Lesson Overview
In this lesson, students explore the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and its ongoing impact on school equity today. After reviewing the case and its role in ending legal segregation, students examine current issues using demographic data, school maps, and personal experiences. They investigate how past practices like redlining and funding disparities still affect education. The lesson ends with students proposing solutions to promote equity in their own schools, linking history to present-day challenges.
Essential Question
- How did Brown v. Board of Education change schools in the U.S.?
- Why do some schools still seem divided today even after Brown v. Board?
- How do things like race, income, and where people live affect the schools in our community?
- What can we do as students and schools to make education fairer for everyone?
- Why is it important to understand the history of school desegregation for making schools better in the future?
Grade(s):
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
8, 11, 12
- Computer/Tablets
- Projector/Smartboard
- Digital Mapping Tools (e.g., Google Earth)
- Video Clips: Short documentary videos or interviews related to Brown v. Board and modern-day school equity
- Survey Tools (e.g., Google Forms) for gathering reflections or polling students about their experiences and thoughts on school equity.
Primary Source Documents:
- Excerpts from Brown v. Board decision
- Articles or case studies on desegregation efforts and ongoing issues in education
- First-hand accounts or interviews with individuals who lived through desegregation
School Demographic Data
- Current and historical data on school enrollment by race and socioeconomic status.
- Access to school district maps to analyze boundaries and segregation patterns.
Charts/Graphics
- Visual aids showing the historical and current state of school desegregation, such as timelines or demographic infographics
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- 8.5.CX Analyze the correlation between the Modern Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina and the U.S.
- This indicator was designed to foster inquiry into the role of South Carolina in the Modern Civil Rights Movement, to include the influence of court cases such as Briggs v. Elliot and Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas. This indicator was also developed to promote inquiry into the relationship between national leadership, protests, and events and South Carolina leadership, protests and events, such as the Friendship Nine and the Orangeburg Massacre.
- 8.5.CC Analyze the continuities and changes in South Carolina's identity resulting from the civic participation of different individuals and groups of South Carolinians.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into civic engagement, such as military service, public demonstrations, and political activism, to shape the identity of modern South Carolina. This indicator was also written to encourage inquiry into South Carolinians’ use of the court system and legislation to affect South Carolina’s post-World War II identity.
- 8.5.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze multiple perspectives on the cultural changes in South Carolina and the U.S.
- USHC.5.CC Evaluate continuities and changes during the Civil Rights Movement and other subsequent movements for equal rights.
- This indicator was developed to promote inquiry into thematic continuities and changes into how marginalized groups sought and won legal rights. Inquiry into the leadership, methods, and outcomes of modern equal rights movements are supported by this indicator.
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