Tag Archives: civil rights

Social Studies on the March! PBS LearningMedia for the California Social Studies Conference 2013

March 8, 2013, 9:53 am • Posted by Almetria Vaba
Add your comment

onthemarch

The 52nd annual California Council for the Social Studies (CCSS) conference begins today. According to the website this non profit organization promotes and supports social studies education through service, advocacy and leadership development.  The conference theme this year "Social Studies on the March" focuses on civil rights education.  See a list of great resources below that can be found in PBS LearningMedia to support your civil rights education curriculum, visit KQED at the exhibit hall and check out our session.

News Education: Integrating Current Events into your Curriculum
Saturday 1:30-2:30pm
Room: Sandpebble E

Freedom Riders These video segments document the events and accomplishments of the Freedom Rides, and introduce you to the real human stories of those who helped change our history.

National Archives Allows students to explore our nation's history through documents, photos and records.

News Hour Video clips from this PBS show provide teachers with unique current events resources.

Eyes on the Prize Access multi-media from this ground breaking series. Through contemporary interviews and historical footage, the series covers all of the major events of the civil rights movement from 1954-1985.

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow  This series explores segregation from the end of the civil war to the dawn of the modern civil rights movement.

American Experience Multi-media from this acclaimed series brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that have shaped America’s past and present.

Looking For Lincoln Engage students with multi-media from this unprecedented project that explores the life and legacy of the man widely considered one of our best and most enigmatic presidents.

Filed under: PBS LearningMedia, PBS LM Social Studies/Lang. Arts
Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Black History Resources in PBS LearningMedia

February 7, 2013, 2:35 pm • Posted by Almetria Vaba
Add your comment
The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57

The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57

Celebrate Black History Month in your classroom by highlighting the African American artists, educators, icons, and influential leaders that have impacted our nation's history and culture. Use PBS LearningMedia to enhance your lessons with interviews, historic images and videos - and remember to register online for full access to the library.

Duke Grades 1-4 | Animated Storybook | Icons in Music

Introduce your young students to the toe-tapping genres of ragtime and jazz through the story of iconic musician, Duke Ellington.

This video segment from Weston Woods presents Duke by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, about Duke Ellington, one of the founding fathers of jazz. When Duke Ellington was young, his parents wanted him to learn to play the piano. Although he began lessons, he was soon lured away by his love of baseball. Later, as a teenager he heard the new musical style called "ragtime" and he was inspired once again to learn to play piano. Soon, he created his own style of music using “hops” and “slides” on the piano. He became a popular entertainer with a flair that attracted many fans.

Rosa Parks
 Grades 3-12 | Interview | Civil Rights Icons

Enhance classroom discussion around the Civil Rights Movement with this interview of Rosa Parks and ask your students to examine her role in the struggle for racial equality.

This interview with civil rights activist Rosa Parks describes her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her refusal sparked a massive bus boycott that lasted 381 days, ending on December 21, 1956, after the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on city buses was unconstitutional.

Picturing America - Jacob Lawrence and Martin Puryear
 Grades 6-12 | Video | Icons in Art

Invite your students to uncover the driving themes behind the paintings in Jacob Lawrence's “Migration Series” and the elements influencing Martin Puryear's sculpture work.

In this video from Picturing America on Screen, students learn about American artists Jacob Lawrence and Martin Puryear. Inspired by the musical storytelling of West Africa’s griots, Jacob Lawrence employed in The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57 a painted and written narrative to invoke how African-American families “came up” from the South to settle in cities such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

Suspended above the floor and anchored by almost undetectable wires, Martin Puryear’s 36-foot Ladder for Booker T. Washington seems to float in space as it rises and abruptly narrows at the top. The artistic metaphor of a ladder not easily climbed dovetails with the contradictions in the legacy of slave-turned-educator Booker T. Washington.

Remembering Civil Rights Leader Dorothy Height
 Grades 6-13+ | Video | Civil Rights Icons

Meet the woman that President Obama hailed as the "Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement." Ask your students to consider her impact on the rights of African Americans and women.

This Newshour video clip with accompanying lesson plan highlights civil rights activist Dorthy Height long career during which she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.  She befriended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was present at many great moments in history.

Deconstructing the Documentary
 Grades 9-12 | Collection

Invite your class to experience Bordentown, the remarkable all-black boarding school described as a "unique educational utopia."

This lesson with accompanying video clips will ask students to analyze the film, to differentiate between narrative (fiction) and documentary storytelling, and to consider the ways in which all films are constructed by filmmaking decisions. They will ultimately consider the ways in which the final product (this documentary film) might or might not reflect the complete “reality” of the topic it presents.

Lucy Laney
 Grades 9-12 | Video | Icons in Education

Laney, an influential Jim Crow-era educator, believed it was essential to cultivate the minds of her students in order to develop intellectual leaders for the future. Invite your students to consider her philosophy of education.

This video segment from The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow addresses the life and impact of Lucy Laney, the founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School in Augusta, Georgia. Laney was an influential Jim Crow-era educator.

And there are lots more lesson plans and video clips from The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow in PBS LearningMedia.

Filed under: PBS LearningMedia, PBS LM Social Studies/Lang. Arts
Tagged: , , , , ,

Do Now #27: When Is It OK To Defend Yourself?

April 6, 2012, 5:53 pm • Posted by Matthew Green
Comments (26)

photo by: werthmedia/flickr

To respond to the Do Now, you can comment below or tweet your response. Be sure to begin your tweet with @KQEDEdspace and end it with #KQEDDoNow

For more info on how to use Twitter, click here.

Do Now

Should you have the legal right to use force - even deadly force if it seems necessary - as self-defense in reaction to what you may perceive as a serious threat?

Introduction

On February 26, 2012, an unarmed 17-year-old African American male named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida by a 28-year-old volunteer community watch coordinator named George Zimmerman. Martin had been walking from a convenience store when he was spotted by Zimmerman, who contacted the local police department to reporting the youth's allegedly suspicious behavior. Shortly thereafter, there was a confrontation between the two that ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin. When the police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman told them that he acted in self-defense. He was handcuffed and brought into custody, but the police did not actually formally arrest him, saying they didn't find sufficient evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense, a claim supported by the state attorney's office.

Continue reading »

Filed under: Do Now, Do Now: Government and Civics
Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

How Much Do You Really Know About Martin Luther King, Jr.?

January 12, 2012, 1:41 pm • Posted by Matthew Green
Add your comment

World Telegram & Sun photo by Dick DeMarsico

On Monday, Americans commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Most of us know at least a little something about the man: he was an African American civil rights leader; he gave the “I Have a Dream” speech; he was assassinated for his efforts … and we get a day off in his honor.

For most American youth, though, knowledge about Dr. King and civil rights history in general doesn’t go much beyond that. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that only 2 percent of high school seniors could correctly answer a basic question about the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education case (more about that later).

A recent study by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)  examined public K-12 education standards and curriculum requirements in all 50 states and found that 35 states – including California – failed to cover many of the core concepts and details about the Civil Rights Movement. 16 of these states (Iowa and New Hampshire included) didn’t require any instruction about the movment at all.

“For too many students, their civil rights education boils down to two people and four words: Rosa Parks, Dr. King and ‘I have a dream.’”

“For too many students, their civil rights education boils down to two people and four words: Rosa Parks, Dr. King and ‘I have a dream,’” said Maureen Costello, director of SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance program, which conducted the study.  “By having weak or non-existent standards for history, particularly for the Civil Rights Movement, (most states) are saying loud and clear that it isn’t something students need to learn.”

The study also found that much of what is taught about the movement in schools largely focuses on addressing the major leaders and events, but fails to address the systemic and often persistent issues like racism and economic injustice.

There's no doubt that Dr. King is recognized as one of our national heros. Major city boulevards throughout the country bear his name, and last year a memorial was dedicated to him on the National Mall in Washington. But, notes the SPLC report, these symbolic tributes fall short if the lessons and significance of his legacy aren't being properly taught to students.

So, how much do you know? Take the quiz to find out

(no pressure of course)

From KQED's How'd We Get Here blog

Filed under: Social Studies/Lang. Arts
Tagged: , , , , , ,