Marc+Fromm+Photo+Lesson+Plan


 * Essential Question:** How did //Brown vs. Board of Education// fundamentally change the educational system in the United States?


 * Activating Strategy:** Prompt students to think about everything they know about the Supreme Court using attached KWL chart. Teacher led classroom discussion identifying/clarifying information from students graphic organizers. Depending on student knowledge, discuss some specifics with regard to how the Supreme Court works making sure to mention a few landmark cases.


 * Instructional Strategies:

-** Mini-Lecture/class discussion on circumstances leading up to //Brown v. Board of Ed. (//Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, etc) - Primary Source Analysis: Break students into groups of four and assign each group one of the following documents. Complete the attached SEA document (one per group) analyzing the Interior/Exterior of black and white schools during this time in American history. - Discuss each groups documents as a class focusing on what it was like for African-American students during this time

- Discuss the decision rendered in //Brown.// Reference specific opinions by the justices (both concurring and dissenting) Did they make the write decision for the country? Study the following document: Answer the following questions regarding the document: 1. Who was to be responsible for overseeing the decision? 2. What guideline were given? 3. Why would the Supreme Court direct a lower court to enforce its decision rather then handle it directly? Student should answer these questions in the same groups they were in previously. Discuss answers as a class.

- The focus of the timeline will be issues concerning civil rights AFTER the "Brown" decision. - Students will be divided into teams and assigned a particular decade - Student will research Supreme Court decisions from 1955 onward focusing on the key players, specific events and any legislation that followed the decisions. - Students will creatively present their findings on poster board - Students will be encouraged to visit the following link (http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/index.html) for relevant primary sources to display on their posters
 * Culminating Activity:** Creating a Civil Rights timeline

Students will be utilizing critical thinking skills throughout the lesson, particularly when analyzing the primary source documents and answering the critical thinking questions in relation to the Brown decision.
 * Rationale:**

This lesson fits into the curriculum as we focus on the Judiciary Branch of gov't and specifically, landmark Supreme Court decisions.