M.S. Lesson Activity no. 4
The Decision of the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas), May 17, 1954
Application
Students - Grades 7 and 8
Lesson Time
Two class periods
Objectives
At the end of this series of lessons, students should be able to:
- Outline the key facts in the Brown case and discuss the issue before the United States Supreme Court
- Identify the important individuals involved in the Brown decision and discuss their roles in the final outcome
- Summarize the final opinion of the United States Supreme Court in the Brown case
New York State Social Studies Learning Standards
Students will describe how ordinary people and famous historic figures in the local, community, State, and the United States have advanced the fundamental democratic values, beliefs, and traditions expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State and United States Constitutions, the Bill of Rights, and other important historic documents.
Materials
Handouts
- Handout A, "Background Case Facts And Arguments On The Brown Decision" (Secondary Source)
- Handout B, "The Story of Brown v. Board of Education," in Dialogue on Brown v. Board of Education, American Bar Association, ABA Division for Public Education, pp. 1-2.
- Handout C, "Arguments From Brown v. Board Of Education"
- Handouts D1 and D2, "Chief Justice Earl Warren's Opinion of the Court in the case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" (1954)
Activities
- Provide students with copies of Handout A, "Background Case Facts and Arguments on the Brown Decision," and ask them to prepare a timeline of the events leading up to the point when the Brown family appealed their case to the United States Supreme Court. Have students identify the key individuals involved in the Brown case.
- Provide students with copies of Handout B, "The Story of Brown v. Board of Education" and ask students to identify and describe the steps in the process leading up to the Brown decision by the Supreme Court. Ask students how the Plessy decision and Jim Crow laws influenced those individuals involved in appealing the cases of Linda Brown and others to the Supreme Court.
- Using Handout C, "Arguments from Brown v. Board of Education," have students summarize the Constitutional issues before the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. What were the arguments made by the attorneys in the Brown case? What were the strongest arguments for segregation? What were the strongest arguments for desegregation? Is it ever fair for government to treat people differently because of the ethnicity? Why or why not?
- Provide students with copies of Handouts D1 and D2, "Opinion of Mr. Chief Justice Warren" and have them write a brief summary of the final opinion as delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Ask them to include the key points and reasons that the unanimous verdict supported the decision that "separate but equal" had no place in public education.
