Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs is intended as a 6th-8th grade social studies unit, although it could easily be adapted for other grade levels. It can augment a local history or civil rights study, or it can be taught on its own. The curriculum has three primary objectives:
1. To teach the history of African-Americans in Portland, Oregon;
2. To explore issues of racial identity and continuing patterns of racism and discrimination both locally and nationally;
3. To give students the opportunity to practice skills used by historians.
There are four main sections in Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs. The first section (Lessons 1-5) prepares students with the skills and reflective opportunities they will need to discuss difficult content and work with primary documents. Note that the first section is meant to be foundational; it is not intended to be optional. Think of the lessons as a prerequisite for teaching the rest of the curriculum.
In the second section (Lessons 6-13) students are introduced to the content, perform the jigsaw, and complete follow-up lessons to help solidify understanding. Some of the lessons in this section (and in the assessment section) also work to connect history to current events in Portland
For the jigsaw, we explore Portland Black History through nine different experiences
A. Exclusion, White Supremacy, and Designing a White Homeland
B. Housing Discrimination and Redlining
C. Vanport
D. Civil Rights Laws
E. Black Community in Albina
F. Urban Renewal and Displacement
G. Police and the Black Community
H. School Segregation and Integration
I. Racist Violence Against the Black Community
This curriculum further approaches the study of Portland Black History in four ways:
Black men and women (community and civil rights leaders)
Events
Locations and Places
Time periods
The third section connects the content to place by offering a fieldwork plan (more below, under Fieldwork and Guest Speakers). The fourth section outlines several options for assessment (more below, under Assessment).
We have also included a comprehensive vocabulary list for you to use with your students at your discretion.
Student Journals: Most of the lessons include journal prompts. Your students should have access to a journal it whatever form you use in your classroom. These will be places for personal reflections. Students can choose to share from their journals when they like, but otherwise they are confidential and not meant for public viewing. Reflecting in their journals is an essential component of student learning in this curriculum; it helps students as they sort through content and emotions, ultimately helping with long term retention. Make sure you allow time for journaling when included in the lesson plans.
Copies of Student Sheets: Many of the lessons include student handouts, located at the end of the lesson plan. Each lesson will alert you in the “Materials Needed” section as to what sheets you will need to copy or print in order to be prepared for that day.
Magnifying Glasses/Lenses: These will help students see details and fine print in the primary documents that otherwise would be difficult to see.
Computers with Internet Access: These may be useful in certain areas of the curriculum, but they are not required in order to lead the lessons.
We use the jigsaw model as the centerpiece of this curriculum because we believe in its ability to motivate student learning and promote individual accountability. We also found out that the jigsaw model was originally designed to introduce equity in racially diverse classrooms. To learn more, go to https://www.jigsaw.org/ or watch this video:
If you are uncomfortable with the jigsaw model, our curriculum can be taught in a more traditional format using the primary and secondary sources as the primary text. If you choose to do this, we highly suggest that you maintain elements of inquiry and small group work in order to keep student interest high and promote critical thinking.
Navigating Conflicting Information
One thing to be aware of when leading these lessons where students work with primary sources is that some of the sources offer divergent perspectives on the same event. For example:
In the section about police relations (Section 7) there is one press release from the Portland Police Department and another press release from the Black United Front;
Also in the Section 7, there is an Oregonian article about the Irving Park Riots that refers to the young people in Albina as “teenage vandals.” Compare this with another article from the Oregonian in which the reporter interviewed several young people from Albina and printed their perspective;
In Section 5 about the Black community around North Williams Avenue in the 1950s and 1960s, one document refers to the neighborhood as a slum while a photo shows a group of Campfire Girls gathered on a park green in front of tidy houses.
As your students investigate these documents, help them to negotiate such conflicting messages. Don’t let students be dismissive, but rather point the conflicts out if necessary and ask questions about why two documents about the same place or same event relay different facts or paint contrasting pictures. Some of these differences can be subtle, but noticing them is key to understanding that diverse perspectives and experiences are what make up a more accurate view of history. It will be equally important for students to understand that beyond being diverse, there are alternate motivations behind different perspectives. For example, the Portland Development Commission benefited from labeling the Albina neighborhood a “slum” because it made it easier for them to justify urban development.
As stated above, at the Cottonwood School, we teach this Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs as a place-based unit over the course of twelve weeks. In addition to exploring primary documents and reading secondary sources, we augment student learning with African American/Black speakers from local culturally specific organizations and individuals who have had personal experience with aspects of this history.
The highlight of the unit at our school is a day-long field trip to locations in the city that are significant in black history. Students journal, take photos, and interview people along the way. There are many possible configurations for a citywide tour of locations significant in Portland’s black history. Our section on fieldwork offers some ideas.
Although it may be difficult to coordinate a full-day field trip around the city, most schools can accommodate guest speakers. As you prepare to teach this curriculum, consider who you might invite into your classroom to bring this story alive for your students and truly root it in our place.
Student assessment is sprinkled throughout this curriculum to help give insight into student learning. While most lessons culminate in journaling, some include group activities, worksheets, or other written work. You also many consider creating a system for observing and tracking participation in class, both during discussion and group work. The posters students make during the jigsaw includes a rubric for assessment.
Section 4 offers several options for final assessment of the unit. These literacy-based assessments vary by length and complexity. The letter to the editor will most likely take the least amount of time in-class, while the biography project will take the most amount of time. Choose according to your students and your planning needs.
As part of their black history study at the Cottonwood School, our students create some type of product to help share their learning. In past years, students have gone on to write and produce a play, craft a zine, and narrate a film all about Portland’s black history. We have included a list of ideas in the fourth section for educators who are willing and able to extend learning into a longer project.
Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs can be taught any time of year. It may be a good one to teach at the beginning of the year so that the foundational lessons can help you to set up class norms. But, leading this curriculum at any time of year will help refresh class norms or help students learn more about each other.
This curriculum could take from three to six weeks to teach assuming you are teaching one hour a day, five days a week. All lessons are conducted in class; however, students may have the option to complete special projects out of class.
There are several variables contributing to the actual length of time it will take to teach. Ask yourself the following questions:
How much experience do your students have with primary documents?
How much experience do you and your students have with group work and independent learning?
Will student conduct any research outside of the classroom, or will it all be completed during class time?
Will you invite guest speakers into your classroom? Will you be going on field trips?
Which assessment option will you choose?
It is recommended that you teach all of the lessons in order and adjust the timeline according to your student needs.