Student Name: Kathryn Bissell

Daily Lesson Plan Title: Exploring the Wrong Side of History: Montgomerys Citizens Council
Date: 02/21/2016
Alex

Lesson Plan Information:

Lesson Author: Alabama Department of Archives and History
Lesson I.D.: 34028
Lesson Title: The Wrong Side of History: How One Group Justified Its Opposition to the
Freedom Riders and Civil Rights for African Americans

Stage 1 Desired Results

ACOS standards (lesson goals):
SS2010(11) United States History II: The Industrial Revolution to the Present:

14. Trace events of the modern Civil Rights Movement from post-World War II to 1970
that resulted in social and economic changes, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott,
the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, the March on Washington,
Freedom Rides, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the Selma-toMontgomery March. (Alabama) [A.1.c., A.1.d., A.1.f., A.1.i., A.1.j., A.1.k.]

National Standards for History, 1996 Standards in Historical Thinking:

Standard 2: The student comprehends a variety of historical sources. Therefore, the student
is able to:
Identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative and assess its
credibility.
Standard 3: The student engages in historical analysis and interpretation.
Consider multiple perspectives of various people in the past by demonstrating their
differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears.
Standards in History for Grades 5-12:

Era 10, Standard 4A : Explain the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954
and 1965.

Goals for Students:

The goal of this lesson is to strengthen a students ability to understand how and
why people acted as they did in a given historical situation, even when the students
find those actions unacceptable. This lesson will help students develop critical
thinking skills and learn how to be constructive advocates for the causes they
support.

Understandings (Students will understand):

Students will understand that there are many sides to controversial issues and that it is
important to understand where each side is coming from in order to construct their own
arguments for the causes they support.
Students will understand how historical events effect and set precedents for current issues.

Secondary Education Lesson Plan Template

Adapted from Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook 2004

Student Name: Kathryn Bissell

Daily Lesson Plan Title: Exploring the Wrong Side of History: Montgomerys Citizens Council
Date: 02/21/2016

Essential Knowledge (Students will know):

Key events of the Civil Rights Movement

What is the Montgomery Citizens Council
What is considered a primary source
Basic information about the Freedom Rides, including the attacks in Anniston,
Birmingham, and Montgomery

Essential Skills (Students will be able to):

Determine the primary goal of the Citizens Council of Montgomery and how that
organization responded to the Freedom Rides.

Analyze a speech given by the president of the Montgomery Citizens Council in terms
of its factual claims, values statements, and points of argument.

Deduce why some people were receptive to the ideas and values the Citizens
Council.

Write a response to the speech, logically refuting some of the authors claims and
arguments.

Essential Question(s):

How have the critical events in the Civil Rights Movement effected legislation and
integration today?
What have you learned from this speech about the mind-set of southerners who
opposed integration and the Freedom Riders in particular, even though they did not
take violent actions themselves?
How does looking at both sides of the issue help you to formulate your argument?

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Assessment Evidence (include all formative and summative assessments):
Formative:
Assess Guiding Questions for accuracy. This assessment will be used to make sure
students are on track while analyzing the speech by Carl Lancaster at the
Montgomery Citizens Council meeting. The assessment will let the instructor know if
the students need more assistance or explanation.
Summative and Performance Assessment:
Use rubric to evaluate the letters to Mr. Lancaster. This performance assessment will
be graded and the grade will be reported. Students will write an editorial response
letter to Mr. Lancaster (speech giver at the Montgomery Citizens Council meeting) in
Secondary Education Lesson Plan Template
Adapted from Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook 2004

Student Name: Kathryn Bissell

Daily Lesson Plan Title: Exploring the Wrong Side of History: Montgomerys Citizens Council
Date: 02/21/2016

which they refute the points he made in his speech. The understanding evaluated
with this assessment is: Students will understand that there are many sides to controversial issues
and that it is important to understand where each side is coming from in order to construct their own
arguments for the causes they support. Students will evaluate the Montgomery Citizens Councils side of
the argument in order to better create an argument for the side they support. This assessment will be used
to evaluate the understanding noted above, and the results will be used to evaluate the instructors ability to
teach the understanding.

Stage 3 Learning Plan (Include approximate time for each activity in the learning
plan)

Materials needed for the lesson:

Transcribed copy of the speech given by the president of the Montgomery Citizens
Council at a public meeting June 8, 1961.
Copy of guiding questions to go with the speech.
Directions for student letter refuting (countering) claims and arguments made in Mr.
Lancasters speech.
Rubric for evaluating letters.

Bell ringer:
Documentary Clip with Questions:

Have the PBS American Experience documentary called Freedom Riders playing as
students enter the classroom.
On the board have two questions that the students must answer while watching the
clip from the documentary.
Who were the Freedom Riders?
What were they doing and why?
While the documentary is playing the instructor can handle beginning of class
business.
Approximate Time: 8 minutes

Review of relevant, previously learned information:

Instructor will pass out a short summary of the Freedom Riders journey into the south
(found at
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/news/ap/politics/2011/May/01/freedom_rides_of_196
1_in_alabama.ht ml.) and a picture of showing Freedom Riders with a burning bus in
Anniston (part of the Smithsonian America on the Move collection).
Instructor will lead students in a discussion about what they know about the Civil
Rights Movement and the Freedom Riders to evaluate previously learned information
on this subject.
Students will discuss with the instructor and in small groups with each other what
they already know about the Civil Rights Movement.
Approximate Time: 10 minutes

Secondary Education Lesson Plan Template

Adapted from Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook 2004

Student Name: Kathryn Bissell

Daily Lesson Plan Title: Exploring the Wrong Side of History: Montgomerys Citizens Council
Date: 02/21/2016

Introductory Activity:
Write the words Citizens Council on the board. Ask:

What do you think a group with this name would be like?

What sort of people might join?
What overall goals might a group with this name have?
What sort of activities would it engage in?
Approximate Time: 8 minutes

Body of the lesson:

Step 1- Inform students that in the 1960s Montgomery had its own Citizens Council,
as did many cities in the South. The main goal of these groups, however, was not to
improve local civic life; it was to organize and coordinate opposition to integration.
Ask:
Why would this group want to name themselves Citizens Council?
What advantages does that label offer them?

Step 2- Tell students, Shortly after the three violent attacks on the Freedom Riders in
Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery, the Montgomery Citizens Council held a
public meeting on June 8, 1961. You will read and analyze a transcript of the speech
that was given by Carl Lancaster, the president of the Council, at that meeting.

Note to instructor: There were two other speakers that night, the mayor of Montgomery and
a white Baptist minister. A complete transcript of all three speeches can be found at the
Alabama Department of Archives and History, and it would be worthwhile to display some of
the other speakers remarks.

Step 3- Give every student a copy of Lancasters speech, along with the guiding
questions. Allow time for them to read the speech and answer the questions
individually.

Step 4- Put students in groups of three to four. Have some groups compare and
compile answers to question # 1, others to question # 2, and others to question # 3.

Step 5- Conduct a whole-class discussion answering all three questions. Encourage

students to expand their answers and to take notes on other students insights into
the speech.

Step 6- Conclude the discussion by posing this question: What have you learned
from this speech about the mind-set of southerners who opposed integration and the
Freedom Riders in particular, even though they did not take violent actions
themselves? Assist students in understanding that people in the present still

Secondary Education Lesson Plan Template

Adapted from Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook 2004

Student Name: Kathryn Bissell

Daily Lesson Plan Title: Exploring the Wrong Side of History: Montgomerys Citizens Council
Date: 02/21/2016

struggle with issues such as this by asking them to compare this with a current issue,
such as immigration concerns.

Step 7- Inform students that they will write an editorial response for a newspaper to
Mr. Lancaster in which they refute the points he made in his speech. Distribute
directions for this editorial, and answer any questions regarding the directions. Set
the due date (next class period) and point value.

To be done next class period:

Step 8- Collect, evaluate, and return the letters.

Activity to close lesson: Ask selected students to read their letters. Have students
analyze what made those refutations especially effective.

Extra attention can be given to SPE and ESL students during Step 4, while students
are broken up into groups to answer guiding questions. Gifted students can be
separated into different groups in order to assist students who need extra help and
then they can practice their leadership skills.

This lesson includes videos, pictures, document analysis, lecture, discussion and
written homework to accommodate visual, verbal, physical interpersonal learners.

Note: The letter assigned in Step 7 will be given as homework and Step 8 will occur
outside of class.

Approximate Time: 30 minutes

Preview of the next lesson:

Show clip from PBS documentary Selma to gain student interest for the next days lesson on
the Selma-Montgomery March.
Approximate Time: 4 minutes

Related out of class assignment:

The editorial response letter to Mr. Lancaster will be completed outside of class and turned
in the next class period.

Secondary Education Lesson Plan Template

Adapted from Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook 2004