Students at many levels are often daunted by the demands of reading and writing in upper-level literature courses, many of their fears can be allayed once they begin to understand the scope and power of language. This unit will focus on the development of the language used surrounding racial segregation, particularly in schools. A deeper study of that language will undoubtedly lead to a more profound understanding of language as a whole, beyond the scope of politics. The unit objectives are as follows:
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- Identify the key issues surrounding
Brown v. Board
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- Identify the effects of the Court’s decision
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- Analyze the pictures in newspaper ads and magazines in the years immediately before, during and after Brown v. Board
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- Compare and contrast the propaganda during the different “phases” of the
Brown v. Board
Era
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- Create language that fits the purpose of a given picture
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- Define
nuances
and recognize shades of meaning
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- Define
connotations
and recognize positive and negative forms
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- Define and identify
symbol
,
propaganda
and
icon
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- Identify author’s intent and purpose
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- Apply analysis and identification skills to other types of literature
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- Develop an awareness of the power of choice in language
Unit Outline and Specifications
This unit serves as an introduction that will aid us in our study of literature throughout the school year. We will begin by building background to the time period and its limitations and the issues that combined to result in the
Brown
v. Board
case. We will then move through the “era” of the case itself and conclude with the “fallout” of this landmark decision. The result will be an eye-opening appreciation and understanding of the craft and use of language in politics and beyond. With this in mind, we will then seek to apply our newly honed awareness of language to other forms of literature.
Duration: 5 weeks
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- Week One: Building Background, the 1930’s and 40’s
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- Week Two:
Brown v. Board
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- Week Three:
Brown v. Board
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- Week Four: Post-Brown effects
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- Week Five: Application and Closure
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Materials
-
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- “The Colored Fountain” from Just Plain Folks by Lorraine Johnson Coleman
-
-
Eyes
on the Prize
, VHS, Volume 163, Chapter 2 (available at most public libraries)
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- Learning Log (see attached). It is a journal that can be created out of loose-leaf paper and the sheet that is attached. These Logs are an important part in building fluency, higher-order thinking and for simply aiding in the “digestion” of fairly heavy subject matter. The questions may be altered according to the teacher’s preference.
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- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” (attached)
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- Copies of
Brown v. Board of Education
and
Brown
II
Court opinions (attached)
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- Student assessments (attached)
Considerations
I have tried to include information that would be most easily accessible to teachers, hence all of the websites. Even if you don’t have access to a school computer, many of the images can be printed at local public libraries from their computers. Additionally, the audio segments can be pre-recorded onto a CD; some of the segments can be purchased at local bookstores or are available at public libraries. All of the links to the websites were accurate at time of publication, but just in case they don’t work when you need them, simply type in key words (integration, Little Rock Nine, Brown v. Board, Jim Crow) into any search engine and you will find a wealth of ready-to-use information.
Depending on your time and students’ readiness here are some other issues to consider; there is SO much information, particularly on the web, about issues of tolerance and social justice. The following can be excellent extension topics as you deal with the power of language:
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- lynching and the Ku Klux Klan (these topics provide startling and provoking images; careful with these since they are quite provocative)
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- use of words like “Uncle” and “Auntie” versus “Mister” or “Mrs.”
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- Use of words such as “boy” and “girl” for Black men and women
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- Timeline of appropriate references to people of color from “nigger” to “Negro” to “Afro-American” to “Black” to “African-American” and back to the acceptable use of the word “nigger”
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- Connotations of the word Black in “black mood,” “black ice,” “Black is beautiful!” “Black pride,” “Black power.”
