The Civil Rights Movement
Ohio Content Standards: Grade 10,
History 14; Grade 11, People in Societies 1; Grade 10, Government 1; Grade 10,
Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities 4
Duration of Lesson: One to two classes
- Students will be able to understand and analyze the
tensions that existed in American society during the Civil Rights Era.
- Students will be able to understand the problems that
children experienced during the Civil Rights Era.
Summary: Students use editorial cartons dealing with
the American Civil Rights movement in order to determine some of the major
aspects of this social movement. They will discuss a pair of cartoons in
groups and present their findings to the class.
- Packet of editorial cartoons 1-7
- Cartoon analysis worksheet
Pre-Assessment: Using cartoon number seven, lead a
discussion dealing with the American social and political scenes of the
1960's. Have students interpret cartoon seven and discuss how the Vietnam War
and the Civil Rights Movement related to or affected each other.
students into groups of 3-5.
- Distribute to
students copies of cartoons 1-7.
- Assign each
group a pair of cartoons that share a common theme or idea associated with the
civil rights movement. 1 and 2 - education, 4 and 5 - extremism, 3 and 6 civil
- Groups will
discuss and evaluate the cartoons' imagery. If necessary use the following
questions to guide the students during group work: What characters do you see
in these cartoons? What symbols are used and what do they represent? Describe
the action taking place in the cartoons. Explain the intended message of the
artist and his/her ability to effectively portray this message.
- Each group
should also attempt to determine what the common theme is among their cartoons.
- Groups will present
their analysis to the class.
Post-Assessment: Use the following questions to
determine if students learned the desired content for this lesson:
- What are the long standing effects of the American Civil
- How are you affected by this social movement today?
- Is the civil rights movement dead, or is it an ongoing
- After students have determined and discussed their
cartoons common theme with the class and teacher they can research
important figures in the Civil Rights movement. Once they have found an
individual with particular importance to their issue, students should write
a brief essay on this individual and how he/she affected the issue at