Nonviolence / Perspective Lesson (Grades 6-8)
Objective(s)
Explore nonviolence as civil disobedience
Demonstrate understanding of the ways life experience affects perspective
Standards Addressed
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Essential Understandings
Nonviolence was one effective tactic in the fight for civil rights. It was a tactic that challenged American society in numerous, varied ways.
Life experience affects perspective.
Key Vocabulary
Nonviolence
Perspective
Dialogue
Materials Needed
Transcripts: Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement, Remembering Nonviolent Protests for Civil Rights
“We Stood Up” song and lyrics from We Stood Up
Introduction
How can you move people without force?
Why does perspective matter?
Lesson
Show students the Nonviolent Protests for Civil Rights- Images. Ask: “What do you think the people in the photographs are thinking and feeling?” Reveal just one protester and counterprotester at a time so you can direct students’ attention to a few key characters’ facial expressions, actions, body language, and clothing. Why was the protesters’ nonviolence so powerful? How did it affect the white counter-protesters? How does it affect you, looking at the photos 60 years later?
Tell students that some of the people from those photos became well-known civil rights leaders. Listen with students and have them read along in the transcripts Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement, Remembering Nonviolent Protests for Civil Rights.
Share the Dialogue poem sample with students by assigning roles to two different readers and have them read it aloud. Repeat the recitation. Ask: “What do the two speakers in the poems share? What makes them different? Which lines might the speakers from the We Stood Up transcripts have said or thought? Why do their perspectives shape what they see and say?”
Assignment
Choose one of the images from this lesson, or search for your own images that show people in the civil rights era who might have differing perspectives.
Engage in extra research as needed to gain a deeper understanding of context and background information:
The King Center’s Six Principles of Nonviolence
See “Eyes on the Prize: Ain’t Scared of Your Jails (1960-1961)”
Choose any of the images of sitting down for civil rights, or scenes from the transcript, and imagine the characters’ differing perspectives. Write a dialogue poem, using the Dialogue poem sample sample and graphic organizer.
Dig Deeper/Extensions (Optional)
Play the song, “We Stood Up,“ and have students track lyrics. Ask:
How does this song help people today relate to the story of Rosa Parks and the Greensboro Four?
Could this song be about demonstrations today? What are the values that people today stand up for, according to the chorus? (peace, justice, creativity, love, acceptance, fairness, equality, humanity, and kindness). Follow the rhythm of the song and write a version or a verse telling about a situation when people you know or heard about took a stand for any of these values.
Record this version over the (instrumental track) for “We Stood Up” and record it with GarageBand or using the Voice Memo app on your phone.
Civics Journal (Optional)
Write about a time you were in a challenging situation and you felt your rights were not being respected. Were there others in this situation who felt differently-- who felt like their rights were being disrespected, or that you did not really “deserve” to feel the way you did? What happened? Tell the story. Be descriptive and include details so the reader can see what you saw and feel what you felt.
Online Applications
Post the images in Nonviolent Protests for Civil Rights- Images. Point students’ attention to one key character at a time and use an interactive program (Jamboard, Padlet, Flipgrid) to ask: What do you think the people in the photographs are thinking and feeling?
Use this question as a way to set a purpose for students’ independent reading and listening to veteran civil rights leaders’ recollections in Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement, Remembering Nonviolent Protests for Civil Rights
Read or record an oral reading of the Dialogue poem sample, and ask students to respond in writing or annotate to show: What do the two speakers in the poems share? What makes them different? Which lines might the speakers from the We Stood Up transcripts have said?
Assign students to use the blank graphic organizer for online instruction to analyze the form of the sample poem, and write their own version
Grades K to 2 Grades 3 to 5 Grades 7 to12 Bill of Rights Videos