This lesson will provide multiple examples of the use of the First Amendment to help citizens protest unfair treatment by the government. It is also an opportunity to pair ELA and reading comprehension with government and history.
This ELA/Social Studies lesson is a good opportunity to both test reading ability and to look at the use of the First Amendment by Dr. King and the Mendez family in their fights for justice.
Essential questions
How do we get what we want?
How do people earn respect?
Outcomes and objectives
After the lesson students will…
Be able to discuss the Mendez case and the March on Washington and their relationship with the First Amendment, and they will have practiced and developed reading skills.
Preparing to teach
Prior knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement may help but is not needed.
Scaffolds and accommodations to support learners
Reading support
This reading is already appropriate for grade level. If support is needed, recommend reading together or out loud as a class.
Differentiation
For differentiation, give the actual text of the First Amendment to some students and summaries to others, or give out both for students, with some student assignments referencing unaltered text and some assignments referencing summary text.
Adjusting for high school grades
Assignment may be too easy for highschoolers. For very low-level readers, this may be a high school activity.
Instructional activities sequence
Begin the lesson with a review of the Civil Rights Movement if you have covered it already. If not, begin by directing student attention to the essential questions, having them reflect and think about them to start class. Next, provide March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris and Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh, as well as the attached handout that checks both reading comprehension and historical understanding. If it is easier to read out loud or to have students read silently or in groups, that is the instructor’s decision, but the students should read both books. Once the reading is done, provide time to finish the worksheets. Finally, have students split into groups and have them identify the use of the First Amendment in each book and articulate how those protected rights helped them enact change. Provide either the First Amendment or a summarized copy for reference.
Assessment
Assessment will be both the comprehension worksheet and the amendment analysis work the students do.
Materials needed and additional resources for enrichment
March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris
Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh