Learning Activity

Beyond the Classroom: A Virtual Field Trip to the Civil Rights Movement

Subject Area

Digital Literacy and Computer Science
Social Studies

Grade(s)

4

Overview

The Civil Rights Movement had a tremendous impact on Alabama. During a Civil Rights learning unit students will learn a tremendous amount regarding Alabama’s history in making progress towards racial equality. Primary sources can strengthen student understanding.

Google Expedition application, and virtual reality tools of the like, offer students an opportunity for increased comprehension by providing context to the learning content. There is a host of tours to search and engage with in order to break down the classroom walls and offer students an experience beyond the classroom.  Each tour is created with background information and leveled questions for the guide/teacher.

This activity was demonstrated during the Exploring Today's Classroom (ETC) Summit.

Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 4

SS10.4.14

Analyze the modern Civil Rights Movement to determine the social, political, and economic impact on Alabama.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.4.14

Vocabulary

  • analyze
  • interpret
  • discrimination
  • prejudice
  • protest (violent and non-violent)
  • boycott
  • sit-in
  • segregation
  • integration
  • Jim Crow
  • suffrage
  • rights
  • NAACP

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Many of the key leaders that were vital to the modern Civil Rights movement including Martin Luther King, Jr.; George C. Wallace; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis; Malcolm X; Thurgood Marshall; Hugo Black; and Ralph David Abernathy.
  • How the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other forms of protest impacted Alabama's economy.
  • How the many forms of non-violent protests were used to help African Americans in Alabama gain equality including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and children's marches.
  • African Americans in Alabama were often the victims of violence while trying to gain equality (Sixteenth Street Church bombing, Freedom Riders bus bombing).

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Recognize important persons of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr.; George C. Wallace; Rosa Parks; Fred Shuttlesworth; John Lewis; Malcolm X; Thurgood Marshall; Hugo Black; and Ralph David Abernathy.
  • Describe events of the modern Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, the Freedom Riders bus bombing, and the Selma-to-Montgomery March.
  • Interpret primary sources such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court case of 1954, and Letters from the Birmingham Jail.
  • Use vocabulary associated with the modern Civil Rights Movement, including discrimination, prejudice, segregation, integration, suffrage, and rights.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Many individuals and events had a social, political, and economic impact on the people of Alabama during the modern Civil Rights Movement. There were many benefits of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Brown v. Board (1954).
  • The doctrine of separate but equal called for specific things.
  • These events also had a significant impact on the nation.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 4

DLCS18.4.13

Synthesize complex information from multiple sources in different ways to make it more useful and/or relevant.

Unpacked Content

UP:DLCS18.4.13

Vocabulary

  • synthesize
  • relevant
  • timeline
  • flowcart
  • infographic

Knowledge

Students know:
  • information from multiple sources can be combined or synthesized.
  • there are multiple was to combine information to communicate with others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • synthesize information from multilple sources in a variety of ways to make it more useful such as a flowchart, timeline, infographic, multimedia etc.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • information is obtained from multiple sources to better make sense of information.
  • information can be presented in different ways to make it more useful.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

The student will be able to describe events of the modern Civil Rights Movement related to the Selma-to-Montgomery March including specific historical stops along the march.

The student will interpret primary sources leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 using documentation located in the Google Expedition App. 

The student will synthesize the complex information provided in the virtual reality experience.

Activity Details

The student(s) will engage in a Google Expedition tour focusing on the historic march from Selma to Montgomery. Student(s) will learn about the peaceful protest strategies used by the marchers. The student(s) will view the tour guided by their teacher. Strategic questions will be asked as prompted within the tour. Student(s) will engage in discourse about the following points of interest on the tour: Lowndes Interpretive Center; Marion, AL; MLK Street (previously Sylvan Street); Dallas County Courthouse; Edmund Pettus Bridge; City of Saint Jude; Alabama State Capitol building.

Google Expedition Kit: Each student will need a device and a viewer. The teacher will use the teacher tablet. On each student device, click open the Google Expeditions App, rotate the device and place it in the viewer. Once all devices are connected the teacher can launch the expedition from the teacher tablet. Students will be able to view the same scene as the teacher. The teacher will take students through each scene in the expedition. As the teacher navigates through the scenes, he/she will prompt students with questions about the place they are visiting. All questions are contained within the tour. Once the tour is complete, the students or teacher will remove student devices from the viewers. Each device should be shut down properly and placed in the storage container. 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

Students will submit a FlipGrid response after viewing the expedition. A recorded response allows for students to feel less inhibited when speaking on the sensitive subject matter. Prompts for discussion:

1.) Provide a description of the impact the Civil Rights Movement had on race relations in Alabama.

2.) How did the march from Selma to Montgomery impact citizen of Alabama?

Assessments should be formative and allow for additional instruction when appropriate.

 

 

 

Variation Tips

No Google Expedition Kit alternatives: Solution for classrooms without VR headsets is to download Google Expedition on iOS or Android tablet and project for the entire class.

Additionally, locations can be found on Google Earth but will not contain historical references to the Civil Rights Movement. This alternative should be considered last.

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

Preparation for a Google Expedition requires device charging, download of intended expedition, and possession necessary equipment for displaying the expedition during the whole group on a single tablet if needed. The teacher will also need to review Google Expedition content for specific expedition in order to be familiar with background information and points of interest within the expedition. 

 

Digital Tools / Resources

Google Expedition
http://wke.lt/w/s/i4Gta

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

bveazey
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