Teaching Civil rights in american historyEnduring UnderstandingThe quest for civil rights is written across the history of America. It is not confined to a decade, century, ethnicity nor gender. Americans have continually struggled to secure political, economic, social, and religious freedoms and equality for themselves and others.
essential questions & skills
ItineraryAssignmentsPrior to the trip all participants will read & study numerous text. Each text will will be connected to a specific assignment. Assignments are designed to: 1) model best pedagogical practices, 2) help participants learn the content & 3) be transferable to the Level I & Level II Curriculum. Details for all assignments are available on the Flipped Classroom: Readings & Assignments icon below:
Driven2Teach will sponsor a field study in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington D.C. exploring the evolution of civil rights in the United States and comparing and contrasting differences in the North and the South. Participants will analyze the industrial North and agricultural South and explore the political, economic and ethnic/social inequality within each region. They will recognize how the fight for social, economic and political equality within and between each region led to the American Civil War, and how that fight continues on today. Field study participants will analyze significant events, leaders, individuals and groups that played a role in the fight for civil rights, and visit locations, battlefields and museums that chronicle the evolution of these rights over time.
Participants will study the immigration in NYC at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Tenement Museums. An optional night tour of NYC is available for participants. Participants will visit Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park and discover the human stories of the workers who worked and lived at the textile and locomotive factory. Teachers will travel to Tarrytown, NY and visit the home of “Robber Baron”, Jay Gould, juxtaposing the experience of the owner and the mill workers. At Hopewell Furnace National Historic Park (PA), participants will visit an Antebellum era smelting and iron mine/forge and will visit a stop on the Underground Railroad. Teachers will participate in a guided tour of Gettysburg National Battlefield and Richmond National Battlefield Park and the “White House” of the Confederacy. In Washington, D.C. participants will study the slave trade in the nation’s Capital. They will visit the newly opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and participate in an educational seminar, in addition they will visit Ford's Theater. In Washington, D.C., teachers will visit numerous museums, monuments and sites relevant to their content area, take an evening tour of the Mall, and have the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery. Time on the bus will be devoted to content lectures, pedagogy presentations, book groups and collaboration. The Understanding Civil Rights in the United States Field Seminar is open to both Level I (8th grade) & Level II (10th grade) educators. Teachers will be expected to be in sufficient physical condition to walk multiple miles daily and participate in other physical activities. Prior to attending the field study, participants will be expected to complete numerous assignments and readings; including participation in pre-travel and post-travel seminars. The purposes of the pre- and post- seminars are to facilitate the meshing of the content and the curriculum. Participants are expected to return to the classroom as teacher mentors in their school community |
Civil Rights: Key Dates & Deadlines |
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