Title Page Picture for AAMNVA Lesson
The Great Migration
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/w1010/edit/migration/migration.html
Teacher Name:
Cecilia Zama
School: Luther Jackson Middle School
Subject Area:
US History
Grade/level: 7
Lesson Plan Template
based on Understanding by Design by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins
Title of Lesson
The Great Migration
Unit Topic
The Great Migration of African Americans to the North during the early twentieth century.
Lesson could be used during a unit on either World War I or the Roaring Twenties.
Enduring
Understanding
What are the
big ideas that
have value
beyond the
classroom?
What are the
core processes
at the heart of
the discipline?
Content
Knowledge
What specific
content
knowledge will
students
acquire as a
result of this
lesson?
Skills
What are the
specific skills
developed by
this lesson?
As a result of this lesson, students will understand:
SOLs
addressed
USII.1 The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis, including
the ability to:
a) analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase
•
one’s present conditions especially if poor and difficult, often lead to change in
geography, job, and family ties.
•
reality doesn’t always match expectations.
As a result of this lesson, students will know:
•
how conditions in the South caused African Americans to seek a better life in
the North during World War I and the 1920’s.
•
the positive an negative outcomes for African Americans who moved to
Northern cities.
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
•
•
•
•
use primary source material to answer historical inquiry questions.
make hypotheses or educated guesses regarding a topic in history.
analyze and evaluate historical data to support or refute student hypotheses.
develop cooperative learning skills and oral presentation skills.
1
understanding of events and life in United States history from 1887 to the
present;
b) make connections between the past and present;
USII.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of how life changed after the Civil War by
describing racial segregation, the rise of “Jim Crow,” and other constraints faced by
African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South.
USII.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the social, economic, and technological
changes of the early twentieth century by describing the Great Migration North.
Length of
Lesson
Approximately
how long will
this lesson
take?
Overview of
lesson Briefly
summarize the
lesson.
Prior
Knowledge
Are there
specific
knowledge or
skills the
students must
have before
they begin this
lesson?
Resources
needed
This lesson will take about 3-5 forty-five minute classes, including time for discussion and
project completion. Teacher can adjust time as needed.
Students will mainly use primary resources from the Library of Congress and work
cooperatively to learn about the causes and effects of the Great Migration of African
Americans to the North during World War I. They will pose inquiry questions and use the
resources provided to answer the questions. Lastly, students will choose from a list of five
culminating products. Project assignments are focused on the causes and effects of the
Great Migration. They will present their final products to the class using appropriate
presentation skills.
Students must know what the word migration means. They should have learned about the
constraints faced by Blacks in the South after the abolition of slavery. Students will need to
be familiar with the use and analysis of primary source material when studying history. The
teacher will review necessary information on working cooperatively with one another.
Library of Congress Resources with title and permanent URL:
American Memory Collections
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart8.html
Photographs show the existence of segregation in the U.S., especially in the South.
2
Books?
References?
Audio/Visual
Material?
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aapmob.html Pamphlet excerpt on Lynching in the South.
***please
include copies
of hand-outs ***
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/085_disc.html
Photographs of signs enforcing racial discrimination
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam011.html
African-American Mosaic on the Migration of African Americans to Chicago
Other resources
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/w1010/edit/migration/migration.
html
Jacob Lawrence’s paintings on the Great Migration of African Americans from the South of
the United States to the North.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_single.html
Audio clip of a Jim Crow narrative by Benjamin “Pap” Singleton. Scroll down to the bottom
left of the page to listen to the clip.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flood/sfeature/sf_footage.html
1927 flood film clips
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm
Scottsboro trial
Title page image for cover of lesson.
Process of
lesson
Explain how
lesson will
unfold. Write
this section so
that another
teacher could
follow your
instructions.
Be sure to
include
a hook or
warm-up and
student
performance
tasks.
Warm Up
1. Begin by having students brainstorm the different reasons and results of migration
based on general issues of leaving one’s home to live somewhere else.
2. Students will work in pairs to examine the photograph of African Americans moving
and answer factual and inferential questions.
Body of lesson:
Part 1
1. The teacher will review the Warm Up by asking students questions from the
worksheet including the following:
A. What is migration?
B. What do you think caused African Americans to move to the North in the late
1800’s and early 1900’s?
C. What do you think African Americans experienced when they moved to the
North?
2. Short lecture on the Great Migration. This will have to be read to and discussed with
the students.
3
3. Have students complete a KWL chart based on information acquired from the lecture.
4. Students are given the opportunity to indicate what they would like to find out about
the Great Migration of African Americans. This is the formation of Historical
Sleuthing / Inquiry Questions or the “Wand to Know” part of the KWL chart.
•
Examples may include: What were the conditions in the South that caused African
Americans to leave? How did African Americans know about the opportunities in
the North? In what ways were African Americans enticed to migrate? Who helped
African Americans move? What did African Americans find when they got to the
northern cities? Was discrimination still part of their lives? If so, how?
5. Differentiation Option: Hand out pre-made historical sleuthing questions on the
Great Migration for pairs of students to investigate.
Part II
1. Based on what students indicated they would like to find out about the Great
Migration, divide students into groups of three or four.
2. Provide each group with a packet of five or more primary sources of mixed media and
formats. (photographs, posters, letters, documents, oral histories, motion pictures,
sound recordings, etc.)
3. Differentiation Option: Higher level students can go to the pre-selected web
addresses listed above and find five primary sources of their own choosing to
analyze. Primary Sources should reflect both causes and effects of the Great
Migration. Teacher should pre-approve primary source selections.
4. Provide students with analysis worksheets for examining the different primary
sources.
5. Provide students with discussion time to answer “Want to Know” questions from K-WL chart, or their Historical Sleuthing / Inquiry Questions.
6. As a group, complete the “have learned” section of the K-W-L chart.
Part III
Students are given instructions on the Assessment Activity.
Students will be required to present answers to their historical sleuthing questions along
with one of the following projects. Projects may be completed individually or in small
groups.
a. Create four or more paintings that expose different aspects (causes and
effects) of the Great Migration. Your paintings must be neat and have
captions.
b. Compose a song that includes facts about the experiences (causes and
effects) of African Americans migrating from the South. You may write new
lyrics to the tune of a song you know.
4
c. Write a newspaper article to be published in the Chicago Defender
encouraging African Americans to move to the North. This article should be
based on the facts you have learned about the causes and effects of the
Great Migration.
d. Write a letter to a relative in the South, as if you were one of the people that
migrated to the North, explain your reasons for leaving and your experiences
in a northern city.
e. You are a recruiting agent from the North speaking to an African American in
the South. Write a dialogue about trying to recruit African Americans in the
South to move to Northern cities. Include reasons for leaving and what one
might experience in the North.
Lesson Closure:
Students relate the causes and effects of the Great Migration to contemporary causes
and effects of migration for modern groups moving to new cities, states, or countries.
This can be done with a Venn Diagram or through class discussion.
Evaluation
How will you
know that the
lesson was
successful?
Describe what
type of student
assessments
you will use to
evaluate
understanding.
Include the
criteria you will
use or attach
rubric.
Extension
Activities
What further
activities might
be done to
increase
student
understanding
on this topic?
Students will be evaluated on the following:
A. Answers to the historical sleuthing questions will be graded using pass/fail, based on
completion of the KWL Chart and Primary Source Analysis Worksheets.
B. Selected products on the Great Migration will be graded using rubrics. Please use the
rubric for the student product selected.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Paintings Rubric
Song Rubric
Newspaper Article Rubric
Letter Rubric
Dialogue Rubric
Rubrics adapted from http://www.aamnva.org Social Studies WebQuest Lesson Plans.
Students may also explore the following questions:
1. Compare the experiences of African Americans in cities today, to their experiences
during the Great Migration.
2. Investigate the experiences of African Americans in the South today.
3. When masses of African Americans moved out of the South; who provided the
needed labor force for the plantations? Did the landowners try to make conditions
better for African Americans? What was the result for the Southern economy?
4. Who were African American leaders in the late 19th century and the early part of the
20th century? Did they play any role in the Great Migration? If so, what role did they
play? Create an African-American leaders Portrait Gallery.
Possibilities for
Differentiation
•
Hand out pre-made historical sleuthing questions for pairs of students to
5
How can this
lesson be
adapted for
different
learners or
different
classes?
(Honors,
Special
Education,
English as a
Second
Language)
investigate, or have students design an original historical sleuthing question.
•
Use predetermined LOC based primary sources packets or have students find
primary sources using designated links / sites themselves.
•
Use primary sources of mixed formats and media and provide scaffolding for
reading and analysis as needed.
•
Use culminating products of varying levels of difficulty and appeal to multiple
intelligences.
•
Ask the Instructional Assistant to work closely with designated students if
possible.
•
Place students in flexible work groups. This allows for different jobs to be
assigned based on students’ different strengths, interests, or learning styles.
6
Warm up activity on the Great Migration
Directions: Examine the picture and answer the questions that follow.
Remember to use complete sentences.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam009.html
1. Describe what you see in this picture.
2. Why do you think these people are here?
3. What do you think is going through their minds?
4. What can you conclude about the conditions of the time period?
.
Lecture
The Great Migration
The Great Migration was the migration of thousands of African-Americans from the South to the
North. African Americans were looking to escape the problems of racism in the South and felt
they could seek out better jobs and an overall better life in the North. It is estimated that over 1
million African-Americans participated in this mass movement.
The Great Migration created the first large, urban black communities in the North. The North saw
its black population rise about 20 percent between 1910 and 1930. Cities such as Chicago,
Detroit, New York, and Cleveland saw some of the biggest increases.
World War I and boll weevils were major factors in pulling blacks to the North. The war created a
huge demand for labor in the North when it caused millions of men to leave their jobs to serve in
the armed forces and forced immigration to slow down. In the South, a boll weevil infestation of
the cotton crop that ruined harvests and threatened thousands of African Americans with
starvation also caused people to head North.
Railroad companies were so desperate for help that they paid African Americans' travel expenses
to the North. While northern labor agents traveled to the South to encourage blacks to leave and
go find jobs in the North.
With black labor leaving the South in large numbers, southern planters tried to prevent the
outflow, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The more progressive southern employers tried to
promise better pay and improved treatment. Others tried to intimidate blacks, even going so far
as to board northbound trains and to attack black men and women to try to force them into
returning to the South.
Despite the jobs and housing available in the North, the challenges of living in an urban
environment were daunting for many of the new migrants.
The stream of migrants continued apace, however, until the Great Depression and World War II
caused northern demand for workers to slacken.
Copyright © 2002 Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Inc.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html
In 1890, almost 95% of all African Americans lived in the South and some 90% of
them lived in rural areas. By the 1960s, 90% of all African Americans lived outside
the South and 95% lived in urban areas. This dramatic change has come to be
known as the Great Migration. The population change came in two different waves.
The first was associated with World War I, when European immigration slowed to
almost nothing leaving northern industrialists without enough workers. African
Americans came north to fill those jobs. Pressures inside the South such as Jim
Crow laws and the weakness of Southern agriculture also led African Americans to
move north. In a society where lynchings and the legal system prohibited both
advancement and protest, abandoning the South provided an opportunity to do
both.
Certain African Americans in the North also encouraged the migration. Robert
Abbott of the Chicago Defender, for example, used his newspaper to crusade against
the injustices of the South and to encourage Southerners to come North where
choices were greater and oppression less. Outlawed in some Southern counties, the
Defender made Chicago one of the cities that became home to large numbers of
African Americans along with New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Detroit, and others.
Many whites did not welcome their new neighbors. A 1908 riot in Springfield,
Illinois, helped spur the formation of the NAACP. The Urban League was formed in
1910 to protect the interests of these migrants in northern cities. Their efforts did
not, however, prevent the spread of violence. In 1917, East St. Louis, Illinois,
experienced a riot that led to the deaths of at least 39 African Americans and 2
whites. In 1919, riots took place several places, the largest in Chicago and
Washington, D.C.
The second wave began at the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of
World War II. Still a rural to urban migration, destinations now included the cities
of the West Coast as well as the older urban centers.
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/reiff/13c/20thgtmi.html
Although chattel slavery had been illegal for three decades by the 1890s, southern blacks
often felt that a new kind of de facto slavery had taken its place. Lynchings, Jim Crow
laws, and economic hardship made southern blacks feel as if very little had improved
since emancipation. Beginning in the 1890s and lasting well into the 1970s, a "Great
Migration" of southern blacks to the West and North changed the demographic structure
of the nation. Blacks turned to the "Promised Land" of the North in search of jobs and
greater racial toleration.
The "Great Migration" increased dramatically in the years between about 1910 and the
early 1920s. Between 300,000 and 1,000,000 African-Americans moved north during this
period, largely in response to an increased number of unskilled factory job openings as
northern manufacturers boosted production for World War I. Black migration between
1916 and the 1960s remained strong, except during the Great Depression. More than 6
million southern blacks made the move to the North during this period.
K-W-L
Based on information acquired from the lecture:
1. Write down what you know (K) about the causes and results of the Great
Migration. Put these in the Know column.
2. Generate questions you want (W) answered about the causes and results of the
Great Migration. Put these in the Want to know column.
3. Record new information you learned (L). Put these in the have Learned column.
Know
Want to know
Have Learned
1. Causes
1. Causes
2. Results:
2. Results
Analysis of Primary Resources on the Causes of the Great Migration
Name _______________________________
Date _____________
Confirm
Surprise
Explain how the resources confirmed what
you already knew about the causes of the
Great Migration.
Explain why you were surprised to see this
resource about the causes of the Great
Migration.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Question
Add
Write questions you have about the causes
of the Great Migration.
Identify information that could be added to
the resources to improve the description of
causes of the Great Migration. Explain
why the information should be added on
another piece of paper.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Analysis of Primary Resources on the Effects of the Great Migration
Name _______________________________
Date _____________
Confirm
Surprise
Explain how the resources confirmed what
you already knew about the effects of the
Great Migration.
Explain why you were surprised to see this
resource about the effects of the Great
Migration.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Question
Add
Write questions you have about the effects
of the Great Migration.
Identify information that could be added to
the resources to improve the description of
effects of the Great Migration. Explain
why the information should be added on
another piece of paper.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Rubric for Painting
Criteria
4
3
2
1
0
Factual
Information
Four or more
facts are
represented in
the paintings.
All facts are
accurate.
All
information is
well
organized.
Three facts are
represented in
the paintings.
Two facts are
represented in
the paintings.
One fact is
represented in
the paintings.
No facts are
represented in
the paintings.
Three facts are
accurate.
Information is
well organized
with one
minor error.
Two facts are
accurate.
Information is
well organized
with two
errors.
All facts are
inaccurate.
All information
is disorganized
and difficult to
follow.
The message
to the viewer
is clear and
strong. It is
easy for the
viewer to
understand the
message.
The paintings
are neatly
done with
excellent
details and
free from
smudges. The
caption and
the title are
written neatly.
The message
to the viewer
is clear. It is
easy for the
viewer to
understand the
message.
The message
to the viewer
is clear. It is
not a strong
message.
One fact is
accurate.
Information is
poorly
organized with
more than two
errors.
The message
to the viewer is
unclear. It is
difficult for the
viewer to
understand the
point.
The paintings
are neat with
good details.
The caption
and the title
summarize the
picture and are
written neatly.
The paintings
are neat. A
caption and a
title identify
the subject of
the paintings.
The caption
and the title
are written
neatly.
No paintings,
title, or caption.
The painter
presented the
painting in a
clear voice.
He/she made
consistent eye
contact with
the audience.
The painter
presented the
painting in a
clear voice.
Some eye
contact was
made with the
audience.
The painter
presented the
painting in a
clear voice.
Little eye
contact was
made with the
audience.
The paintings
are drawn
poorly with
few details.
The caption
and the title do
not identify the
paintings. The
caption and the
title are not
written neatly.
The painter did
not
communicate
clearly. Little
eye contact
was made with
the audience.
Accuracy
Organization
Message
Layout Design
Presentation
No message is
given/conveyed
to the viewer.
The painter did
not
communicate
clearly. Eye
contact was not
made with the
audience.
Comments:
Grade earned ______
Rubric for Song
Criteria
4
3
Factual
Information
Four or
more facts
are included
in the song.
All facts are
accurate.
Three facts Two facts
One fact is
are included are included included in
in the song. in the song. the song.
No facts are
included in
the song.
Three facts
are
accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with one
minor error.
One fact is
accurate.
All facts are
inaccurate.
Information
is poorly
organized
with more
than two
errors.
The message
to the
listener is
unclear.
All
information
is
disorganized
and difficult
to follow.
No message
is given to
the listener.
The singer
did not
communicate
clearly. Little
eye contact
was made
with the
audience.
The singer
did not
communicate
clearly. Eye
contact was
not made
with the
audience.
Accuracy
Organization
Message
Presentation
All
information
is well
organized
in a logical
order.
The
message to
the listener
is clear and
strong.
The singer
presented
the song in
a clear
voice.
He/she
made
consistent
eye contact
with the
audience.
The
message to
the listener
is clear.
2
Two facts
are
accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with two
errors.
The
message to
the listener
is somehow
clear.
The singer
The singer
presented
presented
the song in the song in
a clear
a clear
voice. Some voice. Little
eye contact eye contact
was made
was made
with the
with the
audience.
audience.
1
0
Comments:
Grade earned ______
Rubric for Newspaper article
Criteria
4
3
2
1
0
Factual
Information
Four or more
facts are
included in
the article.
All facts are
accurate.
The article is
well
organized
and written in
a logical
order.
Three facts
are included
in the article.
Two facts are
included in
the article.
One fact is
included in
the article.
No facts are
included in
the article.
Three facts
are accurate.
The article is
well
organized
with one
minor error.
Two facts are
accurate.
The article is
well
organized
with two
errors.
One fact is
accurate.
The article is
poorly
organized
with more
than two
errors.
The message
to the reader
is clear and
strong. The
author’s
message
provokes an
urge to react
from the
reader.
The article is
free from
grammar and
spelling
errors.
The message
to the reader
is clear. The
message may
provoke an
urge to react
from the
reader.
The message
to the reader
is somehow
clear.
The message
to the reader
is unclear.
All facts are
inaccurate.
The article is
disorganized
and difficult
to follow.
There are
more than
three content
errors.
No message
is given to
the reader.
The article
has 1-2
grammar or
spelling
errors
The article
has 3-4
grammar or
spelling
errors.
The author
presented the
article in a
clear voice.
He/she made
consistent
eye contact
with the
audience.
The author
presented the
article in a
clear voice.
Some eye
contact was
made with
the audience.
The author
presented the
article in a
clear voice.
Little eye
contact was
made with
the audience.
The article
has five or
more
grammar or
spelling
errors.
The author
did not
communicate
clearly. Little
eye contact
was made
with the
audience.
All sentences
in the article
contain
grammar and
spelling
errors.
The author
did not
communicate
clearly. Eye
contact was
not made
with the
audience.
Accuracy
Organization
Message
Mechanics
Presentation
Comments:
Grade earned ______
Rubric for Letter
Criteria
4
3
2
1
0
Factual
Information
Four or more
facts are
included in
the letter.
All facts are
accurate.
All
information
is well
organized in
a logical
order.
The message
to the
receiver is
clear and
strong. The
writer’s
message
excites the
receiver.
The letter is
free from
grammar and
spelling
errors.
Three facts
are included
in the letter.
Two facts
are included
in the letter.
One fact is
included in
the letter.
No facts are
included in
the letter.
Three facts
are accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with one
minor error.
Two facts
are accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with two
errors.
All facts are
inaccurate.
All
information is
disorganized
and difficult
to follow.
The message
to the
receiver is
clear. It may
excite the
receiver.
The message
to the
receiver is
somehow
clear.
One fact is
accurate.
Information is
poorly
organized
with more
than two
errors.
The message
to the receiver
is unclear.
The letter
has 1-2
grammar or
spelling
errors
The letter
has 3-4
grammar or
spelling
errors.
The letter has
five or more
grammar or
spelling
errors.
The writer
presented the
letter in a
clear voice.
He/she made
consistent
eye contact
with the
audience.
The writer
presented the
letter in a
clear voice.
Some eye
contact was
made with
the audience.
The writer
presented the
letter in a
clear voice.
Little eye
contact was
made with
the audience.
The writer did
not
communicate
clearly. Little
eye contact
was made
with the
audience.
All sentences
in the letter
contain
grammar and
spelling
errors.
The writer did
not
communicate
clearly. Eye
contact was
not made with
the audience.
Accuracy
Organization
Message
Mechanics
Presentation
No message is
given to the
receiver
regarding
opportunities
in the North.
Comments:
Grade earned ______
Rubric for Dialogue
Criteria
4
Four or
more facts
are included
in the
dialogue.
All facts are
Accuracy
accurate.
Organization All
information
is well
organized in
a logical
order.
The
Message
message to
the listener
is clear and
strong.
Presentation The
dialogue is
presented in
a clear
voice. The
presenters
made
consistent
eye contact
with the
audience.
Factual
Information
3
2
1
0
Three facts
are included
in the
dialogue.
Two facts
are included
in the
dialogue.
One fact is
included in
the
dialogue.
No facts are
included in
the dialogue.
Three facts
are accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with one
minor error.
Two facts
are accurate.
Information
is well
organized
with two
errors.
The
message to
the listener
is clear.
The
message to
the listener
is somehow
clear.
The
dialogue is
presented in
a clear
voice. The
presenters
made little
eye contact
with the
audience.
One fact is
accurate.
Information
is poorly
organized
with more
than two
errors.
The
message to
the listener
is unclear.
All facts are
inaccurate.
All
information
is
disorganized
and difficult
to follow.
No message
is given to
the listener.
The
dialogue is
not clearly
presented.
Little eye
contact was
made with
the
audience.
The
dialogue is
not clearly
presented.
Eye contact
was not
made with
the
audience.
The
dialogue is
presented in
a clear
voice. The
presenters
made some
eye contact
with the
audience.
Comments:
Grade earned ______