This project incorporates many Common Core goals into your classroom. The goal behind this unit aims to get students familiar with our legal system, change from Segregation to
Brown v. Board
, and 20
th
Century American History. Students will delve into the primary sources to find the answers to their questions. As non-fiction reading is at the heart of Common Core standards that are being adopted by several states including Connecticut this becomes a point to emphasize. This unit strongly pushes that standard and the students as they try to become experts in their cases. The presentations and analytical writing are also standards in the Common Core that make up the second half of this unit.
The research skills needed to complete this unit push students to new levels of thinking and growth. Critical thinking, researching, and writing have been the focus of several studies regarding creating stronger students. Part of making this unit a success will include the teacher monitoring and adjusting the work as necessary. If students find the project either too easy or too hard to complete successfully, they won't learn anything from its completion.
This unit propels itself using inquiry-driven learning. Students will be driven by the questions discussed above as they investigate their cases and write their analysis. This means that the classroom will be investigating multiple threads based of the situation created by
Plessy v. Ferguson
. With necessary modifications to meet students' needs and capacities, the unit can meet many standards of your content field and the Common Core.
