ALEX Lesson Plan

When we hear the words Civil Rights Movement, we have visions of Dr. Martin Luther King and a few others. Through pictures, students will identify ordinary leaders in the crowd. Students will have the opportunity to analyze those pictures by doing a picture walk.  Students will learn more about some of the people in the crowd, and how they made a difference in our beloved community.

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Black and White photographs from the Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection, and other photographs provided by the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture http://www.lib.alasu.edu/natctr/collections/

Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection: http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/peppler

https://www.c-span.org/video/?405565-1/civil-rights-history

Handouts of a biographical sketch: Article of Richard C. Boone done by Alabama State University, Dr. Howard Robinson.  See attachment by permission of Alabama State University and University of Alabama.

YouTube Clip of Richard C. Boone: https://youtu.be/9dfaM8-4_iw

Other photographs from the civil rights era are attached. (The teacher should print pictures from the Jim Peppler Collection or project them if access is available.)

K-W-L Chart (Chart should be large enough to be used and seen by the entire class. The teacher can post it on a wall or board.)

Journals or journal sheets provided by the teacher

Internet-capable devices, such as Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, computers with an interactive whiteboard

Students should have knowledge of biographies and autobiographies which includes articles about a person's life. Students should know that the study of a person's life will help them understand how history is made by ordinary people. Students should know the difference between facts and fiction/realistic fiction. Students should understand that there were no cell phones and very few recording devices available during this time. Therefore, history in many instances had to rely on a photographer to report the story with black and white pictures.

The teacher should have knowledge of famous events and people of Alabama that influence changes in Alabama and the world. The teacher should have knowledge of events leading up to the "Selma To Montgomery March", specifically. The teacher should print pictures from the Jim Peppler Collection or project them if access is available. Teachers may also print or project other pictures from various sources (Alabama State University National Center for the Study of African American History and Culture and the Mary Gambles Boone Collection).

The pictures are used to give students the opportunity to relive an event with pictures.  Students should understand that black and white pictures were the only source for many years. 

The following article from the Encyclopedia of Alabama will provide additional background information about the Selma to Montgomery March: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1114

Essential Question:  How can a "picture walk" tell a story about historical events?

Before Strategy

Ask students to call out any names they know (especially African Americans) who changed history in Alabama and the world.

Most likely, students will name Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.

Accept any names from students and record the names in the "K" section on a K-W-L chart or board.

The teacher should tell students that many other ordinary citizens emerged as leaders. Show them a picture of a crowd. Tell them that many people were so influenced by a leader, situation, or problem that they became activists, advocates, and leaders themselves.

During Strategy

Give handouts of photographs or show photographs on the interactive whiteboard.

Allow students to turn and talk about the photographs. Using inference and drawing conclusions, students should give their points of view. What is happening in the pictures and why? Where and when did the event take place? What clues in the background help to tell the setting? What can expressions and gestures tell about the event? Why are the pictures in black and white? Why was the photographer important to this event? Note to teacher: Students should understand that there were no cell phone cameras and very little media coverage during those times. Photographer Peppler worked for the Southern Courier, a newspaper that more often covered the civil rights protests in Montgomery.

Assign photographs to students and have them work in cooperative groups for an adequate amount of time. Use the attached photographs with the Peppler Collection; the pictures can be printed, or students can view them on a technology device.

Tell students to jot down notes about each picture assigned. Students should work together to create "thought bubbles" on the pictures. Students are to tell what the person is saying or thinking. Students should also jot down what they would like to know or any questions they may have about the pictures. The teacher, as a facilitator, should listen and record any questions students may have in the "W" section on the K-W-L Chart.

Introduce the name Rev. Richard C. Boone and tell students he is the Civil Rights Leader in many of the pictures.  

Handouts of a biographical sketch, from the article by Dr. Howard Robinson (attached by permission) or view YouTube biographical sketch if there is internet access, https://youtu.be/9dfaM8-4_iw

Use the chunking method to read the passage. Students should stop after each paragraph and reflect by writing in journals or journal sheet provided by the teacher.

After Strategy

Have students revisit their photographs and the "thought bubbles". Students may change their predictions/inferences. Give students an adequate amount of time to change their "thought bubbles" or leave them if they are satisfied with their creations.

Students record "what they have learned" in their journals, while the teacher records those same facts on the "L" section of the K-W-L chart.

Use journal notes and K-W-L entries in journals as a formative assessment.

Use pictures with bubbles created by students as a summative assessment. The teacher can also assess student learning by reviewing students writing in the "L" section of the K-W-L Chart. 

Students should create a chart entitled, "WWRBD, What Would Richard Boone Do?"

Students should write scenarios of incidences in history, such as: 

African Americans are not allowed to sit at the front of the bus.

You get on the bus. It is not crowded. You sit down, but soon many others come. The bus driver tells you to get up. WWRBD?

There is a sit-in at ASU college. You are a student leader. The President of the college calls you and demands that you stop the sit-in or you will be suspended. WWRBD?

There will be a huge march from Selma to Montgomery soon. WWRBD?

Richard Boone was protesting when he heard the Sheriff was in the hospital after being mean to the protesters. WWRBD?

Your parents want to vote but are told there is a poll tax and written test. WWRBD?

Suggested Reading List

Webb, Sheyann and Nelson, Rachel West, as told to Frank Sikora, Selma, Lord, Selma, The University of Alabama Press, 1989

Robinson, Amelia Platts Boynton, Bridge Across Jordan, Schiller Institute, Inc., 1991

Abernathy, Ralph David, And The Walls Came Tumbling Down, Harper & Row, 1989

Students are assigned to mixed-ability groups. Prompt students, if they are struggling with the picture walk. Ask them about the people, places, and things in the picture.  As students work with others, students should listen to their partners explain what they see first.