Introduction activities
Intro Activity #1
Activity: Poetry Reading by Audre Lorde
- Students do a close reading of the poem, Power by Audre Lorde and provide analysis
- Students do a paired reading of the poem. (Special Note to teacher: This poem does contain one curse word that the teacher may need to go in and submit symbols for prior to the activity.)
- Have students discuss and analyze its meanings. (Whole class activity, led by the teacher or students may be broken up into small groups, and students will be responsible for helping to guide their own lesson.)
- Variation or an additional activity: have the poem, printed down the left side of the paper, and have the other vertical side of the paper blank, so that students may write reactions and questions on that side.
Questions to consider for this activity:
- When do you think this poem was written? Why do you think this poem was written? What messages does this poem give you about society?
- Final steps of this activity: do an author/poet study of Audre Lorde, looking at her background, and influences as well as life choices, then redo the previous questions and see if student thinking and answers
- Revisit the questions again:
Questions to consider for this activity:
When do you think this poem was written? Why do you think this poem was written? What messages does this poem give you about society?
Intro Activity #2
Activity: Discussion
This may be done as a whole class /Team format discussion.
Topic: How have the rights of the LGBTQ+ community been represented in history?
Teacher Role: Facilitator -chart responses from all individuals or groups
Note taking/ chart responses on Smartboard in a Google doc/ Giant chart paper/ Whiteboard, etc.
Option: Written Activity / K-W-L charts
The K-W-L charts may be done individually or in the team format (K-W-L charts done on giant chart paper
Intro Activity #3
Activity: Discussion
This may be done as a whole class /Team format discussion.
Topic: Are the rights of all represented in the history of America?
Teacher Role: Facilitator -chart responses from all individuals or groups
Note taking/ chart responses on Smartboard in a Google doc/ Giant chart paper/ Whiteboard, etc.
Activity: Introduction Activity to the Stonewall Uprising
Word Houdini: You can also ask students to guess what Stonewall is. Their answers would be written on paper or on a whiteboard. You can have students work in pairs. The addition of a timer can make it a game or race.
Intro Activity #4 (This assignment has two parts.)
Part 1
Activity: Quote interpretations: Students can be given quotes to interpret in writing or their journals and or spark peer-to-peer, whole class or small group conversations.
Part 2
Additional option for this activity: Students should suggest possible answers for the following:
Era / Time period that the quote made.
Time period that the quote relates to.
Why the statement/quote was made.
Students should be prepared to support their reasons with factual and historical evidence.
Quote 1
“If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.” – Zanele Muholi, South African artist and activist
Quote 2
“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.”
– Barbara Gittings, American activist for the LGBTQ population
Quote 3
“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.”
– Audre Lorde, poet
Quote 4
“We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.”
– Bayard Rustin, Lawyer, and Civil Rights Movement Activist
Additional Suggested Unit Activities:
Activity: Create a poster or design a web page that might have been used during of the Stonewall Uprising. Students can explain their poster work web page with a brief description (7-10 sentences) of their product.
Activity: Class discussion or Writing Prompt Topic
How was New York affected by the Stonewall Uprising? Discuss the before and after.
Activity: Class discussion or Writing Prompt Topic
Identify and analyze the cause and effect of the Stonewall Uprising. Cite two-three examples or pieces of evidence to support your opinion.
Activity: Class discussion or Writing Prompt Topic
Why do you think the Stonewall Uprising is not mentioned in your history books?
Discussion questions:
How might Bayard Rustin’s private life have impacted his political decisions?
What were the attitudes toward race, gender and the LGBTQ community during this period (teacher decides the time period) in history?
Activity: Modified Gallery Walk and Discussion
The objective is to view a series of artifacts, some of these can include pictures, copies of documents (primary and secondary sources, etc.); realia and other objects that can be linked to a person or an event. Setup can be done on walls, tables and other unique displays. Students will walk through the gallery and take notes/observations and document questions. The teacher will have students report out their observations and questions. Teacher will reveal the event and its importance to American History impacted by contributions and influences of the LGBTQ+ community. Peer to peer discussions will occur as teachers reveals additional information related to the artifacts and realia.
Activity Bayard Rustin Reading and discussion:
Pass the following excerpt out to students. Do a close reading of the section with students and discuss what the excerpt may be about. Next have students focus on the portion that mentions “reactionaries in the south.”
Excerpt from Bayard Rustin’s Letter found at Stanford University Transcription Online documents Letter dated: March 10, 1958
“In regard to King’s book and my name being left out-this was my decision and a very sound one, I believe. I do not know if you know that the reactionaries in the south have distributed several pieces of literature accusing King of being a Communist and linking me ‘a Communist agitator’ with him. I did not feel that he should bear this kind of burden. . . . For your information, the first draft of King’s book listed the tremendous help which I had given him and the movement. I mention this only because I would not want you to think that Martin is the kind of person who would take my name out because of fear. I want you to know that I insisted that he do so.”
Activity: Debate Topics/ Simulation Activities / Writing Prompt Topics / Research Topics
RAFT cards: The goal of this activity is for students to recognize the impact Bayard Rustin, a lawyer and member of the LGBTQ + community, had not only on the Civil Rights Movement but on America. These cards can be used as a discussion topic card or a writing card. The R(role), A (audience), F (format) and T (topic). These cards can be given as students walk into the room and they can be introduced to a historical event in America. As students are given these cards as they walk into the classroom, they will begin the activity based on your desire for either a quick write to be done or quick discussion or “turn n talk” to happen. The cards can be used by individual students, in pairs or with small groups given one card each. RAFT cards can be used for debates or even as a research prompt. (Special Note to the teacher: Email format did not exist during the time frame of these RAFT exercises. However, it may be useful to allow this format to be used for these assignments.)
Night before the March on Washington
|
R
(role)
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
Bayard Rustin
|
A
(audience)
|
Bayard Rustin
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
F
(format)
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
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T
(topic)
|
Night before the March on Washington
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Night before the March on Washington
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Day after the March on Washington
|
R
(role)
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
Bayard Rustin
|
A
(audience)
|
Bayard Rustin
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
F
(format)
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
T
(topic)
|
Day after the March on Washington
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Day after the March on Washington
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Before the start of the bus boycott in Montgomery 1955
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R
(role)
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
Bayard Rustin
|
A
(audience)
|
Bayard Rustin
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
F
(format)
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
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T
(topic)
|
Before the start of the bus boycott in Montgomery 1955 & 1956
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Before the start of the bus boycott in Montgomery 1955
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After the 13-month Montgomery bus boycotts 1957
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R
(role)
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
Bayard Rustin
|
A
(audience)
|
Bayard Rustin
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
F
(format)
|
Email, Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
Plans/ Brain Web/ Notes
|
T
(topic)
|
After the 13-month Montgomery bus boycotts 1957
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After the 13-month Montgomery bus boycotts 1957
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Weeks before the Selma March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
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R
(role)
|
Government officials
|
Bayard Rustin
|
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
A
(audience)
|
Whites who lived in Selma and other southern towns or states
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
|
Blacks who lived in Selma and other southern towns or states
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F
(format)
|
Email/Letter, Simulated Phone Call
|
Email/Letter, Simulated Phone Call/
Plans/ Brain Web/ Notes
|
Speeches/ Simulated Phone Call
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T
(topic)
|
Weeks before the Selma March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
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Weeks before the Selma March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
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Weeks before the Selma March on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
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Additional RAFT ideas
After the Selma March (Bloody Sunday) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
R (role) - Government officials
A (audience) - Whites who lived in Selma and other southern towns or states
F (format) - Neighborhood meetings, Email/ Letter, Simulated Phone Call
T (topic) - After Selma March (Bloody Sunday) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
R (role) - Bayard Rustin
A (audience) - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
F (format) - Email/Letter, Simulated Phone Call/Notes
T (topic) - After Selma March (Bloody Sunday) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
R (role) - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
A (audience) - Blacks who lived in Selma and other southern towns or states
F (format) - Neighborhood meetings, Simulated Phone Call
T (topic) - After Selma March (Bloody Sunday) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Activities related to Geography Skills:
Activity: Mapping
Map the location of the Stonewall Riots
Find the latitude and longitude coordinates of the Stonewall Riots
Activity: Identify and analyze the Five Themes of Geography
Analyze the 5 themes of Geography to any of the events discussed in this unit.