The March Continues

Overview:

On November 5, 1989, thousands of people gathered in Montgomery, Ala., to witness the dedication of the Civil Rights Memorial. It is a granite monument inscribed with the names of 40 martyrs who gave their lives fighting for civil rights. Since then, a museum has been added to the memorial. One of its displays, “The March Continues,” honors later campaigns for social change. These movements were based on the nonviolent principles of the civil rights era.

In this lesson, students will work from core readings and then apply creative and critical thinking skills to design a monument for one of these later movements.

Additional Resources

Viva La Causa [1], available for free from Teaching Tolerance, shows how thousands of people helped win justice for some of the most exploited people in the United States – farm workers who put food on our tables.
Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching [2] is an excellent resource, providing K-12 educators with lessons and articles that go beyond a heroes approach to the Civil Rights Movement.
This lesson draws from Alternative Discussion Formats [3], available online for free through the University of North Carolina School of Education.

Elementary Grades [4]

Middle and High School [5]

Standards

Civics (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

[6]Standard 27. [6] Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens' ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities

Standard 28. [7] Understands how participation in civic and political life can help citizens attain individual and public goals

ESL (Grades 4-8 [8] only)

Goal 2, Standard 1: To use English to achieve academically in all content areas: Students will use English to interact in the classroom

Goal 2, Standard 2: To use English to achieve academically in all content areas: Students will use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written form

Language Arts (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

Standard 1. [9] Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process

Standard 7. [10] Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts

Standard 8. [11] Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

U.S. History (Grades 5-6, 7-8, 9-12)

Standard 29. [12] Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties

Visual Arts (Grades K-4, 5-8, 9-12)

Standard 3. [13] Knows a range of subject matter, symbols, and potential ideas in the visual arts

Links:
[1] http://www.tolerance.org/kit/viva-la-causa
[2] http://www.civilrightsteaching.org/
[3] http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/altdiscuss/625
[4] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/march-continues-elementary-grades
[5] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/march-continues-middle-high-school
[6] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=14&standardID=27
[7] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=14&standardID=28
[8] http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=113&DID=315
[9] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/reference.asp?item=standard&subjectID=7&standardID=1
[10] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/reference.asp?item=standard&subjectID=7&standardID=7
[11] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/reference.asp?item=standard&subjectID=7&standardID=8
[12] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=5&standardID=29
[13] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=13&standardID=3