs and interests of their students. Group assignments can also be completed online or using technological resources as necessary.
Adjusting for high school grades
This lesson should be generally applicable to lower or higher grades. Teachers may need to add more reading scaffolding or edit discussion questions depending on their class.
Instructional activities sequence
Review any necessary information/history with students to prepare them for the content of the lesson.
Divide the class into 6 groups. Give each group 3 blank sheets of paper and a copy of the attached document. Assign each group a paragraph from the document (the last paragraph includes the 3 demands at the end).
Explain to students that this document is the beginning manifesto from an organization that would later be known as the NAACP.
Instruct each group to work together and read their paragraph. They should then use their 3 pages to:
Summarize their paragraph in 1-2 sentences.
Extract and define important words from their paragraph.
Draw a diagram, picture, or chart to represent their paragraph.
Allow each team to lay out their pages and let students walk around and read the pages of each group.
Invite students to come back together as a class and discuss the following questions in their groups.
What social problems is this new committee concerned about?
How would this committee evaluate the experiences of white Americans vs. Black Americans?
How are political and economic issues changing the social experiences of Black Americans?
Assessment
Teachers can collect the pages of each group at the end of the lesson. Teachers can also monitor the closing discussions to evaluate student understanding.
Materials needed and additional resources for enrichment
