®SAISD Social Studies Department
Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact.
How To - Clothesline
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Clothesline Word Bank
People
Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks
Thurgood Marshall
Billy Graham
Cesar Chavez
Hector P. Garcia
Betty Friedan
Black Panthers
George Wallace
Orval Faubus
Lester Maddox
Southern Congressional
bloc
Places
Birmingham, Alabama
Little Rock, Arkansas
Washington D.C.
Memphis, Tennessee
Events
Documents
Brown v. Board of
Education
Civil Rights Movement
Sweatt v. Painter
Tinker v. Des Moines
Hernandez v. Texas
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Mendez v. Westminster
Hernandez v. Texas
Delgado v. Bastrop
I.S.D.
Edgewood I.S.D. v.
Kirby
desegregation
lobbying
non-violent protesting
litigation
Martin Luther King Jr.
assassination
White v. Regester
“I Have a Dream”
“Letter from
Birmingham Jail”
19th amendment
Civil Rights acts of 1957
Civil Rights acts of 1964
Voting Rights Act of
1965
24th Amendment
26th Amendment
My Word Bank: (Vocabulary that is not listed above)
®SAISD Social Studies Department
Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact.
How To - Clothesline
Page J- 2
When?
How?
Why?
What?
How To Do A Clothesline
Clothesline is an interactive strategy where students get the opportunity to show what they
know about a topic by using a “T-Shirt”.
This strategy helps students connect big ideas and concepts through reading and writing.
Before class, prepare the following:
The word bank for review.
1 copy of the word bank per student
3 copies of the T-Shirt template per student (different colors and on card stock
when possible)
String up a clothesline in your classroom using either yarn or kite string.
Other Supplies Needed:
Scissors
Paperclips
Markers
When class begins, explain to students that they are going to design T-Shirts that
demonstrate different places, people, events, and documents from the Civil Rights
Movement.
Distribute 1 copy of the word bank to each student.
Explain to students that for their shirts, they are to Choose 2 people
Choose 1 place
Choose 1 event
Choose 1 document
Explain to students that their choices are based on what they think had the most
impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
Explain to students that in the bottom portion of the Word Bank they are to write in one
person, place, event, or document that is not listed and they will design a shirt for their
choice.
Distribute 3 shirt templates to each student.
Explain that on the front of the shirt, they are to write the name of the person, place,
event, or document.
Explain that on the back of the shirt, they are to write the information about the person,
place, event, or document and why you choose the person, place, event, or document
as being so important.
Explain to students that they can decorate their shirts.
Explain to students that as they finish their shirts, they are to get a paperclip and hang
it from the string, without disturbing the other designs that are already there.
This strategy is effective when used to connect units of study together to form a “big idea”.
®SAISD Social Studies Department
Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact.
How To - Clothesline
Page J- 1