NYSBA/LYC Brown v. Board of Education

Middle School Lesson Activities

Arranged by Objectives

Lesson Activity no. 1

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

  1. Define "Jim Crow" and explain how "Jim Crow" laws were used to segregate African-Americans from mainstream society, discriminate against them, and deny them the equal rights they were granted following the Civil War
  2. Discuss the background to the United States Supreme Court decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, and explain how this decision supported the "Jim Crow" system and the concept of "separate but equal"

Lesson Activity no. 2

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

  1. Analyze a picture, quotation and a chart.
  2. Understand the concept that "separate but equal" was a violation of the rights of African American children.
  3. Understand that segregated public schools had a long term social, economic and cultural impact on the individual and American society.

Lesson Activity no. 3

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

  1. Clearly be able to define the vocabulary terms relating to the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Civil Rights movement.
  2. Identify the significant individuals connected with the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the civil rights movement.
  3. Identify the major events of the civil rights movement.

Lesson Activity no. 4

At the end of this series of lessons, students should be able to:

  1. Outline the key facts in the Brown case and discuss the issue before the United States Supreme Court
  2. Identify the important individuals involved in the Brown decision and discuss their roles in the final outcome
  3. Summarize the final opinion of the United States Supreme Court in the Brown case

Lesson Activity no. 5

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

  1. Explain different points of view of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
  2. Understand why these different points of view existed.

Lesson Activity no. 6

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

  1. Identify the attorneys, judges and others who made legal history by their involvement and leadership in the Brown v. Board of Education decision and other related litigation
  2. Discuss the long-term, significant impacts of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on the civil rights movement and on American society
  3. Evaluate the extent to which the lessons from the Brown decision are still relevant today in terms of the extension of civil rights to all Americans

Lesson Activity no. 7

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

  1. Understand the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on one individual.
  2. Understand the cultural environment in many Southern states at the time of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Lesson Activity no. 8

At the end of this lesson, the student should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the civil rights movement.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of the issues involved in the civil rights movement
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the successful use of non-violent methods of protest in the civil rights movement.
  4. Analyze pictures, headlines and timelines and incorporate information from those documents into a well-organized essay

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