Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
Title: Freedom Summer (.pdf lesson plan)
Author: Deborah Wiles
Grade Level: 3-5
Standards*
- Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1, 3.2, & 3.3; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1, 4.2, & 4.3; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1, 5.2, & 5.3
- Virginia Standards of Learning: 3.5; 4.5; 5.5
Overarching Theme(s): Segregation,Fairness, Point of View, Empathy, Inferencing
Timeframe: (45-60 minutes)
Summary
The story looks at the friendship of two boys, one White and one Black, living in a presumably southern city during the civil rights movement. The narrator, the White boy, discusses how he and his friend are unable to do the same activities. The narrator’s parents mentioned that the law blocking Blacks and Whites from participating in the same things is overturned, and he and his friend are very excited that they will get to swim in the city pool together. On the day they plan to swim, they find the pool cemented over. While the narrator shrugs it off, John Henry is very upset and expresses how unfair it is that he can’t do the same things. The narrator begins to understand how hard things must be for John Henry, and when they go to get an ice pop—instead of just going in by himself, he and John Henry go in together as a sign of solidarity.
Lesson Goals
- Identify feelings and motivations of characters
- Determine the fairness of Jim Crow Laws