CUNY Academic Commons

Lesson Plan Title:      Introduction to the Civil Rights Movement

Grade:                                    4^th – 6th

Central Question:                                       How does this dramatic activity teach students about the way people were treated during the Civil Rights Movement?

PURPOSE OF LESSON:                               How did the treatment of some people lead to the Civil Rights                                                                                 Movement?

Students will

• Be able to connect with the Civil Rights Movement.
• Explore using their bodies as a form of conveying meaning.
• Be exposed to another person’s point of view

MATERIALS NEEDED                                                pens, paper, name tags with circles, name tags with squares,                                                                                    coins (candy)

Columbian Hypnosis

• Students will make a circle in the center of the classroom.
• The teacher will ask for a volunteer to follow her hand with their nose.
• The teacher and volunteer will switch roles. (The volunteer student becomes leader)
• Students will pair up with their neighbor and perform Columbian Hypnosis, each taking their turn to be leader.
• As a short reflection, the teacher will ask the students how they felt in each role of the activity.

Process Drama

• The teacher will place a name tag in front of each child after the warm-up activity.
• Students will be asked to get into two groups corresponding with their name tag. (circles or squares)
• Students will be asked to take out a piece of paper and in their groups write everything they know about the Civil Rights Movement thus far.
• The teacher will tell the students that the group will receive a “reward” for the work they do.
• The teacher will pass out coins/candy to each team without looking at their work. 

– Circle team will get more than the square team.

-Teacher will make remarks such as “Of course, the circles know more than the

squares”

Group Tableaux and Thought-Tracking

• Each group will have 30 seconds to split themselves in half, creating four groups.
• In their small groups, students will be asked to create a tableau that represents how much freedom/power/oppression their group has based on the number of “coins” they were awarded.
• The teacher will ask each group to share their tableau with the rest of the class. 
• After all groups have shared, the teacher may have a brief reflection to ask students what they saw and how they felt in their tableau.
• The teacher will then combine each “circle group” with a “square group.”
• Students will then have to combine their tableaux.

-Remember – how might you display status and oppression? (levels, body                                 language, spacing etc)

• The combined groups will then share their new creation with the class.
• The teacher will ask students to share this tableau a second time, this time adding Thought-Tracking.  What would your character say at this moment?

– As students are in their frozen image, Teacher will tap their characters’ shoulder

one at a time.

– Student will provide a one word or phrase dialogue representing what their

character is thinking and feeling.

Teacher Led Reflection

Teacher will lead a group discussion to reflect on the activities.

What did you see? What did you hear?

What did you notice? Feel?

What do you wonder?

(Does this struggle of power/oppression ever happen in real life? What could the circle group represent in real life? What about the square group? How did it feel to be a circle/square?

How does this struggle relate to what you know about the Civil Rights Movement?