Simulation & Discussion
Materials
Red pins for half the class
Journals
"To Be Free" book
-Is there any reason why the students with the pins should have been treated that way?
water fountains, eat at separate restaurants, and sit in different places on the bus (to name a few examples) just because of the color of their skin.
When people began to fight for equality, or for everyone to have things fairly no matter what their race was, a lot of people were mad about it and
fighting sometimes occurred. Hopefully in doing your research, you have been learning about some important and brave things that certain people
did who tried to fight for fairness and equality.
Assessments
Extensions / Advanced Learners
Materials
Red pins for half the class
Journals
"To Be Free" book
- To give students a first-hand understanding of racism, half of the students will be randomly chosen to wear red pins on their shirts (the teacher should make sure that there are a fairly mixed number of males and females and different races (if possible, between the groups.)
- These students will have to walk at the back of the line, and wait until everyone else is finished before they can have their turn. For example, going to the bathroom, getting a drink of water, getting their lunch. The students without a red pin should not converse with those who do
- At the end of the day (preferably during social studies), the students with the red pins will remove them. The teacher should make them feel welcome again and reiterate that this was just for a demonstration.
- Students should write in their journals the following responses:
-Is there any reason why the students with the pins should have been treated that way?
- Have students record their thoughts in their journal and then come together for a class discussion
water fountains, eat at separate restaurants, and sit in different places on the bus (to name a few examples) just because of the color of their skin.
When people began to fight for equality, or for everyone to have things fairly no matter what their race was, a lot of people were mad about it and
fighting sometimes occurred. Hopefully in doing your research, you have been learning about some important and brave things that certain people
did who tried to fight for fairness and equality.
- End by reading part of the story “To Be Free” to the class
Assessments
- Simulation: respectful and fully participated
- Journal entry: answered every question, grammatically correct, free of misspellings, thoughtful
- Discussion: respectful, participated
Extensions / Advanced Learners
- Complete more research about how schools became desegregated
- Look up historical examples of signs relating to segregation. Create posters or signs for a classroom promoting diversity and inclusion!